Sometimes a career path does not align with the initial plan. Something similar happened to Arnav Gatge, but he did not give up and decided to start his own business. Initially, he planned to enroll in one of the leading business schools, perhaps work in venture capital or private equity, following the traditional path in the business world. However, all the doors he tried to open turned out to be closed.
In a LinkedIn post, he stated that he was rejected by all top MBA colleges to which he applied. His attempts to find a job in IIMs were also unsuccessful; he only managed to pass an interview in one case. When applying to the Indian School of Business (ISB) twice, as well as to the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University, he did not receive an interview invitation. His efforts to enter the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) sectors also failed. Some people pointed to a lack of his technical knowledge and hinted that he talked too beautifully.
However, Gatge did not agree with these remarks. He noted that for some reason, he did not pay attention to these opinions and did not believe them because he believed in himself and felt capable of more. Instead of submitting another application, he decided to email Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, who created the company and the institution supporting some of the world's most famous startups.
The response to his email completely changed the trajectory of his career. After a series of rejections, he took a step that changed his professional course. Paul Graham replied with just four words: 'Just start your own company.' Arnav took this advice seriously and decided to create his own business. Today, he leads Fortimus, a company that develops workflow applications for the monday.com platform. According to Arnav, his company has over 200 clients in seven countries.
When Every Answer Was 'No'
Academically, Gatge holds a degree in Global World from the University of Michigan in Pune, where his studies, according to his LinkedIn profile, took place between 2017 and 2021. His professional profile also lists experience at MiniOrange. Like many young professionals striving to advance their careers, he considered master's programs and opportunities in the investment industry, but the results did not meet his expectations.
Arnav claims that Fortimus now serves over 200 clients in seven different countries. Among these clients are both small businesses and large corporations. He emphasizes that the company has managed to grow its business while remaining profitable with limited resources. The company also provides a range of applications on the monday.com Marketplace, including tools for synchronizing information across different boards and integration with Google Drive.
For Arnav, company success is not limited to the number of clients or revenue. He also considers it important that old clients are satisfied with his work and recommend his services to others.
In a LinkedIn post, Arnav compared Fortimus to the MBA he could not obtain from college. He stated that looking back, he would choose his decision again. His story demonstrates that receiving career rejections does not mean that the paths forward are exhausted. Sometimes you have to forge your own path when the long-awaited opportunity does not come.
