Finfluencer gave up on IIM-B dream 3 yrs ago, walks into the same college as guest speaker

Sharan Hegde gave up on his IIM dream three years ago. He failed to get admission to the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore despite achieving a CAT score of 98 percentile. He eventually dropped out of his study in the United States out of dissatisfaction to dabble in content creation, a career path that would lead to success for him.

Hegde is currently one of the nation's most well-known financial influencers, having amassed more than 2 million followers on Instagram alone. And just a few days ago, he was finally accepted into IIM-Bangalore as a guest speaker rather than a student.

Hegde shared details of his amazing journey of facing rejection from the dream college to going back there as a guest speaker in social media posts on Friday.

In an Instagram post, he wrote, “98% in CAT. No entry, better luck next time you GEM. 3.3 Mn followers. Guest speaker to 100+ women entrepreneurs at IIMB,” he wrote in an Instagram post.”

“3 years ago, I gave up on IIM, and now I am at IIM. As I stood on the stage with the mic in my sweaty palms, I had a big smile on my face. Why? Because until a year back, I thought my preparation for CAT was a waste of time,” Sharan added.

Hegde, who currently has 1.3 million YouTube subscribers and 2 million Twitter followers, spoke candidly about his "tough journey."

He claimed that he gave up on IIM three years ago. He put a lot of effort into his studies, balanced an internship, and lived on Rs 5,000 a month, but he was unable to achieve the required scores to be admitted to his top three choices, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Ahmedabad, or IIM-Calcutta.

“I dropped out of that as well and eventually ended up giving a goddamn talk at the place where I wanted to go in the first place- IIMB. I smile because life has come full circle,” he further added.

Sharan ended his post with a motivational saying, “Whatever happens, happens for good. You just need to know how to see it from a different perspective and make the best out of it. It’s your turn now. Let your hard work shine.”

The Instagram post has received over 2.7 lakh likes and a flurry of comments from netizens since it was shared three days ago.