Lalit Tiwari
My name is Lalit Tiwari and I hail from the devbhoomi of Uttarakhand. My association with Arvind sir and Pramod sir goes back several years, when I joined the Career Plan North India Campus Centre in Delhi. I was part of the first batch of MBA aspirants there. Being a small batch, we had a close relationship not only amongst the students, but also with our two mentors, the counselor Roohee Mam and Mahi, the office boy.
We spent a lot of time at the Centre during our CAT preparation, discussing and debating issues, pulling each other's legs and imbibing many important life skills without even realizing it. Such was the uniquely inspiring environment that was created for us there.
As I could not get a good MBA seat soon after CAT, I consulted my mentors and decided to join a job. Thanks to the soft skills I had acquired, I got into Wipro Spectramind and worked on their AOL project. After working for about 1 year, I got a call from IBS Gurgaon, converted it and did my 2 year residential MBA program there, with a marketing major.
I did well during my campus placement, getting placed with SBI Life in Dec 2006, and joined it in May 2007 as a Management Trainee in their Mumbai Corporate Office. I was chosen to be a part of the Strategic Team for Channel Planning, for both traditional and modern sales channels in Life Insurance. Got a chance to be a part of a special defence project for a year, which gave me a chance to travel across India and stay with our armed forces at various locations.
However, life always has its own plans! In Dec 2016 there was an unexpected development in my life and I had to leave my organisation. I was on a break for about a year (or as the euphemism goes, I was between jobs!). Then I decided to start something of my own and moved back from Mumbai to Delhi NCR. This move gave me the good fortune of getting associated with an NGO in Uttrakhand. It was working for livelihood sustainability for the local populations there. I also was in touch with Pramod Sir during this time to update him on this turn in my life. He was quite appreciative of my plunge into entrepreneurship, and encouraged me to forge ahead.
I set up a smart supply chain, and started procuring local organic produce in Uttarakhand, to sell it into the B2B market space. The product mix includes natural pulses, spices, monofloral honey, hand made soaps and handicrafts. My entrepreneurial journey is still nascent, having come along for about 2.5 years, and I am happy that I am living my life with passion and joy. I hope to give my venture a more solid footing in the coming years.
I also hope I shall continue to receive guidance and mentorship from the founders of The Winning Mantra (the new name of Career Plan North India) - Arvind Sir and Pramod Sir, in the years to come. I am sure that all the other youngsters that they have coached, guided and mentored over the years are doing well and scripting out their own inspiring life stories. Thanks you, Sirs!
