In our list of India's Best 50 - the 50 Most Employable Students from the Class of 2021-23, we feature MBA students who have walked that extra mile and done that little more to stand out! One of those featured in today's story, Nikita Warkar, has shown an incredible amount of passion to achieve her true potential. Read on and find out her story!
The following are Nikita Warkar’s set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst MBA graduates to determine the top 50 Most Employable MBA Graduates of the Class of 2023. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Nikita's story and profile stood out. Here's her story in her own words.
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
I got myself an internship in a role for which I wasnt even shortlisted. I have always been a marketing enthusiast and I was so sure about pursuing marketing that during our Summer Internship Placements, I decided to skip Cluster 1 which offers the highly coveted consulting and finance roles, despite having a few shortlists of my own. As Cluster 2 approached, I received some good shortlists. My dream company P&G also shortlisted me, but unfortunately not for the role I wanted. I had a shortlist for Analytics & Consumer Insights and on the Group Discussion Day itself, I got a soft offer for the same. However, the role I wanted to work in was Brand Management and though it was my dream company, I was considering going to other firms that were offering me the role I wanted.But that wouldnt have been enough for me. As I was in conversation with the recruitment team from P&G, I decided to ask them for what I felt I deserved. Since this was something quite uncharacteristic of me, it required an enormous amount of courage. The team at P&G was insistent on offering me the analytics role but I refused to budge. There were several moments during the conversation where I felt like buckling and giving in, but I held on. Eventually I succeeded at convincing them to offer me the brand management role. My resolve throughout the incident surprised me and I was genuinely happy that I had managed to pull off what I did.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act?
It all started when I just simply responded to a WhatsApp message looking for someone to help a student with visual impairment to give a banking exam. I had nothing to do that Saturday afternoon and having given multiple competitive exams myself I was quite familiar with the interface, so I offered to help. What I went through that examination was sheer helplessness, I just couldnt understand how I was supposed to assist a person with blindness visualize a seating arrangement question with twelve data points. What made it worse was that to account for their impairment, they were given a mere twenty minutes extra. Though the girl that I volunteered for was able to clear that round, I felt there was much more I could do here. Ever since then I have almost taken over an NGO that works towards Disability Advocacy, Research, and Education (DARE). Through this NGO, I initiated an academic program where I taught an entire batch of students with visual impairments, volunteered as a scribe for some, sensitized first time volunteers, facilitated conversations between the scribes and candidates and much more. All these initiatives did bear fruit as it enabled the employment of more than 50% of the batch, mostly in the banking sector.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
Different scenarios call for different actions; it can be collaborating over a task, competing for position or just a conversation on social and political issues. As an MBA student one is constantly subjected to such instances because of the system and because we are a bunch of highly opinionated level-headed individuals. When were working in a team, towards the same goal, differing opinions play a crucial role as it ensures that the biases are eliminated. I have always felt it is important to build a space where all opinions are welcomed and then eventually, consensus is achieved through elaborate discussions. I was working with a team for a case competition. Since Im usually the one who puts forth new ideas and brainstorms, I pitched some concepts that Id come up with. Any idea that I put forth underwent an intense evaluation and some were even shot down, but with reason and logic. I defended my ideas strongly as it must go through such a test for us to arrive at the best possible solution. To be honest, I did feel dejected at that moment, but I understood that its for the good of the team. Since the teams performance was a priority for me too, I did get over my disappointment and further contributed to the teams work.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative that has led you to do deep work in that field?
In the beginning of the lockdown, when all of us were looking for some activity to pass time, me and my friend got hooked to jigsaw puzzles. The first puzzle we solved was a gift we came across while cleaning the storeroom. It was a beautiful 500-piece Ravensburger puzzle and as we solved it, we knew exactly what we were going to do throughout the lockdown. We bought our next puzzle and then a few more. After exploring almost all the brands available in India and solving more than 20 500, 1000, 2000 piece puzzles, and almost being experts we realized that nothing matched the Ravensburger puzzle which was a gift from my relatives abroad. Thats when we researched to understand what makes a good puzzle and why we enjoyed them the way we did. We learnt so many things like the importance of the print and paper quality; the resolution of the image; how the texture of the paper directly affects the glare coming off the pieces; the different types of cuts- ribbon, random, and special cut. We also learnt how puzzling stimulates both your left and right brain i.e., the creative as well as the analytical brain and forms new neuron connections. Solving a puzzle puts one in, what is commonly called, the zen mode. Simultaneously, we also realized how India didnt have any good quality puzzles to offer. Eventually we decided to make our own puzzles. We made a few prototypes and were even planning to commercialize it but because of some other commitments, we decided to put a hold on our passion. I still plan to pursue this passion in the future when Im better equipped to do so.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
10 million dollars is a lot of money. Deciding what to do with that money is quite a difficult task. Now I would be lying if I said that I wouldnt use any of it for my personal benefits. Some of it will be spent for my individual wants. But overall, I would like to invest the remaining capital and start my own venture capital firm directed towards sustainability and impact investment. As an MBA student I have interacted with several people who have dabbled with startups and I know how difficult it can be to get the backing required for a brilliant business idea. I have encountered multiple individuals with startup ideas that can contribute towards the better development of society. I want to help such people achieve their dreams and instill the belief that are people out there who are willing to aid them in their resolve. To go into some detail, I intend to provide seed and pre-seed funding to budding early-stage startups, use India SAFE notes to reduce the process complexity, create a diversified portfolio, divest from some as they reach Seed A/B and then invest in more startups from there.
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As per government tax payers' data and our assessment, only about 6,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn an annual 'salaried' income of INR 30 lacs or above. And only 11,00,000 Indian taxpayers earn a 'total' income of INR 30 lacs or more.
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