I Chose IPL For Better Career Perspectives | EMBA 2026A - Amrutha B R
- blogs, product management
- 4 min read
Authors: Amrutha – startup Founder Vadvan Solutions
A year from now, I don’t just want to graduate with another qualification. I want to see myself growing as an entrepreneur and working towards creating meaningful change in education.
I’m Amrutha, a commerce graduate with an MBA in international business, and I’m currently working on my startup, Vadvan Solutions. Entrepreneurship is the direction I have chosen for myself, and when I started thinking about the skills, guidance, and network I would need to move forward, I began exploring different learning opportunities.
That search eventually led me to the Institute of Product Leadership.
Choosing Entrepreneurship With a Purpose
Building my own venture is not simply about wanting to run a business.
I’m particularly interested in education and the opportunities to improve it in India. There are problems that need new ideas, better solutions, and people willing to experiment with different approaches.
That is where I hope to contribute.
Over the next year, I want to take what I learn through the Executive MBA and use it to become a more capable entrepreneur. The program is an opportunity for me to strengthen how I think about products, customers, business, and leadership while continuing to work towards my entrepreneurial goals.
When I compared this path with pursuing an international degree, I felt the opportunities, ecosystem, and career prospects here were better aligned with what I wanted to accomplish.
Why One-on-One Mentorship Stood Out
While researching different programs, I found that many learning experiences were primarily online. They offered content and training, but I was looking for something more personal.
One-on-one mentorship became one of the biggest reasons behind my decision.
As an entrepreneur, there are going to be questions that a standard lesson or recorded session cannot always answer. Sometimes, what you need is a conversation with someone who understands the context, challenges your assumptions, and helps you look at a problem differently.
Having that direct connection with mentors was something I didn’t find easily in many of the other programs I explored.
For me, learning becomes far more valuable when there are people behind it.
Learning From a Cohort of Working Professionals
The cohort was another major attraction.
Being surrounded by working professionals means I’m not learning only from the formal curriculum. Everyone enters the classroom with their own professional experiences, industry knowledge, successes, and mistakes.
As someone building a startup, that diversity is particularly valuable to me.
Entrepreneurship constantly pushes you into unfamiliar territory. You might understand one part of the business extremely well while knowing very little about another. Having access to a community of experienced professionals gives me the chance to learn from perspectives I wouldn’t necessarily encounter on my own.
That network can become an important part of the journey.
I Wanted a Community That Lasts Beyond Graduation
One aspect that mattered deeply to me was the idea of a lifetime alumni community.
I wasn’t looking for an experience where I would complete a program, receive a degree, and simply move on.
I wanted to belong to an ecosystem I could continue engaging with long after the classroom experience ended.
Entrepreneurship comes with uncertainty. Some ideas succeed, some change direction, and some fail entirely. Knowing that I can continue to turn to a professional community for learning, connections, and support gives me confidence to experiment.
That sense of belonging made the program feel different to me.
Creativity Has Always Been Part of Who I Am
Outside work and entrepreneurship, I have always had an artistic side.
I love art, gardening, and spending time grooming and caring for pets. I’m a pet parent as well, and these interests give me a completely different space to express myself outside my professional life.
I think creativity also connects naturally with entrepreneurship.
Building something from scratch requires imagination. You need to see possibilities where others may see problems, experiment with ideas, and keep shaping them until something begins to work.
That is the mindset I want to bring to my startup as well.
Building More Than a Career
My goal through this Executive MBA is not limited to finding my next job.
I want to build something of my own.
I want to become a stronger entrepreneur, surround myself with people I can learn from, and eventually create solutions that contribute meaningfully to education in India.
The mentorship, experienced cohort, career ecosystem, and long-term alumni network give me an environment where I feel I can take that ambition seriously.
A year from now, I hope I’ll look back at this decision not simply as the moment I joined another academic program, but as an important step towards becoming the entrepreneur I want to be.
