MBA LiveWire

29Yo ORM
8 YOE in Finance
4 years Big 4 M&A - Investment Banking (Closed 6 deals)
4 years at domestic venture debt fund, last 15 months led my own team of 5 people and managed a $40 million portfolio (primarily in healthcare investments)
Part time CFO/operator advisor role for last 18 months for a consumer startup, helped raised seed funding of $120,000 and scaled monthly revenue 6x during this period
Founder Investor of an angel fund with 3 others since the last 3 years, managing AUM of $50,000 of combined personal capital into domestic impact-focused ventures

Background:
U.S. diplomat with 10 years experience across Latin America, Asia, and Eurasia, currently posted in Moscow. Career focused on crisis response, policy analysis, stakeholder coordination, and public-facing engagement in complex political and diverse social environments. Have led interagency initiatives, advised senior leadership (ambassadors, U.S. congresspeople, foreign supreme court justices) and managed high-stakes issues involving reputational risk, public trust, and institutional decision-making.

Academics:
Undergraduate GPA: 3.2.
Graduate GPA: 3.7, including strong performance in graduate-level quantitative coursework.
GRE: 319 (169V 150Q) - planning to retake and update on Feb 21 - anticipating a quant increase to 155-158

Career Goals:
Short term: transition into brand or experiential strategy roles (agency or in-house) with exposure to senior brand leadership, partnerships, and investment decisions, particularly within marketing, media, and consumer-facing organizations.
Long term: build a boutique strategy firm focused on helping brands engage LGBTQ+ audiences in durable, values-driven ways that hold up under political and cultural pressure.

Why MBA / Why Now:
Seeking formal business training to complement public-sector leadership experience, gain analytical and financial grounding, and credibly pivot into strategy-facing commercial roles. Interested in programs that combine rigorous general management training with proximity to marketing, media, and cultural ecosystems, particularly in NYC.

Target Schools:
CBS, Kellogg, Yale, Stern, LBS (in that order)

Demographics / Other:
37, Public-sector background, extensive international experience, LGBTQ+.
Post-MBA location preference: NYC.

I applied to HSW in the previous admissions cycle and was rejected without an interview. I plan to reapply next year to the same schools, along with the additional M7/T15 programs listed above.

My work experience includes employment at a Tier 2/3 technology consulting firm in Canada. I currently have five years of experience with two promotions and will have six years by the time of matriculation. My background includes leading global teams on B2B2C initiatives, with end-to-end responsibility for implementation and delivery. Post-MBA, I aim to pivot into either MBB consulting or a product management role at a large technology firm.

Academically, I completed an associate-level diploma at a Canadian college (CGPA: 3.8/4.0) before transferring to a university to earn a BSc in Computer Science (CGPA: 3.6/4.0), while working full time throughout my studies.

My extracurricular involvement includes participation in firm-wide mentorship programs, serving as an onboarding buddy, supporting campus recruitment initiatives, and extensive engagement during college (e.g., Peer Mentor, Learning Assistant).

My GMAT score appears to have plateaued, though I am willing to make another attempt before the next application round. Demographically, I am an Indian-origin male with Canadian citizenship.

Any tips on how to stand out at selected schools since I do have almost a year to prep for the applications?

This is a follow up to Wire Taps 221. I was featured on the Podcast 3 years ago when i was 22. Would love to be featured again if i am allowed to be greedy :). Your insights were really helpful the last time

I have been working as a co-founder and CMO, in a D2C luxury tableware company in India. We have grown from about 20k USD in Sales, when i first joined, to about 1.5 Million USD now.

Being in the luxury industry, i realized we could never have spectacular year on year growth, so i started a clothing brand as a solo founder in August 2024. But we are close to shutting down because of unit economics issues and lack of growth.

The more i read about industry stalwarts, i realized i have been getting basic business fundamentals like market sizing wrong and maybe a MBA would 'polish' me more in these aspects.

I had a question about school selection as i understand my profile is very untraditional in MBA circles. What would be a natural fit in terms of 'school hierachy'. I was thinking:

Reach
Harvard
Wharton

Fit
Kellogg
Columbia

"Safety"
Yale SOM
NYU Stern
Tuck

Does this sound about right? For additional information, i have been seeing quite a few admits in the M7 from my undergrad university. I also have done all 3 levels of the CFA. Great extracurriculars during college.

For recommendations, i was thinking of the CEOs of the suppliers for our products, as they are fairly big companies.

Sorry if this was a big post. Just wanted to provide you with all relevant information and give you updates from last time. Cheers!