Bijaei Jayarajan – Founding Class

Tell us a little bit about your life before the ISB.
It was a period of intense and continuous learning – not just in academics or management, but general tough human interaction, continuous opportunity creation & realisation.

What made you decide to do a management programme? And what were your reasons for selecting the ISB?
I decided to do a management programme because I though it would be useful, almost essential, to go through a formal business education programme to advance my corporate career on a fast track. Why ISB? Sheer passion to take part in the creation of a grand and respected b-school in India and also the illustrious Board of the ISB.

How was the learning experience at the ISB and from your career?
The learning experience at the ISB was more conceptual in nature. I didn’t really slog it much, as I should have, and so ended up listening more, rather than getting lost in the details of reading 200 pages a day. Given that I was listening and picking up concepts mostly (with little CP, phew!), I could identify and translate some of the learning when I reached the real corporate world post ISB. Hence, the post ISB career was the real testing and learning of the concepts I learned at the school.

What were some of the challenges you faced, both at the ISB and later in your career?
At the ISB, I came in with little preparation and so struggled to compete with all those engineers who could do multiple quadratic equations in their head. The much needed boot camp to help the less-quantitatively inclined folks was missing during our time. Post ISB, I joined a company which did not have a history of hiring management trainees from premiere b-schools, and so, given our relatively senior level of entry, there was an organisation-wide antipathy towards the ‘new ISB recruits’. It took a year to iron this out and get properly accepted.
 

How do you think the ISB has contributed to your career growth as an entrepreneur?
It probably did not contribute directly. Given that I went to the Founding Class, the entrepreneurial gene was already there. But the ISB gave me the opportunity to grow relatively faster in the corporate world, pick up and learn business models in real world faster, and gave me the courage to take the leap. ISB also helped me get a network of very close and valuable friends who are extremely good and were willing to take time out and play a pivotal role in helping me when I was starting up, and they continue to help even now.

How did the one year programme at the ISB benefit your professional and personal life?
The one year programme was one year less, so the pain lasted for a shorter time and I could get out there faster.

What is your word of advice to our students who are thinking about setting up start-ups, who are at the initial stages of their entrepreneurial ventures?
Firstly, have no fear – absolutely no fear. If you have even an iota of fear, don’t start-up. Start-ups are very dynamic. Often things don’t go as you plan. Be extremely flexible and keep innovating and evolving. Get people who are much smarter than you to work with you, to be around you all the time. If you can’t get them to work with you, then get them to advice you. Hire people who can deliver the task, not people you like. Finally, have unbridled passion for what you are doing, not where you are going. It’s not about the billion dollar valuation you are chasing, but about the tasks for today, and the wins you get today, and the highs they give you.

Are there any hobbies or interests outside of work that you are passionate about?
I used to read, but not much since the start-up. You give up a lot of things, and hobbies will be one of them. There really is no time!

What was your experience with the faculty and your peer group at the ISB?
Most of the faculty was really nice and top class. They had an approach of wanting to teach good stuff and wanting to leave behind decent quality understanding, not just teaching models by rote. My peer group was outstanding, non-comparable, dynamic, etc.