Here’s how entrepreneur Anchal Taatya made it to IIM Ahmedabad

Anchal Taatya

Entrepreneur Anchal Taatya has ample experience in multiple fields. From nursing, finance, microfinance, nuclear power, teaching, FMCG business to running a superfood company Urban Thela, he’s done it all.

So what prompted him to pursue MBA? And how did he manage to convince the IIM Ahmedabad (IIM A) interview panel about his worthiness as a student of the prestigious institute?

Shiksha caught up with Anchal to share his journey to IIM A's PGP 2017-2019.

I did B-Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NITK Surathkal. From day one till graduation, I capitalized on opportunities as they emerged. While most undergraduate students did one or two internships; I did four, and in diverse fields like nursing, finance, microfinance and nuclear power.

I taught at Teach For India (TFI), and HCL Learning where realized that learning is a life long journey. This led to making, most unconventional choices.

Soon, I shifted from Mumbai to Mirzapur to set up a flour mill. Two years later I started Urban Thela, India’s first and only Superfood company.

Before Urban Thela, I had successfully set up and exited FMCG business (Flour Mill, 250 Tonnes per day) under the brand name ‘Golden Berry’. I am doing MBA, because till now, I was running business intuitively, but I realised this is what I want to do for the rest of my life and it makes sense to have a strong technical foundation in business management.

Yes. IIM Ahmedabad was my first choice but not the only choice. I was considering IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta as well. IIM A was my first choice because of three reasons:

• Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) is undoubtedly one of the best incubation house in the country. As a student, I have full access to it and can benefit from it as much as any entrepreneur who is incubating his start up at CIIE.
• IIM Ahmedabad is the best and the toughest in the country to get in. You can rest assured that you are brushing shoulders with the brightest, learning happens at both formal and informal level and you imbibe the most from your friends and colleagues. I am going to be friends with the most amazing people in the country for the rest of my life, what else one can ask for.
• Brand equity of IIM Ahmedabad is extremely high. If you are an alum or student you command instant recognition and respect from anyone across the globe. It opens up new doors of opportunities and decreases entry barrier substantially because as an alum or student your credibility increases because you are representing the spirit and values of IIM Ahmedabad.

I was always good at Mathematics so Quant wasn’t that much of an issue. I had slowly improved in Verbal section over the years by constant reading and writing as a hobby. I didn’t prepare too much for CAT per se. I practiced previous year papers and my strategy in exam was to just solve questions which I can do quickly, not to get stuck or take things on my ego.

I was invited for interview by all the IIMs. I gave interview of IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta, got final admission offer all three.

IIM C’s interview was the best one, I knew that I have cracked it instantly because as soon as the interview got over, everyone shook hands and smiles all around. There were two questions were I stumbled, ‘Why did Nitish Kumar win in Bihar election’? and ‘Why do I not want to become an IAS officer?’ 

IIM A’s interview was very ambivalent, I knew that I gave answers to all the questions to the best of my ability but interviewers wouldn’t give away anything, pleasant throughout. In IIM A’s interview, there was a lot of emphasis on ‘Why I want to do MBA?’ and IIM A respects clarity in your thought process in terms of what you want from your life.

IIM B’s interview was a bit rocky but I guess I sailed through, there was some hypothetical discussion around K12 education system in India and around the world, which didn’t seem to head anywhere concrete.

I can’t just give credit to Urban Thela experience. It has been a long journey for me and I am a product of all my experiences till now.

I can’t comment on anything from policy perspective but as a student on campus. I definitely feel that there is a constant emphasis to increase diversity and the quality of conversations with students is rich and varied.

Life at IIM A is absolutely ecstatic and hectic. There is always too much happening and one needs to know what they want from life otherwise it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

I am pursuing the 2 year PGP programme 2017-2019.

Be honest and genuine in your interviews. Do introspection and try to understand what you really want from life.

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