Stitched by Roots, Shaped by Vision: Sanjay’s HBS Journey
Growing up in Sanganer, a small town on the outskirts of Jaipur known for its vibrant textile prints, Sanjay was surrounded by the hum of small-scale factories and the entrepreneurial hustle of apparel makers. His childhood was marked by financial prudence; he knew early on that if he wanted to pursue a top-tier education, he would need to find ways to finance it himself. Against the odds, he secured scholarships and support through teaching assistantships, enabling him to pursue engineering at IIT Bombay.
This mix of small-town grounding and big-city ambition would come to define Sanjay’s trajectory. At IIT Bombay, he organized major college festivals and worked on an incubation project with his professor to design a low-cost wireless diagnostic device. The project revealed both his technical curiosity and an important lesson: building a product was one thing, but creating a sustainable business model and taking it to market was a different challenge altogether. That realization nudged him towards consulting.
Early Career: Learning the Business Lens
Sanjay began his career at Bain & Company, working in the Private Equity group. His role placed him at the intersection of financial diligence and strategy, helping PE and VC funds evaluate assets across industries.
While the learning curve was steep, Sanjay felt distanced from direct impact since he was supporting decisions, but not driving them. The desire to work closer to founders and innovative businesses pushed him towards venture capital.
At 8 Roads Ventures and later Accel, Sanjay found his calling. He worked across sectors, including consumer, fintech, SaaS, AI, and B2B, evaluating startups, partnering with founders, and influencing investment decisions. For him, venture capital was not just about deploying money; it was about bringing knowledge, networks, and perspective that could help founders succeed.
The MBA Realization
Interestingly, Sanjay was not initially keen on pursuing an MBA. That changed after a conversation with a senior from 8 Roads, an HBS alum who shared how the MBA was not just a professional accelerator but also a personal transformation, expanding perspectives, exposing him to global communities, and shaping his approach to life. This struck a chord. For Sanjay, the MBA became less about “checking a career box” and more about an opportunity to grow as a person and leader.
Building the Narrative
With Admissions Gateway, Sanjay learned to approach his application with structure and precision. His consultant at AG pushed him to dissect every essay prompt and position each story in its rightful place. For instance, Sanjay’s lifelong fascination with apparel shaped by growing up in Sanganer, exploring fashion trends, and questioning why no Indian brand had gone truly global, was initially something he could build his professional ambitions around. Together, they reframed it as a deeply personal curiosity, one that reflected his roots and individuality.
His application wove together threads from his life: financial independence during his IIT years, entrepreneurial experimentation with medtech, analytical rigor at Bain, direct impact at 8 Roads and Accel, and his passion for apparel and design. This blend of small-town origins, intellectual curiosity, and professional versatility became his unique story.
The Admit and Reflection
In the end, Sanjay secured admission from both HBS with $175k in financial aid and Wharton. After careful consideration, he chose HBS since it was his top priority. Reflecting on his journey, he credits Admissions Gateway with helping him discover the power of structured storytelling.
“The biggest learning was that every essay word, every question, had to be dissected. My consultant taught me how to structure my reflections, position my stories, and even approach interviews with clarity,” he shares.
To read more such stories of folks who got into their dream business schools to pursue their lifelong passion, check out our success stories.
