At any point of time there seemed to be at least a couple of fests each with its range of events happening. So, one of the first decisions we made was to concentrate only on the marketing events and build up our proficiencies in that area. Realizing the time and effort needed, we also deprioritised other activities in favour of b-plans and spent long hours on back end research to supplement our presentations. We also constantly challenged ourselves to not only be the best but also the most unique and looking back, some of the ideas and campaigns we came up with were pretty remarkable indeed (or so we were told and yes we are blowing our trumpets here)
The first fest we went to was the entrepreneurship fest organized by IIM B called ‘Eximius’ and it was dramatic and memorable. Firstly the fest was during our mid-terms and we did not know until the night before if we were going to attend the fest or give our exams. We reached Bangalore on the day of the fest woefully under-prepared wherein we bumped into our alum Ankur Warikoo. Given our sleep deprived state we naturally failed to identify him and we (read Rajesh Pantina) proceeded to ask him as to where he works and the purpose of his visit to IIM B (there were posters everywhere announcing Ankur as the keynote speaker). We also won our first event, were finalists in five others including two on the spot literary events and met some really wonderful people. Following IIM B, we made it to the finals of IIM A, NITIE, NMIMS, MDI, ISB etc. some of which we were able to convert to victories whereas some others remained elusive.
There were a lot of learnings from the fests – clichéd perhaps but undoubtedly true. Hard work does pay off. It’s not losing, its character building (at least that’s what we told ourselves). Time management is a skill that one must master. Brevity is the key. Don’t restate what’s on the presentation. Weave a cohesive story and always present financials. Your b-plan is not as fool proof and awesome as you think it is. But perhaps the most telling of the learnings was that there is no better campus than ISB – period!
It’s really been wonderful, going to various fests and representing ISB. What began as a resume building exercise has now turned into an exciting activity which we are passionate about. We want to keep participating (and hopefully winning) in these fests in the future but honestly none of this would have been possible without the help of some of the brilliant people we met here (again clichéd but true) and we really are extremely grateful to you folks. Thanks you!
Warm RegardsBatmen
Batmen