Cambridge Judge MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 1
Please provide details of your post-MBA career plans. The statement should not exceed 500 words and must address the following:
- What are your short and long-term career objectives? How will the Cambridge MBA equip you to achieve these?
- Looking at your short-term career goal, describe the research you have done to understand how this industry/role/location recruits MBA talent and what they are looking for in a candidate?
- How confident do you feel about meeting your short-term career goal? What skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you to achieve them, and what preparation are you doing now?
I am a Senior Consultant in Human Capital Services at Capgemini Invent, I view this domain as my true calling because (i) it deeply fulfills me to be at the heart of strategic decisions that shape both the business metrics and the workforce’s potential and (ii) beyond the metrics, it is the personal stories of individuals that breathe life into my work. Growing up in a dysfunctional and tumultuous family environment, I came to understand the value of a nurturing ecosystem. After extensive therapeutic work, I decided to specialize in Psychology and Human Resources, eventually pursuing a career where I can blend tangible business results with genuine well-being.
My short-term goal, post-MBA, is to continue growing in the human capital consulting domain by undertaking more impactful roles in consulting firms such as McKinsey, BCG, or Deloitte. In the long term, I aspire to advance to a Partner Position, with a vision to embed well-being initiatives into every business aspect.
My specialization in behavioral sciences has prepared me to excel in this field. As head of the Center of Excellence, I have led Organizational Development projects for Fortune 500 clients, showcasing my skills in market research, strategic planning, and analytical thinking. I have also led a team of industrial psychologists and orchestrated India’s largest CXO Summit, highlighting my leadership potential.
Despite this, I acknowledge that my limited understanding of how human capital dynamics vary across cultures and sectors has posed challenges for me in managing cross-cultural teams effectively. I am eager to deepen this understanding – from hierarchical to egalitarian structures and from startups to public organizations – by leveraging my international peers’ varied experiences and insights from an MBA program. Additionally, I want to build ‘systems thinking’ beyond my current expertise to help refine my approach to human capital. I also want to undertake more complex international projects and master strategic decision-making to prepare myself for my long-term leadership goal.
After discussing the research culture at Cambridge with Ms. Shreyti Kaul, a CJBS alumna, I am eager to learn from and contribute to the ‘Cambridge Experimental & Behavioural Economics Group’ and the ‘Human-Centric Approaches to the Future of Work,’ cohorts as it will enhance my comprehension of human capital across varied cultural and sectoral contexts. Further, participating in various inter-collegiate events through the Cambridge Business School Club, working on live projects as part of the Global Consulting Project, and taking on a leadership role in the Consulting SIG will strengthen my leadership foundation for my consulting career. Additionally, coursework in corporate finance, advanced economics, and strategic decision-making will enhance my acumen beyond my current expertise. Lastly, conversations with another alumnus, Mr. Shubham Agrawal, highlighted how learning from leaders at the Wo+Men’s Leadership Centre and the Cambridge Leadership Symposium can aid my long-term vision.
Lastly, to advance my objectives, I am currently supporting my practice director on strategic engagements and receiving invaluable coaching from a renowned CXO coach in India. I hope that CJBS will further propel my personal and professional growth.
I have 7 years of experience working as a Technology Consultant with Deloitte. Post-MBA, I want to leverage my existing experience and transition towards a technology and business strategy consulting role. In the long run, I aspire to become a Partner in a Technology Consulting firm such as Deloitte, Accenture etc.
Today, as a Technology Consultant at Deloitte, I specialize in implementing Customer Relationship Management solutions for clients in the Technology, Healthcare and Telecommunication industries. My international consulting experience has equipped me with the ability to recognize client needs, effectively communicate with stakeholders across the echelon and collaborate with cross-functional teams. By leveraging my extensive digital technology experience and problem-solving mindset, I am able to design innovative solutions for complex business problems that create disproportionate value for my clients.
However, working with strategy consultants on a recent client engagement revealed a critical perspective that I lacked – the ability to see how technology affects different disciplines of a business and the overall company strategy. I was intrigued by the team’s ability to provide innovative technology strategies by designing them around the client’s key business drivers. I realized that having limited exposure and knowledge of critical business areas such as strategy, finance, and operations, precluded me from gaining a comprehensive view of my client’s business model. This realization motivated me to upskills myself and acquire business knowledge. As I began taking online business courses to address this deficit, I quickly realized that I needed the in-person, multi-disciplinary management education in a structured environment that only an MBA program could provide.
