In a conversation with Better India, the MD and CEO of Edelweiss and new Shark Tank India judge Radhika Gupta said, “People call this CEO – the woman with the broken neck” Before becoming the leading businesswoman and the queen of success we admire today, she faced tons of rejections, all because of her appearance.
Radhika’s transformation from a young girl navigating the stormy waters of school life around the world to a self-assured businesswoman and CEO is a fascinating and honestly inspiring chapter in her journey. Gupta was born in Pakistan to an Indian diplomat and grew up in four countries due to government postings.
An unfortunate tilt in her neck was caused by problems during her birth. With relocations every three years, she faced criticism for her appearance, recalling herself as “chubby, donning unflattering braces, and sporting oversized glasses.” It was an era when social media bullying wasn’t even a thing, still, she had to drench in a bucket full of bullying and name-calling regularly.
“Most of the children I went to school with came from rich backgrounds. They had expensive hobbies like horse riding while I couldn’t afford any, being the kid of a Government servant,” she said in an inspiring talk with ‘The Better India’
Radhika always stood out in her academics and not only stood her ground but also made it to and discovered the class of Ivy League colleges. This opportunity opened the path for her to secure a scholarship for a challenging dual degree program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she dived into Computer Science engineering, Economics, and Management and Technology, ultimately graduating with the highest honours, Summa cum laude (with the highest praise- 3.9-4.0 GPA).
While negotiating the educational landscape, she effectively balanced three jobs to support herself, one of which was her first entrepreneurial venture, a food business where she used to sell roti. In addition to operating her food business, she worked as a lab assistant & teaching assistant.
Among the frenzy of job placements, prized “consulting jobs” were considered the most prestigious ones in her social circle. Despite internships at Microsoft and contributions to a college senior’s hedge fund, Radhika Gupta discovered her true passion was asset management.
Despite her exceptional academic record and performance, the placement procedure resulted in ‘Seven Rejections’ from consulting organisations.
After the eighth rejection, she found herself in her dormitory room trying to end her life by jumping from the room’s window. “When you’re young, you feel like you’re the only one going through the rejections. We never talk about it. We don’t know how to deal with it. After that, I’ve faced rejection many times in life. But what has changed now is the way I handle it,” she shared in a talk with ‘The Better India’.
“I’ve become open to having conversations around mental health. When we face rejections at a college or a job, we feel like it is the end of the world. It’s not. The world doesn’t end if we don’t clear UPSC or become an IPS officer or get into a Wharton or IIT,” said Gupta.
Soon, in her 8th interview, she secured her dream job at McKinsey & Company.
After working on Wall Street for four years, Gupta decided to return to India in 2009. Together with her husband, she started a different kind of money and asset management company.
“We were young, hungry, and thinking of what to do in financial services in India. We started Forefront Capital with no background and a capital of Rs 25 lakh,” she quoted.
Step by step, she learned how to get consumers, manage rules, and grow the firm to Rs 2 crore in the first year. Later on, it eventually grew to a Rs 200 crore business before being sold to Edelweiss after four years.
Following Edelweiss’ acquisition, Radhika joined Edelweiss Multi-Strategy Funds. After successfully integrating JP Morgan into Edelweiss AMC in 2016, she felt she had earned a promotion, believing she was qualified to take on the post of CEO. As a result, she approached leadership and demanded the post. Later, she secured the post at Edelweiss Asset Management Limited.
Gupta, the Managing Director and CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management Limited, is in charge of assets worth more than Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Inspiringly, she is the only female CEO among asset management organisations in India.
She is now on Shark Tank India Season 3 along with Boat founder Aman Gupta, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal, Inshorts CEO Azhar Iqubal, Acko General Insurance CEO Varun Dua, UpGrad Co-founder Ronnie Screwvala, CEO Lenskart Peyush Bansal, CEO shaadi.com Anupam Mittal, Executive Director Emcure Pharmaceuticals Namita Thapar, Co-Founder & CEO SUGAR Cosmetics Vineeta Singh, and CEO and Co-founder CarDekho Group Amit Jain.
