Satbir Sandhu

Studying MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management (IEM)

Why did you choose to study MSc IEM and why specifically at Imperial College Business School
I have always been very entrepreneurial and I always knew that I would work for myself at some stage – I chose to work for consultancies as I gained a broad exposure to different businesses as well as developing a strong network. I chose Imperial College Business School and the IEM programme in particular because I felt would have many like-minded people that I would be able to learn from and also collaborate with. Imperial College also emphasises entrepreneurship with a great support network for start-ups and ideas within the College that makes it a great incubator for those who eventually want to start their own businesses.

What was the most important learning point you took with you from the Business School?
The importance of collaboration – there are thousands of great ideas but in order to execute them successfully what it takes is someone that is able to work with others in order collaborate and launch the business.

What was the most surprising thing about the programme?

The amount of support that was available from the faculty for any ideas that we had – the faculty continues to go out of their way to help with businesses even now that I am an alumnus.

How do you view your experience of studying at Imperial since you left?

I feel that it has been a great enabler for me – I have started several businesses with fellow classmates and I have great friendships too. Furthermore, I am still able to go back to the faculty at the Business School for advice when I need it. Overall, I would say that I learnt a great deal of skills that I was then able to refine further when working after graduation, these skills have been vital in my running my own business.

Career & professional development

How has your programme contributed to your career success?

I had an entrepreneurial mindset when I worked in consulting and this led me to excel in bringing new ideas to clients. This mind set also allowed me to quickly understand how I could start my own consulting business – this has been critical as I have been able to set up my own business within a few years of graduating.

How has the programme changed you?

I am far more open to new ideas and now love to be involved in lots of different things. I believe this is from the experience of working with people from so many different backgrounds

How do you plan to use the skills and knowledge you gained during the programme within your career going forward?

I am now working with several start-ups that are involved in raising capital and the venture capital module learnings will be very useful for this as it will help me advise on the best ways for companies to raise money.

What is your current role like?

I am constantly working on business development and looking for new opportunities, I network regularly and must continue to grow my contacts. I am also heavily involved in the project management for client projects and managing the business finances.

What do you enjoy most about your current work and what are the main challenges that you face?

I enjoy the fact that I am able to make a real difference to my clients and offer great value for services that are usually not available to small businesses. The greatest challenge as a new business is making sure that I have regular projects and also making sure that I maintain a high standard of work.

What is your proudest achievement in the job so far?

I have worked with a client to build their app at a far lower cost than otherwise possible and have been able to help secure funding for their launch. This has meant that we have been able to fulfil our aim of being a one-stop shop to grow a business.

The alumni network

In what way is remaining connected to your alumni network important to you?

I really enjoy meeting fellow alumni and current students for the ideas that they bring and also the opportunities that I have come across working with them.

What value do you get out of your connections with the Business School and your fellow alumni?

The Business School connections have allowed me to gain access to opportunities such as offering internships, offering consulting projects and also access to advice on how to grow my businesses.

Have you volunteered at the Business School since you graduated? If so, why do you feel it’s important to volunteer your time and experience?

I have provided the Business School with a consulting project from Accenture which has allowed me to meet a great team of students, but also it felt great to be able to provide a very interesting project for students to work on from a large consulting company. I have also attended several networking events where it has been great to share my experiences with current students.

Advice for future students

What advice would you give to a prospective student considering studying the same Business School programme as you?

The most important thing during the year is to network and get to know your colleagues. Everyone in the programme brings so much and it is great to learn from each other and share ideas – some of my closest friends are those that I met on the programme as well as those that I now work with!