The late-night show with TSA ft. Ashish Gokarnkar

TSA-Admin
13 min readJun 3, 2023

Question: So, Ashish, we’ll start with the first question. So, how about we start with how your life at KGP was? What were your expectations when you joined IIT KGP?

When I first arrived on campus, it was a very chill environment. As I’m from Mumbai, I found little difference in the atmosphere. The most important fact was the exposure to a variety of cultures. People from across the country were present, which I was initially unfamiliar with. This encouraged me to learn new things.

Talking about my expectation, it was to experience every aspect of campus by the time I graduate, whether it is in terms of career, politics, academics, or anything else. I have been driven to explore every field to achieve my goals. For example, in terms of career, I have studied finance, software, data science, and consulting, and finally chose the best.

On a soft note, regarding skills, I am keenly interested in KGP’s politics. Secondly, I am a very people-centric person. My day feels incomplete if I don’t speak to at least 5 people daily. KGP made me realize this aspect of my personality. Even though I may not be sure how I envision myself 10–15 years from now, I know my likes and dislikes now. It has provided me with a greater understanding of who I am as an individual.

Also, I’ve been asking myself a question for a very long time: what brings happiness in life? When I came to IIT, I thought, “Padhai likhai karenge, badhia marks laayenge, aa jayega usse happiness.” But then I got into IIT with a rank almost on the verge of not making it. I joined the Mining Department and successfully DepC’d into the Industrial Department. Then, I joined E-cell, which was the most hyped society at the time. I thought this would bring me happiness, but I did much work without feeling satisfied. After that, I thought it would bring me joy if I achieved something good in my career. So, I ventured into finance and consultancy as I am from a people-centric background. I scored an excellent internship and, later, an ideal placement. But that happiness lasted only for a day.

Slowly, I realized that all the experiences where I was able to make a difference in people’s lives were the ones that brought me true happiness. For example, I focused on creating a holistic environment for juniors in my hall: I’m from MMM, which was very naive in 2018 as we didn’t have a magnificent culture 5 years back. If you compare it with VS or MS, we were pathetic in 2018. But slowly and steadily, 5 years down the line, we have built enough credentials and potential that this year, we were able to fight with RP in the VP elections. Ergo, the crux of my KGP life is realizing what makes me happy is having opportunities for decision-making to impact people’s lives. “Valar Dohaeris”

Question: You mentioned that you tried everything in KGP and explored every domain. Your portfolio has been very diverse. So, how did you manage all of this in five years? It’s tough for people to manage two domains at the same time. How did you manage to pull it all off simultaneously?

It took a lot of sacrifice. I was very focused and private until the end of the 3rd year. I used to prioritize my career at all times. For this reason, I was ready to sacrifice a lot of my time to pursue those opportunities. This affected my friendships and relationships to a great extent. I did not have a vast circle of very close friends. That’s because you must adapt and evolve constantly to experience so many things.

Additionally, most of my actions were influenced by what I learned in E-cell and other experiences. They helped me score good internships. With those internships, I was able to secure better PORs on campus. Through those PORs, I could create a network with my juniors and seniors much faster, and they also gave me a lot of other opportunities. Hence, it was a virtuous cycle where “doing something good led to utilizing it in doing other good things.”

Question: So I see that you’ve been mentioning ECell a lot and how it influenced you and shaped you as a person, right? So were there other societies or clubs or anything, other involvements that you would like to tell us about?

I was very passionate about E-Cell, so I gave it my entire second year. If you look at my academics, I only went to the class to maintain a 9+ CGPA. Apart from that, I was genuinely devoted to E-Cell. I did apply for ScholsAve in my first year. But, the interview question bamboozled me, and I couldn’t answer it. But, I greatly respect DebSoc, B Club, and Quant Club. When I joined IIT, BClub and Quant Club weren’t that established. In 2018, B-Club was not that influential on campus, but looking at its progress now — B-Club, DebSoc, Quant Club, and 180 DC: I think these are hotspots that Juniors should try.

Question: So like, you told us that you got your department changed from Mining to Industrial and Systems Engineering. Were there any specific reasons behind picking Industrial as your major?

I have an extreme personal ambition to be the best in whatever I do. I realized that it was improbable with the peer group in my department. Say, if I’m into politics, I’d want to be the Prime Minister of India; if I’m into Finance, I’d like to be a Private Equity Analyst. Hence my decision to DepC was a do-or-die situation. To build my life, I had to get out of mining. In my first year, if I’m not in an E-Cell meeting or class, I would probably just study in my room. Suppose you consider it in that sense, it’s a do-or-die situation for me every time, and DepC was just the start. I realised if I put my mind to something, I could achieve it, considering the time.

Question: So we all know that you led the Inter-IIT tech contingent this year. Could you tell us about your experience, leading the contingent and winning the gold for IIT Kharagpur?

