Hey There
This is the place to know more about me! Here I am presenting an honest portrayal of myself, emphasizing my strengths and weaknesses. I have also highlighted the key elements that have shaped my journey along with two significant instances from my life where I experienced failure and success with a bunch of associated learnings.
All About Me
I was born & brought up in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. I am the third child of my parents and have two wonderful siblings. I completed my schooling in Bharatpur and have unforgettable memories from those days. I met many amazing people, including teachers, mentors, friends, and relatives, who certainly helped in shaping my life. I was naturally inclined towards all moving things and not just cars & trucks.
I was at the core of my passion for playing video games when I had to write my first board exams. At that time I did not grasp the significance of exam grades and their impact on all future endeavors. I managed to pass the exams & felt a sense of accomplishment. I come from a business family where the son is expected to carry forward his father’s legacy. Even though I had a deep respect for my father & the legacy he built, I also wanted to spread my wings & find a path of my own. I started to explore my passion for cars & video games which led me to explore the technology field. Inspired by my elder sister and excited by the technological advancements of the time, I decided to pursue a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology and completed the four-year undergrad program in 2012.
After my under graduation, I joined Tech Mahindra in Noida, India, where I worked as an associate for Bell Canada on the renowned ‘Project Broadway’ Network Team. This experience instilled in me a strong sense of teamwork and the ability to collaborate effectively. However, I soon realized that the monotonous nature of the job and the lack of opportunities for taking initiative & implementing ideas hindered my professional growth. Consequently, after just eight months, I made the courageous decision to explore new avenues.
I was reading the success stories of Mrs. Arundhati Bhattacharya who joined State Bank of India as a probationary officer and became the first female chairperson of the bank. Feeling motivated, I embarked on a journey of self-improvement and decided to prepare for competitive exams. I took the IBPS PO IV exam and attempted only 100 out of 200 questions, while others have attempted at least 160. I lost my hopes for the exam. When the results arrived, I was astonished to find my name on the very first list. This taught me the value of quality over quantity, as I scored 97 marks out of 100 questions attempted, with a remarkable accuracy of 97%. Succeeding at the written exam was just the beginning as it was followed by a rigorous personal interview process. I gained significant confidence when I was selected as a probationary officer for a leading public sector bank, a position secured by less than 2% of the applicants.
I joined Canara Bank, in 2015 and got the responsibility of managing the entire deposit section of a branch in Bangalore, India. My role involved enhancing demand and term deposits while ensuring robust remittance services and providing a high level of customer experience. During my time in Bangalore, I had the opportunity to work at different branches and acquire diverse skills to handle distinct but interconnected segments within the banking industry including Insurance, Investment and Technology Products.
In 2018, I moved to New Delhi and started working primarily in advances section. I was entrusted with the exclusive management of an advances portfolio worth approximately INR 18 Crores (USD 2.2 Million) at the Greater Kailash II Branch. I gained invaluable experience in the disbursement of retail & corporate loans comprising Term Loans & Working Capital Limits. The work experience refined my ability to manage credit risk through credit risk rating (CRR) & credit investigation report (CIR). Consistently recognized as a top performer in annual performance appraisals, I received an “Outstanding” rating for FY 2022-23 and was ultimately selected for the specialized role of “Relationship Manager”. In this capacity, I lead business exclusively from high net worth individuals (HNIs), managing a combined business of INR 52 Crores (USD 6.5 Million) at the Mahipalpur Branch of Canara Bank in Delhi.
Failure
I was fascinated by the emerging e-commerce industry and the two e-commerce giants, Amazon and Flipkart. I started planning to set up an online store where I could sell artistic articles or handicrafts. I worked on the concept, framework, and product line and eventually came up with establishing an Amazon online store called Factory-15. I purchased a domain for the same & created a website on Wix. After spending a few months and facing the challenges involved, I realized the problems with my store. Selling delicate products has a chance of getting damaged during transit and will result in a returned order. Non-Delicate products don’t face this issue but they face price and quality competence with other products. Most importantly I realized that these handicraft items are associated with different geographical locations and are easily available there to people roaming around as tourists. Very few people look for handicrafts at e-commerce stores. Brand establishment takes time and demands maintaining a good product line at an affordable price. Understanding all this I eventually wrapped up the whole thing within 6 months. I felt disappointed but learned a bunch of lessons from it.
Success
I had a long-established thought of setting up a place where young kids can start their first school while having a wonderful time at the same time. I thought of this place as a setup created like a fun place where kids would pine to be and simultaneously have a chance to acquire the most important life skills. Even though I strongly believed in the concept, I was not able to convert it into reality due to lack of funding. I started to look for ideas & figured out that I would need an investment to carry forward this concept. I decided to make a project report & then discussed it with my close friends. As I was not able to find one person as a whole who could invest, I brought 3 people together to invest. I instantly realized the “Power of Unity” we all have read about in schools. It took approximately 6 months to build the required infrastructure. We inaugurated the campus on the 10th of August 2022 and named it “Doodle”. In the first session (2022-23) of 7.5 months starting from 15/08/2022, we were able to cater to 7 students. We achieved break-even within 12 months with a total strength of 17 students in session 2023-24. With this project, I felt extremely elated as I was able to provide an exciting environment to kids and at the same time generated employment for 6 people with a scope of expansion in the future. As the complete project was planned, designed & developed by myself, I was able to learn a multitude of things. The challenges I faced in keeping the initial investment low, managing human resources, reaching out to people through events & marketing, and providing consistent experience to kids & their parents, enhanced my managing & leadership abilities to a great extent.
"Facing your fears is the most effective way to eradicate them and grow in life."
- Ankit Agrawal