After thorough research and based on feedback from my UK counterparts, I believe Cambridge Judge Business School would be the ideal institution for me to earn my MBA from. The MBA Concentration module on ‘Digital Transformation’, is particularly intriguing, which I believe will enable me to reimagine how to lead organizational transformations through digital innovation.
Outside of the classroom, the GCP affords me numerous opportunities for experiential learning. It will allow me to apply my academic knowledge to real-world business problems and gain hands-on experience developing business models and strategies.
I’d love to and am looking forward to learning from the diverse cohort; their experiences and diverse perspectives can teach me how to approach problems from a variety of perspectives in order to arrive at a more holistic solution. Having previously worked primarily with clients in the UK and the US, this new and varied experience will help me develop cultural sensitivity and a ‘Global Mindset,’ qualities that are vital for a global Technology Leader.
In turn, I would be delighted to share my professional knowledge gained at Deloitte and to assist my peers who aspire to pursue a career in Technology Consulting. I truly believe that CJBS would be the perfect stepping stone for me at this stage of my career to achieve my career goals. Furthermore, given my global experience and field of knowledge, I believe that I would also be a valuable addition to CJBS class of 2023.
Essay 2: Tell us about the best team you worked with. What made the team successful? (up to 200 words)
In 2022, I collaborated with the Department of Prisons in India to establish an initiative aimed to provide mental health care to prisoners – ‘Nayi Disha’. The ultimate goal was to facilitate their reintegration into society. I managed to find 20 other psychologists who felt motivated to work towards this cause.
Despite our noble cause, we faced numerous challenges: safety concerns of psychologists and bureaucratic obstacles. While we were steadfast in navigating bureaucratic hurdles, the biggest challenge that took the most toll was the constant demotivation from the entire bureaucratic machinery. Everyone looked at us as 20-something kids who were not aware of the risk we were taking. Listening to various safety risks as a girl and quotes like “these animals will never change” became a Monday morning ritual.
Although we lost a few members, I am proud that almost 15 of them stayed with me and helped me overcome all challenges. Today, we successfully expanded to over 100 psychologists and served 1,200+ prisoners who have reported improvements in their belief and ability to reintegrate into society. Our shared belief in every individual’s rights and potential for self-improvement made the Original 15 the best team I’ve ever worked with.
Essay 3: Provide an example of when someone else positively impacted your life. What did you learn from this experience? (up to 200 words)
I grew up in a household plagued by domestic violence. I often mediated between my parents. Subsequently, during adolescence, I developed obsessive-compulsive disorder. My existential angst further deepened due to the tragic death of my brother. These struggles further intensified when I developed Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. As a result, I started exhibiting tendencies for suicidal ideation and turned to “hustle culture” as an escape.
The turning point arrived when I met my psychotherapist, Ms. Aarti Belani, who helped me process my emotions and move away from escapist coping mechanisms. I learned to challenge my cognitive distortions and develop strategies for managing turmoil.
Eventually, I discovered my calling was to assist others who had faced similar hardships. To equip myself with scientifically and ethically sound methods, I pursued a master’s degree in psychology. Today, I do pro-bono therapy for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.
So Ms. Aarti Belani is the person I credit to having the most significant positive impact in my life. She helped me discover: First, how my hardships can serve as powerful catalysts for my character development. Second, how through healing and self-work, one can embody the “wounded warrior” concept – emerging stronger and better equipped to assist others.
Essay 4: What has been your most significant professional challenge? (200 words limit)
In my previous role as the head of the COE function, my team and I developed an AI-enabled skill practice platform targeted at CXO-level audiences. It was a big development from our team represented by the fact that we got it certified from the British Psychological Society.
Our leadership decided to launch this product via experiential marketing event where we can display the benefits in real time. We decided to host a marketing Summit for CXO. This was a significant challenge, as it was our organisation’s first venture into experiential marketing and the biggest difficulty was ensuring CXO attendance.
After product development, I shifted focus to organizing the summit and PR efforts. We carefully designed the CXO summit agenda, incorporating product demonstrations, networking events, and masterclasses. We also launched a branding campaign to invite CXOs and ensure attendance.
The culmination of our efforts was a two-day summit, which became the largest leaders’ networking event in India. The summit significantly improved our sales funnel, resulting in 12 new brand deals. The novelty of product development experience, first of its kind PR initiative and ambitious business goals made this task both challenging and highly rewarding.
