Learning to build

10XPeople.ai · Shiprocket · Gurugram · since Sept 2026

After a year in consulting, I wanted to work at a startup: somewhere with more ownership, where things move fast. I wanted speed. So I joined 10XPeople.ai, Shiprocket's agentic HRMS, in a generalist role: some sales, some marketing, a lot of figuring things out as I go. Let's see how it goes.

Zinnov, and the money years

Consultant · PE Software & AI Automation · Jun 2025 – Sept 2026

After Berkeley, joining a management consulting firm felt like settling. It turned out better than I feared. I met very supportive people, made good friends, and spent an interesting year learning PE, VC, agentic AI, startups, IT services, outsourcing and BPO, and the SaaSpocalypse.

I worked across buy-side M&A, an IPO industry report, PE software research, and customer success and client retention strategy for a SaaS product.

It was also when money took over my head. My grandfather's influence on me is huge, and his rules were simple: earn money, save money, invest money, don't spend money. I told myself I had to earn a certain amount by 25, or what was the point? I don't fully believe in that number, but ideally I would still want that kind of money. I wanted to be secure, to be the best at my job, and to give my kids the best education in the world. But my mind was constantly at war. How much money is enough? Should I seek inner peace or money? Can the two go together? And when I reach that number, won't the bar just go higher?

Feeling very small in California

Exchange, final semester · UC Berkeley · Spring 2025

I spent my final semester at Berkeley, and it was the best thing that has happened to me in years. Being in the Bay Area made me feel so, so small. In those five months I became a different person, and I came back knowing I want something larger out of life.

I studied development in sub-Saharan Africa, wrote a paper on alcohol taxation and price elasticity across Indian states, and finished with a 3.80 GPA. I'm keeping this one short on purpose, because I could talk about it all day.

Public health, from the inside

Clinton Health Access Initiative · Summer 2024

I interned with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and worked on two projects. First, I was seconded to the National Center for Vector Borne Diseases Control, where I was part of the monitoring team for mass drug administration against lymphatic filariasis.

Second, separately from NCVBDC, I built a cost-effectiveness model for a triple elimination pilot in West Bengal, covering HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B in pregnant women. It got me genuinely interested in public health.

Ashoka rewired me

BA (Hons) Economics · cum laude · class of 2025

I wanted to study law, then realised a five-year BA LLB was a long commitment and I wasn't sure I wanted to study that long. So I chose economics at Ashoka, and the place changed me fundamentally.

I learned how the world works, including the less fancy parts. Some classes felt like brain-welding sessions, especially before ChatGPT existed. Beyond the core economics (macro and micro theory, urban economics, food supply chains), some of the most remarkable courses were on social sector systems: healthcare, education and agriculture in India, and the policy around them. One, in my fourth semester, was built on case studies from industry experts, specifically Seema Bansal (ex-BCG Impact) and Shoykot Roy (Punjab Development Commission). It was a very impactful course.

I hadn't taken maths in Classes 11 and 12, so to qualify for the economics major I had to take a compulsory calculus course in my first semester. It was taught by Prof. Gaurav Bhatnagar, and he changed me. He was one of my earliest supporters. Remember how I never had a good mentor at school? He showed me how big a difference it makes when someone believes in you, or holds the belief that you are made for bigger things. If I listed the ten people or moments that shaped me most, he would be in the top five. I got an A- in his course, and he wrote to me afterwards: “You are someone special. I want you to know that and remember that.”

I had done some theatre at school, and I kept going. At the freshers' talent night in my first semester, I performed a monologue from The Bishop's Candlesticks, which is crazy. I don't think I have that level of confidence now.

I finished with a 3.61 GPA. My first few semesters were lonely. Then I made great friends, got a decent job, and graduated in three years, an option most of my batch didn't take. It was one hell of an experience, and I'd pay anything to go back.

Along the way: Head of Hospitality for Agneepath, research on mobile medical units in Uttarakhand, Dean's List in four of six semesters, and a summer at Metvy launching a fellowship.

Something changed

Classes 10, 11, 12 · Jaipuria School, Kanpur

I was really bad at academics until Class 9. Then something changed in how I approached them: I started liking what I was studying. I took political science, economics, history, geography and English, and wanted to become a lawyer, even though a major part of that was influenced by Suits. I did well in Class 12 and got 97.5%.

Then COVID came. We saw the number of deaths, and how state infrastructure was crumbling, not just in India but all around the world. We were very active: I was a founding member of Farz and worked with Aparaajit on relief, and I saw how fragile our health systems are. I also co-founded Wisebread, which ran financial literacy camps in villages.

Finding my voice

Middle school · debates · theatre · Jaipur Literature Festival

Things started changing when I got into debating and Indian politics, arguing about issues like mob lynching, agrarian distress and the Uniform Civil Code. I went to simulations of Indian legislative assemblies, took part in conferences and sessions in Lucknow, and won a few awards. I also did theatre at school, which was a lot of fun. All of it did wonders for my confidence. For the first time I saw myself as someone who was weak at academics but good at extracurriculars.

Then, in Class 9, my school took us to the Jaipur Literature Festival, and something in my head got rewired. I met Shashi Tharoor, whom I really admired, and got to ask him a question after his session with Rajdeep Sardesai. That was a huge boost. I was the happiest man on earth that night. I came back and went crazy about academics, in a good way.

Happy not to be last

Early school · Jaipuria School, Kanpur

Until about Class 8, my school life was remarkably unimpressive. I averaged 50 to 60% and sat in the bottom 20% of my class, and honestly I was just happy I wasn't last. I was never ashamed of my marks, even when the people around me thought I should be.

I always hung around smarter kids, which somehow made me feel I ought to be smarter too. What I never had was a good mentor.