From Basketball to Mathematics to Finance and beyond
By Srinath Vedal
In 2009, when the whole world was down on its knees trying to deal with the worst banking crises and economic downturn since the "Great Depression", all I wanted to do was play basketball. Never did I ever imagine that almost a decade later, I would be working as a Senior Consultant Strategy & Transactions for Ernst & Young and helping client(s) in the Mergers & Acquisitions space. I saw a path but didn’t know where it would lead in the future. I tried to solve the puzzle by questioning myself and enhancing my skills and that is how I ended up here.
Plan A
Basketball: Since a young age, sports especially basketball has been an integral part of my life. While I never thought about playing organized basketball until grade 10, I enjoyed playing the game with friends and dunking (yes, I got skill 😉) the ball all the time. I represented my club (YMCA), City (Hyderabad) and state (Telangana/Andhra Pradesh) in various basketball tournaments and wanted to pursue it semi-professionally. The future of Indian Basketball was bleak and to take up basketball as a profession was hazy, hence plan B was essential.
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I continue to play the game for FUN!!
Plan B
Mathematics: Throughout my school years I enjoyed Mathematics, especially the challenges it offered. Time and again I found that solving a mathematical problem, regardless of how frustrating or difficult the challenge, was extremely satisfying. In math, comprehension of the methodology would eventually give way to discover simpler approaches to obtain the solution. With this love for math firmly in heart and mind, I decided to major in Mathematics in college and obtained a scholarship from the Government of India 😉. As I started to dwell into the mathematical space, I realized that these mathematical “Theorems” or “Theories” cannot be used in my daily life and had to look out for something that I was really fascinated about.
The financial world and the stock market always intrigued me (still does 😋). I thought about questions like “Why do stock prices keep fluctuating?” and “How does the failure of one bank collapse the economy of the nation”. Subjects like mathematical finance & modelling or microeconomics further fueled my fascination . In my final year, I worked on a project to analyze the volatility in the Indian stock market using mathematical methodologies. This project left me with a lot more puzzling questions than answers. This later pushed me to pursue my Masters in the field of Finance.
Moving to the US to pursue my master’s in finance (Fisher School of Business - The Ohio State University, was one of the best decisions I made in life. My goal was to enhance my finance knowledge and complete the program (36 credits) in a year. It is important as a graduate student to capitalize on the limitless opportunities that the university provides (e.g. networking, attending career fairs, attending OSU Football games) and eventually secure a job offer. It was a herculean task to manage everything but I was able to strike all aspects and become a better person.
What worked for me?
We are all part of the same storybook (Life), each of us with different chapters. We may not have the power to choose the plot, but we can choose what kind of character we want to be. Here are a few things that I learned through the process
Always question - I was never certain what I wanted in life (the future is still wide open), but I always look forward to enhancing my technical skills and getting better.
Network - Networking is the key for success. I was quite surprised to learn how open and receptive people are to networking. Here are 4 things that worked for me (had to learn the hard way)
Personal Network: Always try to grab the “Low hanging fruit” – Start expanding your circle within your personal network (e.g. Friends, Colleagues, Friends of Friends) before expanding to a wider audience.
Untapped Market: The power of LinkedIn is such that you can reach out to anyone within the network (even Mark Cuban !). However, you need to be confident and professional in your approach. I used to have customizable introductory write-ups for introduction and coffee chat requests
Follow up: Once you connect with people find ways to stay relevant within your network. I would share interesting articles, congratulate people on their accomplishments, request coffee chats, write recommendations, etc.
Time: Dedicate a couple of hours towards networking. I would spare 6-10 hours/week for it and in expanding my connections (especially during active job search)
Explore - Don’t be afraid to explore opportunities outside of your comfort zone. Think about aspects that excite you and pursue it in your spare time.
As a young lad, I was rewarded with “Gold Star” or “Chocolates” for solving mathematical problems but now the equation is slightly different; now I solve real-world problems for a living. My story is not ideal but I am able to pursue something that I always loved (Basketball & Solving problems). I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads to in the future. Not knowing what’s ahead is what inspires me to learn, question, and strive for greatness.
It is never easy telling a story but if anyone would like to connect with me, obtain more information on my journey, want to share similar experiences – hit me up on LinkedIn
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