Let’s look at it from the administration point of view (the Contingent Captain and the Vice-Captains) and compare it with an operation of an MNC firm. An MNC firm will have a lot of brands. Consider HUL: it produces a lot of stuff. It makes soaps, it makes detergents, it makes talc, etc. Every product is like one of the problem statements. So if you look at it from a corporate point of view, the Captain is like the CEO, and the Vice-Captain is like a COO. This is the best experience that KGP offers if you want to check whether you are CEO material. That is, if you can manage the team, handle the power dynamics, and excel in departments where you might need to learn the slightest basics.

We have Soumyo here on the call: he was a part of the Drona team and was into hardware. I am not a hardware guy, but looking at their work inspired me. It is not rocket science if you put some time into it. To learn the basics, you must ask when you have yet to understand something. People will be ready to explain it to you, and then you can make decisions for them when they cannot do that for themselves. So being the Contingent Captain is very similar to a CEO position. And with that power comes a lot of responsibility as well. You cannot keep everyone happy. We must keep checks to ensure what’s best for the overall contingent. And you do it regardless of whether people like it. In InterIIT Tech, you must push people to give their best for extended periods. You have to constantly put in 10–12 hours per day, and if you’re in your 4th-year or 5th-year, you also have to push your juniors to put in 10–12 hours, which is excessive. Thus, being the Contingent Captain was all about managing people and decision-making.

Question: As you said, you spent most of your time in studies and Ecell and not really exploring the So-Cult side or even socializing. So, do how have any regrets?

I don’t think so, particularly. I am a man who does not like to carry regrets, and I knew what it would cost me. I knew I could not play a sport or do dramatics on campus, even though I liked them a lot. But you have to choose whatever you want on your plate very wisely. And it worked out very well for me, so I have no regrets. So, everything I decided has led to what I am and what my career would look like.

Question: So Ashish, here’s another question. What was the personal motivation to keep going and, you know, to keep achieving your goal each and every day throughout your stay of five years at KGP?

There have been 2 significant reasons:

  1. I have a strong personal ambition to be the best in what I do. That is, to be at the top in every field I venture into. For example, if I were doing politics, I would want to be the Prime Minister of India. If I were in finance, I would like to be a Private Equity Analyst. Or if I’m in Data, I want to work in Google’s DeepMind. Being the best at everything I do is my personal ambition, which stems from a movie I had seen in childhood. Have you read “Iliad and Odyssey”? It’s the story of Troy. I watched this movie, Troy, around when I was in 4th grade. There is a scene in which Achilles is on his way to a fight. And then a kid tells Achilles that person he’s going to fight is very strong and asks why he isn’t afraid. Then Achilles asks the boy if he would’ve gone to that fight if given the chance. The boy replies with a no. Achilles responds, “That is why no one will remember your name”. I have been mad enough to follow this till now. I often introspect at night to this dialogue, thinking that you’ll need to do something extraordinary to become extraordinary.
  2. Another is — I hate sitting idly. I have to be doing something or the other. 15 minutes before your call, I had nothing to do. Thereby, I created a set of 5 questions you’ll probably ask and framed answers for them :/

Thus, clubbing my ambition with my restlessness gives me a lot of time on my hands to create a legacy.

Question: Out of the five questions, how many questions did we match?

3 questions out of the 5. I have spoken to a lot of people so I can guess the common questions.

Question: So what were the two other questions? Would you like to answer them?

I would prefer to answer them after the interview ends.

Question: Yeah mentioned your work ethic and how you work a lot and cannot sit still. Wouldn’t that much work lead to burnouts and have you experienced burnouts?

I have. After my 3rd year in E-Cell, I was burned out because of the 2 sprint years I spent there. After cracking my Nomura internship, I only focused on academics in the 7th semester. Post Inter-IIT, I did nothing substantial in March apart from the elections in the 10th semester.

For me, therapy for burning out is reading a book or playing nostalgic computer games in solitude. For, e.g., my career at DC Advisory is starting in a week; hence currently, I’m reading a book on Mossad, the Israeli secret service, and their greatest missions.

Question: What books would you recommend for us to read?

7 Habits of Highly Efficient Teenagers’ is a good book. What makes 7 Habits of Highly Efficient Teenagers so exclusive is that it’s ‘mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.’ If you pick up any other self-help book, say ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’, every learning of this book can be extrapolated out of just one chapter of 7 Habits of Highly Efficient Teenagers.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ is a god-level classic literature. It makes you realize that true guilt is a deeply personal and inescapable punishment. The novel explores the psychological and moral consequences of committing a crime, shedding light on the complex interplay between personal responsibility, conscience, and the pursuit of justice.

These 2 books provided me with something unique.

Question: Having been a member of the E-Cell, what is your take on the entrepreneurial culture on the campus?

