Rohan Kamat of the 2011 Batch Reveals How a Coveted On-campus Placement at Goa Institute of Management Laid the Foundation for His Own Enterprise
Online, June 4, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Rohan Kamat had decided pretty early in life to be an entrepreneur. Yet, interestingly, it was only when he cracked his first job in an on-campus placement at GIM that he actually garnered the necessary self-confidence. A graduate of the 2011 batch of Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Rohan still remembers the day of his placement as a Senior Analyst with VKS UBS, as a memorable day in his life. VKS is a subsidiary company of UBS, which is the biggest bank in Switzerland and the world's largest manager of private wealth assets. Amongst Finance majors, it is widely regarded as one of the best job profiles. "After the interviews were complete," Rohan says, "there was an announcement of the names of selected candidates. I was elated to hear my name in the list."
For somebody from a core Engineering background, Rohan had to work to find his feet in Finance: "As a Mechanical Engineer, I did not have any background or even the basic knowledge of Finance or Marketing. I just went to GIM with the belief that a Masters in Business Administration would better equip me to make the right decisions and run a business effectively and efficiently; and so far, it has."
On passing out of GIM, Rohan worked at VKS UBS for just about 9 months, before he took up a 'business proposal' by his father. "My father is a Director in a construction company. I did have an inclination toward the sector, but while majoring in Finance at GIM, I started understanding that increasing urbanization and increased disposable incomes of households are conditions that were bound to map the growth trajectory of the construction industry ‒ not to mention the increasingly lengthier housing loan payment periods. So 9 months into my job as a Financial Analyst at VKS UBS, my father felt it was about time I return home to start something of our own. It was hard for me leave behind a job that I liked, the friendships I had developed in VKS UBS, and the feeling of self-reliance; but, it had to be done."
Thus was born Kamat Realty, with the father-son duo as partners. In a short span of 1.5 years, the firm is competing in the industry for end-to-end execution of projects in real estate, commercial and industrial complexes, residential apartments, and villas. Rohan Kamat finds it exciting to observe, how, on a daily basis, the Company takes shape. It is quite exciting for him to know that the decision to change his Company's course is pretty much in his hands. "In any industry, technical knowledge of the product/ service, cash flow management and quality control are of paramount importance," he says. "I have been able to leverage my father's 34 years of experience in the Real Estate industry to gain the technical know-how and quality standards necessary for good quality construction. In the firm, I see my role more as a Quality Control Manager, Finance Manager, an Engineer - to handle the technical aspects - as well as a Sales Manager."
Quite a number of hats on a head so young, one might say. Rohan's prompt response is that he has been groomed well for multi-tasking at Goa Institute of Management: "GIM has an Entrepreneurship Cell of its own that conducts extensive webinars, seminars and workshops on start-ups and also gives opportunities to work on live projects. The environment, fellow students, the qualified faculty members and your hard work finally help define you. Ultimately, it's the learning and experience that you take away from the course that makes you a better manager. At GIM, the philosophies or credo are not just words on the website, but are guidelines for decisions that ultimately shape the culture of the institute and, in turn, define its students."
Deeply attached to Goa Institute of Management, Rohan usually makes it a point of being at his alma mater for all major functions. "Last I visited GIM was for the Grand Alumni Meet that's held annually," he tells us. "For me, the old Ribandar Campus will always be home."
