Vivek Pahwa
Class of 2006


 

Tell us a little about your family background/ history. How has it influenced you?
I was born in and spent my life through school in Delhi. My parents have both been entrepreneurial and this has definitely influenced me a lot in my own entrepreneurial journey. My dad has an intensity and drive for business which is very admirable. My mother influenced me to have a more balanced view towards life. My brother was a good social role model. I was fortunate enough to travel quite a bit growing up, and that helped broaden my perspective. 
 

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects).
I have been fortunate to have some success in the entrepreneurial ventures I've undertaken in the years after my MBA. I've sold two companies and founded 2 other successful businesses, and I'm proud of these achievements but the desire to do bigger and better things is very much alive. I have peers who have also done exceedingly well, and that's a good motivating factor as well. In 2008, I was awarded Businessweek Asia's best young entrepreneur in an online poll.

Tell us about your profile prior to attending ISB and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
I studied mechanical engineering and was working in the family business which is in the tech manufacturing space before ISB and learned a lot from an excellent company.
Post ISB, I founded and sold Desimartini.com, a social website, and Gaadi.com an auto site for buying and selling new and used cars.
I also started secondshaadi.com, a site where people can get a second chance at marriage, and co-founded Adlift, one of India's leading digital marketing services companies. Both these businesses continue to grow well.

How do you think your time at ISB has contributed to your career and personal growth?
ISB helped me pick up skills I use on a regular basis in running my company, especially around finance and strategy.
It also made me a more rounded person and the influence of people who studied with me at ISB has been tremendous.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
I love what I do. Apart from the stressors of running a start up, it sometimes doesn't feel like work. I love the fast paced dynamic aspect of it, and how a new company can cause so much disruption in such a short time.

Briefly describe a typical day at work, in a way that illuminates the kind of challenges and opportunities your role involves.
Every day is different. There's no typical day. That's a challenge in the beginning, but I'd have it no other way. The amount of learning that comes through that sort of work is tremendous. Be it hiring or looking into operations, or working with the product team, or managing the content team, I like to get involved in everything that is going on.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Are there any trends that you can identify?
Our new startup, priceraja.com, helps people find the best prices and deals for shopping online and is looking promising. It also let's you compare products and aggregates items from all online stores so you can browse and search on one site.
Apart from online b2c commerce, b2b commerce seems poised to take off, which could be bigger in value. In addition, android is the biggest trend these days, with 200 million android users in a few years in India, that's a huge market to be able to target, much bigger than the wired internet market.

What was the main highlight or most memorable aspect of your programme at the ISB?
The professors, my friends and the rec center. The professors were inspiring and I had a great time at ISB with my friends and also playing squash :)

If you could offer a word of advice to the current class at ISB, what would it be?
Be as clear as possible about your goals post ISB. Not everyone needs to be a Dean’s Lister; there is a lot of value in learning well. In addition, more important is to learn how to learn well and keep learning post ISB as well. Daily learnings over an extended period can translate into something special.

How do you feel you can contribute to ISB?
By being the best I can be personally and professionally. The alums reflect the brand and I urge all alums to do the same. We have a responsibility for ourselves to keep the brand at high standards.