IIT Kharagpur’s entrepreneurial culture could have been better compared to the other top IITs. If you ask KGPians, which is their favorite IIT KGP startup, half of them won’t be able to name a single one. Many people don’t even know that one of Swiggy’s co-founders is our alumnus. People feel they can get opportunities through micro-specialization in EP or reading articles. Hence, there needs to be more awareness of entrepreneurship on campus. We organize events to create awareness, but we still are in the process of finding where the ignition factor lies. Our events show that non-KGPians are way more motivated than KGPians themselves.

Another factor that might be responsible is the remote location of the campus. One exciting thing I’ve observed is that IIT KGP contributes the highest amount of people to the Venture Capital and Private Equity sector. Most people don’t directly encounter Entrepreneurship during their stay at KGP. Still, as soon as they graduate, they take up Consulting or Investment Banking roles which are stepping stones for PE/VC. I thus feel we people want to deal more with Investments rather than starting our own.

Question: What were the things that you cherished throughout your years at KGP?

Can I actually cherish decisions and not time?

  1. I was puzzled about whether to continue E-Cell in my 3rd year because I had very different priorities back then. After introspecting and talking with some friends, I decided to continue. The returns on the risk were much more abnormal than I’d imagined :D
  2. To go for Inter-IIT Tech Captaincy. After placements, there was massive burnout, and whether to go for it or not was a tough call. I now look back to wonder how different life would have been had I not gone ahead. I genuinely wanted Kshitiz to become the Captain as he’d been the person to lead the campus. Eventually, it became even better, wherein we worked together to achieve the Gold. The people I met within a semester might be the closest to me. Some friendships just vibe and stick along forever. I’m very grateful to my junior self for not backing down when the opportunity came.
  3. Shifting from Consulting to Finance at the very last moment in placements. After introspection, I realized that even though Consulting is considered “flashy,” it would not make me as happy as Finance. I wanted to join Consulting to exit into Finance 2 years later. And when I learned about the work at DC Advisory through their presentation, I realized this is what I want to do! So why wait two years in consulting when I know I can start from Day1.

Question: What do you think makes a good leader?

Obviously, this has a more complex answer.

I attended a leadership conference in my 10 and 12th grade, where they taught us various types of leadership. E.g., If you look at Russia, it is a federal republic and also not one. It is a sovereign led by President Putin, a form of Commanding Leadership. Now take India, where all parliamentary executive members operate independently in their constituency. It is more of a collaborative leadership. Would you say Russia is better than India or vice-versa? No. Both are doing great on their own terms.

Similarly, it depends on which environment you are dealing with in the first place. For example, you cannot have collaborative leadership in E-Cell because there is a set hierarchy. Here we have commanding leadership, which is similar to Consulting and Finance. Whatever the MD or Partner says, the analyst does without much pushback. Because if he/she/they decline their request, it will lead to sub-optimal work performance in the firm. Now compare this to Inter-IIT. Many stakeholders are involved here; everybody relies on each other for everything. So here, you cannot have a commanding lead. Commanding is good when you have knowledge about the whole process. Collaboration is good when there is interdependence for the achievement of goals.

Ergo, I think the best quality of a leader would be to analyze what sort of environment they would be working with and then adapt to that environment to bring the best out of people.

Question: What is your stance on elections in KGP? Obviously, you know all the things that take place behind the scenes, so what are your thoughts regarding this?

I think KGP Elections very closely resemble National Elections on a smaller scale. Let me explain that through a few examples:

National : Political Parties :: KGP : Halls of Residence

National : GathBandhan :: KGP : Pact

PM Candidate : Whip of the Party :: VP Candidate : Shadow

Political Party : Leadership :: Hall : HP/SSM + Advisors

National : Campaigning : KGP : Hall Days

PM Candidate : Policy Suggestions :: VP Candidate: Proposals

PM Candidate : RoadShow/ Rally :: VP Candidate : Social Service

Everything is on a miniature scale in KGP, of course. The only thing remaining is banner printing to publicize, xD.

Apart from that, the main differentiating factor is that there is no incentive to keep a check on the VP’s tasks during their tenure. But for Indian Elections, if the PM does not work, he/she/they might be voted out of his/her/their office. Thus, there is an incentive to become a VP in KGP but no incentive to perform. Hence, the process (which everyone knows but refuses to acknowledge) exists where the candidate’s ego is shredded entirely so that they may serve the campus selflessly.

Question: What advice would you give to junior students who aspire to achieve similar success as you?

Don’t waste your time. Because time is money, time is your value. Time should be invested considering the return it will give you, the people who would be involved with you, and the future, personal self-ambitions that you have. For example, if I do not want to enter a non-tech domain. then being in E-Cell does not make sense.

Choose your decisions also considering what you want to do in the future and invest time in those decisions accordingly. For example, you get the most happiness by playing cricket. Then, boss, you are doing something wrong by pursuing IIT. You should play the sport via a national coaching sector. That is my philosophy; I know it would be very different for many people, but for me, it’s that.

Being in an IIT should mean something to you. IIT KGP should bring something unique to you. Hence, try to develop your personality with everything that IIT KGP exclusively has to offer.

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