People in India’s Sundarbans Tiger Reserve wear facial masks at the back of their head to fool the Bengal Tiger and live another day. A documentary on the National Geographic Channel several years ago shaped my thoughts on how meaningful impact could be created when human ingenuity meets real world problems. This experience transformed the way I looked at even simple challenges and brought to fore the innovative streak in me. Conceiving new products and processes by connecting seemingly disparate fields to make a positive difference has been a consistent theme of my career thus far.
In 2008, a tectonic shift in the mobile handset industry resulted in repeated product cancellations at Sony amid massive losses and several rounds of layoffs. By retracing some of the management decisions, I devised a new product management process called ‘Pro-Wheel’, which could lead to early discovery of fatal product missteps and reduce costs in large companies. ‘Pro-Wheel’ went on to be selected in the top 25 semi-final entries at the Wipro/Knowledge@Wharton Innovation Tournament – 2010. During my time at Sony, I authored more than eight patents in the fields of location based services, mobile gaming, near field communications and predictive analytics and won the ‘Sony Ericsson Best Invention of the Year’ award for 2010. One of my patents based on image processing has also found its way into the upcoming Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone to form the basis of a feature called ‘Info-Eye’.
With a persistent itch to realize my entrepreneurial ambition and inspired after a stint in the Silicon Valley, I relocated to India in 2011 and founded Infosource with a vision to build innovative products. The goal of introducing technology into classrooms in a distraction free manner motivated us to develop a self-morphing tablet device called ‘Kea’ that automatically converted itself into an entertainment or an education device. Attempts to commercialize the proposition in a technologically laid back market like India proved to be far more challenging. We would routinely get mischievous proposals from promoters of private schools who viewed our product as a means to circumvent regulatory safeguards and charge exorbitant tuition from students in the garb of digital learning. This situation was unacceptable. I was always clear that our value systems were non-negotiable and that our success should not be at the cost of a clear conscience. We decided to pivot our product proposition and our subsequent augmented reality products ‘ARivu’ and ‘Woofie Woof’ received accolades from multiple quarters including a slot in the Top 10 startups at UnPluggd Startup Conference (2012). This helped us raise our first round of angel investment. However, lack of product-market fit and our inability to raise further rounds of financing meant that my first tryst with building a high growth enterprise was all but over. So, while I may have fallen flat the first time, my core guiding philosophy of doing well by doing good continues to egg me on and seek the next disruptive idea.
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Today I got accepted into INSEAD for 2011 batch. Thanks to Sandip for his guidance during the admission process. BTW ..…I scored 650 on GMAT and wasn’t expecting even an interview call. I guess that’s history now.
James Moore, INSEAD
Your essay reviews were insightful and meaningful, but the extra interview preparation might have been decisive to get admitted to ISB. Excellent work, Thanks!
Rajesh Saxena, ISB
I couldn’t have come even closer to writing application essays like the one’s you have. Thanks a million for showcasing my uniqueness in the essays. You made my Harvard dream a reality!
Lisa Subramanium, Harvard
Thanks Sandip for all the help you provided. The essays are absolutely superb. Getting you as my mentor made a key difference. I will recommend your service to my friends in future.
Chen Li, Stanford
Thanks for making me think about every essay from the bottom up and giving me honest feedback. I wish I had taken your service last year. Through our brainstorming and those detailed evaluations, I was able to make a totally new set of essays.
Huan Wu, Harvard Business School
Thanks a bunch for showing me the way! I was confused with what to write in the essays and how to express my thinking. Your feedback on essays, interview and recos were really in-depth and well-thought. Cheers!
Jinghua Ma, Columbia
Sandip helped me to get into Wharton! His understanding of the school, strategic planning on my essays and editing were all superb, not to mention his dedication and passion in achieving the very best. I would not have achieved this without his help.
Richard Yang, Wharton
Sandip made a huge contribution to my chances with Stanford through his charismatic writing style, in-depth questions and extensive background knowledge of the schools. Quite a few of the factors that can help one to get admission are out of applicant’s control. Using his help was in my control and I believe that was the single most important decision I made in getting in.
Rajat Dutta, Stanford
The brainstorming sessions were really eye opening. It really helped me to focus on the few schools. I wrote and rewrote the INSEAD essays with your guidance and the final set of essays were masterpieces!
Dennis Parker, INSEAD
Sandip was fantastic to work with. He was incredibly responsive, and challenged me to deepen my thoughts about who I was and why I wanted an MBA degree. He met all of my expectations of what an MBA admissions consultant should offer. Thanks very much for the support, and I look forward to making the most of my MBA experience!
Stanley Wu, London Business School
Thanks a million! You made my dream come true. I was confused with the way to differentiate myself from the crowd. Discussing with you made it really simple. Thanks Again!
Suraj Dasika, Harvard
Without your midas touch, my Harvard dream would have remained only a dream. Brainstorming on the essay helped me to understand what HBS looks from candidates. The mock interview prep was pivotal in cracking the final interview. Many Thanks!
Jian Ma, Harvard Business School
With you, I could have never made to it. My essays were really influential and thought provoking. The personal touch in the essays to project my uniqueness really made all the difference.
Donghai Wang, London Business School
I wish I had taken your service last year. Your analysis on my weaknesses was thorough and I was able to cover some of those areas for this year’s ISB application. The essays were very well written. Thanks for all the help!
Bindra Ahuja, ISB