Always up for a challenge

Barely in their  20s, young achievers Shifa Garg, Madhav S Marda, Shikhar Rajendra Sethi and Pulkit Aggarwal have put the city on the map by beating top business schools from all over the world at a recently held event in Singapore. Students of IIM Bangalore, the foursome won the prestigious Asia Private Equity Investment Leveraged Buyout Case Challenge competition after a gruelling three rounds. Hosted by Singapore Management University and the New York School of Finance (NYSF),  the competition had 30 teams from across the globe fighting to finish on top.

But financial matters aside, we got down to business, and got them talking about their experience at Singapore, their interests, aspirations and a whole lot more.
“We’re actually really good friends and that’s one of the things that worked for us. Even while we’re working, we joke and share stories, so it instantly cuts down the stress,” begins Pulkit Aggarwal. A few days shy of 22, he’s the youngest of the group and reveals that he’s a bit of a cubing obsessive — an ‘extreme’ sport where players compete to solve a Rubik’s cube in the shortest time possible. “I actually can solve it in 30 seconds flat, but the world record is six seconds,” he says, adding jovially, “I had plans to beat the world record but it was taking up too much of my time. I would spend close to 12 hours a day trying to beat my own record. I finally decided to part ways with it and concentrate on academics until I had more time.”

Madhav, who has dipped his toe in the pool of entrepreneurship, saw the Singapore event as an opportunity to meet people and gain exposure. “We met people from universities in America and  France. It was nice to interact with them, hear about their stories and their approach to business,” says the young man, who is originally from Mumbai. For this gentleman, it’s names like Steve Jobs, Kishore Biyani and Elon Musk that he wants to model his career after. “I love what Musk is doing with his company. It’s admirable that he’s doing something about the environment while also using it to enhance his business,” he explains.

While social entrepreneurship is the watchword for Madhav, the only girl on the team, Shifa Garg is all about women’s empowerment. “I would love to do something for women, create more opportunities and equal rights,” reveals the intrepid traveller who has made her way across the country and parts of Europe. “I next plan on covering the North East of India,” she tells us.

A budding guitarist with huge goals, Shikhar used his Singapore outing as a learning experience. “We went into the competition not expecting much, but just putting our best foot forward. It was a great feeling beating all those other teams. We also learnt a lot and got a lot of exposure.” And what would he like to do after graduating? “I want to create a positive impact wherever I go. Make a difference, not just socially but also financially, and in every other way possible,” he says.
While the four are currently busy with exams, “We’ll be winning  awards and competitions. You’ll hear from us again,” he concludes.