Jobaaj Stories
Welcome to Jobaaj Stories, where we share inspiring stories of individuals who have pursued their dreams and achieved success in their chosen careers.
In today’s segment of the financial fables, bring to you the story of India’s one of the youngest CA and CFA Pranav Thakkar.
Hello all,
I am Pranav Thakkar, a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst by profession and this is my story!
Growing up, I was never the brightest student in my class, but I was always a multi-tasker who did many things at once. Unfortunately, this meant that I used to get distracted a lot and wasn't able to focus on anything for too long. However, as I grew older, I found that being a multi-tasker with direction was an advantage.
As a young adult, I was very unclear about what I wanted to do with my life. Most of my early decisions were based on a process of elimination. I knew I wasn't interested in science, so I decided to study commerce instead. It wasn't until I entered junior college that I realised my true potential.
I joined NM College and discovered that CA was one of the finest courses to pursue. Despite not knowing what it entailed, I was determined to complete it.
I started studying CA and was fortunate to clear the foundation exam and the intermediate exam in the first go
Discovering Passion For Finance And Multitasking
While I was doing this, I came across CFA and went on to go deep to understand the curriculum and course material. I was really fascinated by it. That was my interaction with the world of finance and business.
I got inclined and simultaneously pursued CFA in the year 2017.
I was doing my articleship (mandatory for CA) and CFA and also studying for CA final exams.
The art of multitasking came really handy for me.
People generally misconstrue multitasking and consider it as lack of focus. However I believe multitasking is not managing multiple things in the same minute or hour but to pursue multiple goals over a period of time with focused effort.
For example, you spend 1 hour on a new skill for the next 30 days and pick up a new skill every month.
In the next 6 months, you will have 6 skills and you are now spending time on all of them but with utmost focus and precision.
Skills once formed part of habit and routine are irreplaceable and become easier to continue for the lifetime.
Professional Life
In my professional life, I started my stock market journey at 19 and launched my first business venture at that age. With an entrepreneurial mindset, I'm always up for learning and experimenting.
I'm passionate about educating people on investments and spreading financial awareness by conducting workshops in colleges, corporates, and management institutes across India. I've completed over 50 sessions and workshops and have mentored and spoken to over 3,500 students in the last two years.
I've also worked as a Vice President in a Global Management Consultancy firm - Alvarez and Marsal. I primarily consult businesses on profit improvement ideas and work with VC and Private Equity firms for their commercial diligence engagements.
Presently, I help non-MBA students to get into management consulting by upskilling them. The link for my course is mentioned at the end!
Overview Of Roles And Responsibilities
I started as an intern at Alvarez and Marsal and that was my biggest learning and one of the best decisions of my life. I had cleared CA and CFA in 2019, even after that I decided to intern for 3 months at Alvarez and Marsal. When you have short sightedness, you end up comparing what your friends are doing, what money they are making etc etc.
I have realised it's very crucial to get into the right profile early on in your career in a boutique company than to get into a large brand but a wrong profile.
From joining as an intern to ending up as a vice president, it's been quite an eventual journey for me.
My role as a management consultant is two folds.
1. Private Equity Consulting (Commercial due diligence) - Helped private equity firms evaluate potential investment opportunities for them.
2. Strategy and turnaround consulting - Help corporates strategize the launch of new products, new business areas, new geographies as well as help them assess and evaluate potential areas of improvement.
Learning From Failures And Picking Up New Skills
My career has been quite eventful and I am nothing but grateful. I was fortunate to fail in a business venture early on at the age of 19 years itself just to realise that it takes a lot more understanding and experience to build things. It was a good learning experience.
Failures are the best teachers if you are willing to learn from them. I picked up different skill sets early on in my career which helped my personal growth as well as kept me motivated because one of the six things I did had to work out on any given day. That level of happiness and optimism was enough for me to work harder the next day.
People generally fail and then stop trying altogether. Efforts dry up if you don't see quick success. Today's generation has a very short attention span and all of us need things very quickly.
That's where doing multiple things over a period of time has helped me to scale and stay consistent.
I started writing on LinkedIn as a leisure activity so that I could read more and develop a habit of reading. Today, I write professionally for 15+ clients with a team of 5-7 writers..
My first lecture came at the age of 18 years where I was addressing a batch of 40 aspiring CAs (I was not even a CA back then) about finance and derivatives options. Last month, I completed my 50th presence on stage (including webinar and seminar) and have contributed to more than 4000 students by mentoring them in some shape and form.
Limited takeaway is that don't be shy to start something. Don't wait to learn everything to start something. You need 50 percent knowledge and 50 percent willingness to learn and you can start anything you want.
If you wait to learn everything before you get going, you will be late in the journey. Life is full of experiential learning. You might fail but that's okay, it's learning again.
Roadmap For Freshers, A Bit Of Advice!
As a college student or as a fresher, key skills to be learnt if you want to make it big in the financial world in my experience are the following.
1. Be very good at excel and financial modelling
2. Start participating in public speaking events , college fests, take leadership roles etc. It is always about how you carry yourself and articulate your points in a public setup - that's how you make your mark in a group setting. Communication is the key.
3. Improve upon your research skills - for that read a lot. Browse through websites, keep up-to-date about current affairs. It's not important how much you know and remember but it's important how fast you can find that information on the internet. Hence, If you have read it once, you know where to locate the piece of information again, if need be. Keep browsing.
These three things should help kickstart your career in any domain and are a must for a career in consulting or IB.
What’s Next?
I think I have just started. It seems like a long journey to the people on the outside, but I feel there's a long way to go. I am really focused on building things now personally and professionally.
I want to write a book very soon. I am planning to launch a course (investing heavily into the edtech space now - let's see if I can build something there). I have already launched a career workshop for students who want to make it big in consulting. I am also investing alot in building and creating educational content on LinkedIn for the students to follow. Trying to make that big as well.
So lots of plans and aspirations. It's time now to put some of these things in action and execution.
I am also moving to London in the month of April for an opportunity there. So I am looking forward to exploring and experiencing new things in London in the new job. It's the same strategy consulting profile but in a different organisation.
Impact On Aspiring CA Professionals
I think the way people look at chartered accountants has changed over the last 5 years. I won't say I did it but I can proudly say that I have contributed significantly to this change in perspective. By merely choosing a field which was only reserved for MBAs.
By choosing to do CFA along with CA and helping people understand the common synergies and how they can leverage. By making a career in consulting and now exploring global opportunities. By growing from a salary of 10k per month in 2016 to a salary of 1 crore per year in 2023.
Some of these achievements have helped a lot of CA students who want to make it big. Also, there are associations like CA Monk and Vision CA which are mentoring platforms for aspiring chartered accountants. I am glad that I am part of the mentoring group at Vision CA as well as CA monk.
A message to all the professionals is very simple - try taking the path less travelled, it's often the path that gives you more experiences and learnings. All the best
If you are looking to kickstart your career in management consulting without an MBA, I am here to help. I am conducting a workshop to break the barriers to entry for Non MBA professionals and make a career in strategy and management consulting open for all.
Register here - https://forms.gle/ugah1AzhTZauJvoB9
Looking forward to see you on the other side.
Cheers,
CA Pranav Thakkar, CFA
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