Oxford Said MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients - 2
Oxford Said MBA Essay 1: Define your current role (5000 Characters) Please list your main responsibilities, your greatest achievement and most significant challenges
I am currently the founder of “Waste No More”. It is a volunteer-driven organisation that aims to solve hunger in Jakarta’s urban slums by redistributing surplus food from donor organisations. As the founder, I wear multiple hats and am involved in all core functions of the organisation from Strategy to Operations. However, I spend most of my time growing two critical aspects of our program – building partnerships with food donors and expanding the volunteer base.
Learning from success stories of similar organisations in other countries, my team and I started with restaurants as our primary target for surplus food donation. However, on realising that surplus food donation from restaurants is inconsistent, small in quantum, and required high volunteer effort, we quickly expanded to many other donor avenues such as supermarkets, online grocery partners, wedding venues, and corporate canteens. Partnering with them increased our food supply to 1500 meals per week. The experience helped me build a more strategic approach to growing the organisation.
To grow my volunteer base, I started building my network through cold calls to people working in the social impact sector. I reached out to various people with expertise in business development, digital marketing and operations. I motivated them to volunteer for this cause and contribute to setting up these functions for Waste No More. I further expanded the volunteer base to build the execution capacity by leveraging multiple avenues from college boards to social media.
When COVID-19 triggered city lockdowns, we encountered our most significant challenge to date, but within a short span of a few weeks, we re-imagined the entire collection and distribution process. We figured out how volunteers can take help of instant delivery services and coordinate the whole process remotely. This helped us to continue serving our beneficiaries in the time of their most need and helped me grow as a leader focused on constant innovation and problem-solving.
In the past year, my greatest achievement in Waste No More has been scaling our operations while working remotely and without taking even a single penny in fundraising or monetary donations. We scaled Waste No More to serve 5000+ beneficiaries with operations in 2 cities in just six months of launch. Communication used to be a growth area for me a few years back, and I have been able to come a long way from that to influence a diverse base of volunteers and donor partners to work towards a common cause. Bringing smiles on our beneficiaries’ faces through the work of our 100+ volunteers makes me proud.
Oxford Said MBA Essay 2: Describe below your immediate plan after graduating from the MBA: (No Character Limit)
I have dedicated the past 6 years of my career working towards the improvement of the education landscape in India and solving hunger problems in Indonesia. After MBA, I aspire to continue working in the impact sector with international organizations such as Gates Foundation or USAID in either the field of education, hunger or women-empowerment.
I worked with 2 non-profits in India, one of which is Atma, an accelerator program for nonprofit organizations. At Atma, I launched 2 programs that focused on building the capacity of non-profit organisations across countries. As part of this, I worked with multiple nonprofits working at the grass-root level to help them with fundraising, impact evaluation, organization development and expansion. I also worked with leaders of these organizations to connect them to expert resources, pro-bono projects and share best practices.
After moving to Indonesia I started my own initiative – Waste No More. Here, I worked with the community directly addressing the challenges of food waste and hunger. Through this experience, I was able to involve a diverse set of stakeholders to focus on one single mission.
Having worked at a grass-root level, I have realised that to truly address the problem at a large scale I need to learn how to empower numerous NPOs in the front line and how to create a thriving ecosystem for them. In the long term, I aspire to develop myself more holistically as a changemaker capable of leading global initiatives. Working with international organizations, post-MBA, would be a perfect step in that direction.
Oxford Said MBA Essay 3: How does your preferred sector in your preferred location recruit MBA talent and what do they look for in a candidate? Describe the research you have done so far. (No character limit)
Post-MBA, I would like to manage programs or operations at an international organisation such as the Gates Foundation or USAID. After speaking to current and past employees at these organisations, I figured that these organisations look for individuals with strong leadership capabilities who can develop and drive innovative solutions at the grass-root level as well as at policy level. These organisations like to recruit candidates who have sector experience and are skilled to solve complex problems with limited resources. Finally, I believe they look for people with passion and ability to collaborate and form partnerships with varied stakeholders.
After extensive online research and speaking with Said Alums Rahul Bhatewara (Co’2017) and Muhammad Ghazzian Afif (Co’2019) and current student Ragini Pillai (Co’2021), I understand that Networking lunches like ‘Tech Careers for Social Good’ and ‘Impact Investing Careers’ are the usually the best way to connect with recruiters. Outside of these we can utilize the Said alumni network or the career events hosted by the Oxford University to reach out to our desired organizations.
