Harvard Business School - 03-07-2022

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March 7, 2022 4:19am ET

Applying: Harvard Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2024

Pre-MBA Career: Entrepreneurship/Family Business

Post-MBA Target Industry: Family Business, Entrepreneurship

GMAT: 760

GPA: 3.51

Years of Work Experience: 2

Location: India

Post MBA Location: India

Notes:

Hi, Have to begin by saying that I really love your podcast. Found it on google about two weeks ago and have been listening to it every time I get the chance. I would really love to be featured on the podcast

I have various questions that I would like your opinion on so please bear with me.

1) My work experience is as second in command (CMO and COO) at my family-run startup (luxury consumer goods startup, estimated revenue just shy of $1 Million at the time of application) with my mother as the CEO. The Startup was established in 2019 and I have been involved part-time in my undergraduate years and full-time post that. As It is an early-stage startup, I can point to a lot of achievements I have had in my role. However, my worry is that I would lose out in competition to people working in more late-stage startups/family businesses and even established luxury brands where they get to handle bigger budgets and have a broader impact. Would it make sense for me to join a bigger consumer goods/ Luxury goods brand before applying? How would not having been through an employer screen affect my chances? My short term goal is to go back to grow the startup and long term is to be a leader in the same industry

2) I am more than a year away from applying and come from a very crowded bucket (Indian Male), should i consider retaking the GMAT (assuming it does not hamper other parts of my application)? I am fairly certain i can get a 780/790. Would it even help my application given my current test score? Would retaking a 760 be a red flag to an Adcom member?

3) Can you please shed some light on how undergraduate pedigree is evaluated at top business schools. I graduated from a highly respected and selective liberal arts college in India but which is fairly new and does not have much alumni in top b-schools. Would Adcoms be aware of my undergraduate college? and if so would it be a plus or a minus in my application? (it was started by HBS, Yale, Upenn grads for what it is worth)

4) My application strategy is to apply to H/S/W and possibly Kellogg with 2 years of experience (3 at matriculation) and if rejected reapply to these schools and cast a wider net next year. Do you think this is a good strategy or should i just wait to apply with 3 years of work experience (4 at matriculation). Do you think i have a shot at the M7 schools given my profile and goals

So sorry for the long note. Love the podcast once again!! Hoping to get your feedback on my candidacy

Like (1)

Show Comments (11) Last: March 17, 2022

mnemonicthehedgehog Likes Earned: 21 Hi OP, I'd like to offer a few of my thoughts while reading your profile in case they're helpful to you: 1.) I don't think you necessarily need experience in a bigger consumer goods/luxury goods brand before applying to business school because it sounds like you have some great professional experience to draw from in your role with the family business. That said, I think your application reviewers may have some behavioral questions about your experience with leadership and conflict management in team settings as well as your personal motivations to pursue a career in your industry. Regarding the motivations piece, I'd advise you to be thoughtful in crafting your personal statement (your narrative) to address your motivations for an MBA because I work with many graduate school candidates following in parents/family members' footsteps who struggle with articulating their personal motivations. (There is a difference between "I want to get my MBA because this industry is what I grew up knowing/this is what is expected of me by my family" versus "My experience working in this field and growing up around this industry have inspired me to earn my MBA so that I can make a bigger impact in X area/use my skills to pivot into a career in X." Be sure to be more like the candidate in the second response, showing refined goals, personal reflection, and a true sense of purpose.) 4.) Regarding application strategy, NYU Stern, HEC Paris, and ESSEC also struck me as schools you may wish to consider based on your interests/industry career goals. The French schools I know have connections to the luxury retail industry and may have academic offerings you'd be interested in if you're willing to expand your list to schools outside the US. (3)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 Great insights and suggestions, above. GMAT is great, so don’t spend effort on improving it. Undergrad can’t be changed, so no need to stress whether adcom will recognize its quality. But I’m sure they will. Applying with 3 years experience, then reapplying is a sound strategy, reapplicant admit rates are often higher. And I wouldn’t switch companies unless you thought it was right for you to do so (ie, don’t worry about adcom on this perspective). Your challenge may be to seek out great recommenders (not your mother). (2)

anon40502 Likes Earned: 4 Thank you so much for your responses! Both of your comments were really insightful! Regarding my essays, that was a really great suggestion and I would be mindful that I come across as being passionate about the industry and my work. Regarding the school selection, One of my major considerations for school selection was the reputation and network of the schools in my country (India). I believe that M7/T10 schools and INSEAD would prove to be better in that sense than NYU/HEC even if those might be a better 'fit' for my background and goals. Additionally, I am not very keen on going to a college in Europe (even though will probably apply to INSEAD). Regarding the recommenders, i am in a bit of a fix there. As it is a retail brand there are no clients as such i could get to write a recommendation. It is also a wholly family-owned business, so no external board members. I guess i would try to get one from an extracurricular (hoping to get more involved with those soon) and one from a senior team member or an accountant from my firm (however, i do realize both of them would come across as biased). Any suggestions would definitely be helpful (2)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 Getting more involved in ECs (assuming it’s because it’s something you’re passionate about) will be very good, and a good potential source for a rec. you will need to go beyond ranking/reputation in terms of your school selection, to be more effective. (1)

anon40502 Likes Earned: 4 Thank you for your response Alex! By more effective do you mean in terms of my chances of landing a school or in terms of my 'fit' and overall experience in the MBA (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 To be more effective in showing why each program you apply is a great fit for you. (0)

anon40502 Likes Earned: 4 Thank you for all your help! I just wanted to provide some additional information about some of my highlight achievements just in case it would be helpful for you. Have been involved since day one with the brand. Handled all marketing initiatives part-time during my undergraduate years. Created the website from scratch and set up social media accounts and marketing strategies for the brand. 60% of the brand's revenue comes through this medium Represented the brand in 5 national exhibitions with a combined footfall of 100,000+ people. Increased online and offline presence by partnering with 20 E-Commerce Websites and 5 stores pan-India Currently working on optimizing the operations aspect of the brand introducing new Customer relationship management software and Inventory Management software. These are some examples of the work I have been doing. Let me know if this helps in evaluating my impact in the workplace in comparison to other 'traditional' candidates (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 This sounds like great work, you’ll want to quantify the impact of the work, the outcomes. How did this work lead to increases in sales, market share, market reach etc (no need to expand here, but consider this for your apps) (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2022/03/wire-taps-221/ (0)

anon40502 Likes Earned: 4 Hi Alex and Graham, Thank you so much for featuring me on the podcast. Your comments were definitely insightful and helpful! (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 You’re very welcome, best of luck! (1)