I would also love to participate in the various talks and treks hosted by leaders in the impact space and to further capitalise on these prospects, I would like to go an extra step and get involved in organising some of these events too. At Oxford, I would also like to co-chair the Social Impact OBN to engage other students to learn and grow in the social space. Given I have consulted or indirectly worked with more than 50 non-profit organisations across 5 countries, I would be happy to facilitate connections for my fellow classmates too.
The Social Impact Programme’s cases will allow me to showcase my work and expertise to the impact sector professional, investors and consultancies. Working on projects at the Social Impact Lab and The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship can further help me hone my skills, get mentored and secure employment opportunities from impact sector veterans/organizations.
With my extensive experience in the social impact field coupled with an Oxford MBA, I am confident of achieving my goals through the various avenues provided by Said.
Oxford Said MBA Essay 4: Reflecting on your answer above, how do you meet these requirements? (No Character Limit)
I believe my hands-on experience in the social sector, ability to work at the grass-root level and passion to work towards the betterment of society is demonstrated strongly with my past 6 years of work with nonprofits and will hold me in good stead with potential employers.
When I first started a professional career in the impact sector with an organization named Avanti (XXXXXX), where I used my prior experience from the technology sector to help in ideation and research of their existing mobile app which now reaches out to more than 50,000+ underprivileged students in India. Later I joined Atma (XXXXX) where I launched a Remote Accelerator Program that increased Atma’s reach by 40%. As part of this initiative, I led a partnership with Oak Foundation, Switzerland, to support their portfolio organisations in the tribal parts of Jharkhand, India. I also led the team of 3 consultants and worked with heads of 40 women-empowerment NPOs on the ground in the tribal areas. These experiences helped me grow as an empathetic leader and taught me how to persuade stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and experiences to collaborate on initiatives for the greater good of the society at large.
My experience at Atma also challenged me to solve problems and come up with innovative solutions within a limited budget. Atma was a small size non-profit which dedicated most of its budget to programs and on the backend mainly used traditional ways of storing data and maintained manual records. As we grew, we realised the need for an ERP system, but with a limited budget we knew we can’t afford it. Given my background in technology, I decided to look for potential low-cost solutions. I reached out to J.P. Morgan’s “Code for Good” initiative and got selected as one of their featured organizations in 2016. The team at Code for Good helped us develop Salesforce solutions for free and till today, Atma team uses Salesforce to log all its data combined with Google Drives’ low-cost storage facility.
Finally at Waste No More, I have learned so much more beyond leading a program. I have been able to navigate through bureaucracy in Indonesia. I learnt the local language to connect better with communities and its culture. I am able to make connections and network with people. This experience has helped me to focus on solutions for each and every challenge that I face.
In addition to the above experience, an MBA from Oxford can help me further develop strategic leadership skills. Courses like Global Sustainable Business, Strategy & Innovation, and Technology & Operations management can deepen my understanding of business and management concepts. Case discussions and project experience at the Impact Lab can widen my perspective on how social issues can be tackled at a larger scale. Overall, I believe my past experiences and the learnings from Oxford MBA will give me the necessary skills which I can leverage to transition into a program manager role at an international impact organization.
Oxford Said MBA Essay 5: What do you plan to do between now and starting your MBA to prepare and maximise your chances of success? ( No character limit mentioned)
To maximise my chances of success before joining Oxford, I would do the following activities:
At Waste No More, I would be working with my donor Sayurbox, to deepen my understanding of gaps in the food supply chain that leads to food wastage. I hope to strengthen my knowledge of the fresh food supply chain and devise strategies to reduce wastage at every step. Further, I also plan to start working with Aidha, a non-profit organisation in Singapore that teaches financial literacy and confidence skills to foreign domestic workers and lower-income women. I believe this experience will help me explore the challenges and programs in yet another country and broaden my horizon.
For the past few years, I have attended conferences like AVPN Annual Conference, Singapore, CSR Summit, India, and ARISE Conference – Social Entrepreneurship in Indonesia. If the current situation allows it, I would like to attend these conferences coming year too. I would look forward to attending the virtual Skoll World Forum event this year. These conferences have been a great way to update myself with best practices in the sector and upcoming initiatives around the world. They also give me a chance to interact and exchange ideas with like minded people.
In addition, I will look to upskill my own business knowledge by taking some courses or masterclasses on basics of finance and accouting. This will give me a good head start for the classes I plan to take at Oxford.
Lastly, I would reach out to individuals across my interest sectors to get connected and deepen my understanding of the opportunities that exist with various organisations. I would also connect with current students and alualumni understand how to maximise these opportunities at Oxford.
Oxford Said MBA Essay 6: Should you not be successful in securing your first choice of role, what is your alternative? (No character limit mentioned)
If I am not successful at securing a position with an organisation of my interest, I will come back to Indonesia and continue leading Waste No More full time.
Waste No More was never just an organisation but a movement in my mind. To ensure its longevity, and continued operations even in the event I leave Indonesia, I have built the organization with a purely volunteer-driven model and an empowered core team. While the organization will continue to create impact and grow organically when I am away, on joining back I would aim to scale it meaningfully. To that end, I will pivot the organization in the following 2 ways.
First, I would grow Waste No More’s philanthropic arm to not only focus on food distribution but also expand to other essentials such as clothes or basic hygiene products for the less privileged.
Second, I would start a for-profit, social enterprise arm which would focus on mobilising technology-powered solutions for the supply chain starting from farm to table to tackle the food waste at every level. I would specifically work on low-cost solutions that can help anyone starting from farmers to sellers to increase the shelf life of their produce.
In the event I am successful in securing the role of my choice, I will continue to provide remote support to Waste No More as a volunteer.
Oxford Said MBA Essay 7: Is there anything not covered in the application form that you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you?* (250 words)
I am a sports enthusiast and I love diving and hiking. I am a certified open water diver and I have completed 25+ treks across five countries.
After moving to Indonesia, I took up scuba diving and fell in love with it instantly. While it is thrilling to see the world below water, at the same time, this experience has helped me reach new heights of discipline. When planning any scuba trip, the preparation is much longer than an actual dive, but the satisfaction of exploring shipwrecks and sealife is beyond words. This process emphasized the importance of dedication to my goals.
I have hiked across India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal. The most arduous hike I have ever taken was a 5-day hike in the Himalayas, where we covered 17 km in a day. Due to rain, I slipped and hurt myself. I was given an option to complete the rest of the journey on a horse, else I will otherwise miss the sunset view from the peak. However, I was determined to complete the trek myself. While I did not make it for the sunset, the feeling of completing the day on my own was none-the-less exhilarating.
This experience reiterated the importance of a never-give-up attitude which has helped me overcome many challenges in life. I feel sports help in fostering relationships and building stronger relationships, I aim to carry the same spirit at Oxford and look forward to connecting with people through participation in various sports activities.
Cambridge Judge MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 3
Cambridge MBA Essay 1: Please provide a personal statement. It should not exceed 500 words and must address the following questions:
- What are your short and long term career objectives and what skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you achieve them?
- What actions will you take before and during the MBA to contribute to your career outcome?
- If you are unsure of your post-MBA career path, how will the MBA equip you for the future?
Over the last three years, I have been as a product development engineer at Mercedes. While working across Germany and India on research and product development, I have built strong client-handling and problem-solving skills. In the short term, I want to transition to working in a product manager role in the automotive sector, at a firm such as Tesla or Uber, where I will be able to combine my technical and business skills to push business transformations for product line extensions in existing and new markets. In the long term, I see myself as the director of the corporate strategy delivering both business results and impacting social values.
Through my experiences, I have witnessed firsthand the tectonic shift in the personal mobility industry. The mobility space and the supply chain is becoming more and more complex, resulting in demand for professionals who can lend their expertise in cross-industry functions. At Mercedes, I experienced how a large corporation works and its characteristic challenges. The engagements I lead, such as implementing ‘In-house engineering’ of interior trims require in-depth strategic planning and flawless execution as it involves huge capitals. While executing such projects, I have worked with German partners and teammates of diverse backgrounds, and have learned more about corporate communication in Europe based organization. I have also honed my business fluency in German, which enabled me to build synergy with them.
However, to achieve my envisaged career goals, I need to learn about new markets, frameworks and business models, while also honing my leadership and general management skills. After due research, I believe, CJBS is the perfect B-school to help me achieve my goals.
Thus, I plan to pursue CJBS’ “Global Business” concentration, which will allow me to develop high-impact solutions and pursue new growth opportunities. This specialization, with courses such as “International Business” and “Strategic Change and Renewal” will be an important step in becoming well-rounded product management professional.
Furthermore, the “Global Consulting Project” will enable me to put my theory into practice and learn new approaches to problem-solving from a diverse group of colleagues. I see no better way to prepare myself for my long-term goals than to learn directly by engaging with external companies or organizations. Sharing experiences in a diverse class with over 40 nationalities will strengthen my analytical skills and give me rock-solid insights for making decisions, while CJBS’ international alumni network will strengthen my professional and social networks in the markets where I expect to pursue my career.
I can leverage the school’s proximity to “Cambridge cluster” to work alongside some of the most innovative and well-established companies in Europe’s largest tech world. Additionally, engaging with “Technology and Enterprise Club” will allow me to learn about global business behaviour and apply the insights in my future roles.
I truly believe that CJBS’ diverse community, unique approach to leadership and practical relevance in teaching will help me develop my network and take significant steps towards transforming into a global leader.
Cambridge MBA Essay 2: What has been your most significant professional challenge? (200 word limit)
One of the most significant challenges I have faced so far in my career was when I started working for Mercedes-AMG projects and travelled to Stuttgart, Germany, for my first international assignment.
I could not seamlessly adjust to different work cultures. Due to my limited understanding of German, I struggled with tasks like negotiating conflict situations with suppliers and faced difficulties in responding to requests from the finance and logistics team. I felt like I am failing in my duties and letting my team down.
I quickly realized that to succeed professionally at a german company such as Mercedes, I need to learn the German language. Learning a language quickly, more than anything else, require deep immersion, wherein I sought support from my teammates. In order to build synergy with them, I took initiative and organized after-work coffee sessions and potluck parties. This not only helped me to successfully integrate but also strengthened the bonding amongst them.
Given my proactiveness, I was able to build a support group in Germany that quickly allowed me to learn German and I started performing better. Now, I lead the spoken German language improvement program for the entire department of approx. 300 people.
Cambridge MBA Essay 3: What has been your most significant professional achievement? (200 word limit)
My greatest professional achievement has been establishing the “Centre of Competence” for car floor development at Mercedes, Pune office.
In 2017, I was leading the development of luggage trims for Mercedes GLC. However, due to gaps in understanding the requirements from the cross-functional teams, I failed to ensure timely delivery of the product.
Shaken by this failure, I met with the team again and realized that if I worked more closely with the Chassis and Packaging departments, we could have devised a schedule that met the supplier’s requirements. I learned that to optimize the development time, I would need to develop relationships with my cross-functional department representatives and involve myself much more deeply.
I applied this insight to the next project. I established a platform for joint discussion among cross-functional teams and held a series of workshops with various teams. My superiors were impressed with the efforts taken by my team and me.
This accomplishment paved the way for the development of the Centre of Competence to streamline our operations and this project facilitated me to get three new projects from Daimler AG, Germany, estimated at EUR 80M+ for the department which is my most significant professional achievement so far.
Cambridge MBA Essay 4: What did you learn from your most spectacular failure? (up to 200 words)
During college, I Co-Founded KVN industries, a supplier of ATV and Go-Karting tires, and manufacturer of transmission systems. We started to sell targeting mostly the participating teams at SAE BAJA India. Within 3-4 months, we received orders from eight participating institutions. We clocked in a revenue of close to USD 11,500 and were operationally profitable.
Given this short success, I ramped up our production. However, within a few months, our orders dried up as I failed to calculate the ramp down phase of the racing season. I was left with a stockpile of unsold inventory and experienced cash flow issues. To encounter the cash crunch and meet the vendor payment commitments, I had to sell this inventory at highly discounted prices. We took a significant financial hit and closed down the business.
The failure helped more in shaping my personality than if I had succeeded the first time. This allowed me to refine my understanding of the market, and competition. More importantly, I learned about how to always build redundancies in a business. This experienced humbled me to the core and made me realize that even when times are rosy, it is always advisable to be cautious and analyze the market.
Describe a situation where you had to work jointly with others to achieve a common goal. What did you learn from the experience? (up to 200 words)
I am passionate about social development activities. Leveraging my skill-set to help my community satisfies me to the core. During university, I volunteered for SURE India, an organization striving to ensure a clean and cost-effective alternative (‘Smokeless Chulhas’) to clay stove in the rural parts of India.
As part of the campaign team, I lead the promotional activities in 27 villages of Osmanabad district of Maharashtra. However, the lack of digital penetration in the rural areas, language barriers in understanding the viewpoints of the villagers, and hesitance to accept new technology made the overall promotional activities for the team difficult.
With the team of volunteers, we defined media channels for communication, setup channel distribution networks, and develop strategies for innovative door-to-door product demo campaigns. To tackle the dialect problems, we worked with the early adopters (women) and trained them for effective use of the product. These women acted as channels for the distribution network. We also design a demo-cart to attract attention on the streets of Osmanabad.
These efforts led to the formation of a group of women entrepreneurs. Working jointly with a team and the local community, we were able to positively impact the lives of 650+ households.
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