Meet Our Bloggers: Axolotl, The Finance Guy

May 01, 2013 :: Admissionado Team

It’s time to meet our new Admissionado bloggers. First up, Axolotl (no, that’s not his real name)…

Age: 25

Nationality: American

Field: Private Equity

Admissionado Consultant: Kyn Chaturvedi

What do you want to study in bschool? What areas interest you most?
Investing & entrepreneurship.

Pretend I’m the adcom. Yup, that’s me sitting at that giant mahogany table, reading your essays by candlelight. Why are you getting an MBA? Why do you want/need one?
I’ve committed my pre-MBA career to operational roles in consulting and private equity. Ultimately I want to become a full-fledged investor who can also bring operating experience to young, growth-oriented companies. There’s a slate of tangible, finance-oriented skills I still need and want to acquire, and I think the most effective way of doing so is through my MBA.

What are your biggest fears for the MBA application process? What challenges do you think you’re going to face?
I think my biggest challenge is presenting my life outside of work, which has been…limited.

What are you most excited for on this journey?
First and foremost, meeting new people and discovering new perspectives on business and life through them. Secondarily, and almost as importantly, learning a lot about myself via the gross amount of introspection required in the process.

What are your post MBA goals? Both in the short and long-term?
I think the answer to both of these is the same: become a tech investor!

What is your biggest weakness?
I always prefer to have domain expertise across many domains rather than domain mastery in any one, meaning my knowledge across the board is somewhat shallow. But I’m working on it.

Sweet. Now, what’s your greatest STRENGTH?
Creativity, entrepreneurship, outside-the-box thinking. I think those are all different facets of the same strength.

What does your PERFECT day look like? Like, if you could do aaaanything in a 24-hour period without consequences, what would it be?
Ride my bike.
Solve a tough problem.
Play with a puppy.
Meet someone interesting.
Learn a new skill.
Have a great meal with friends.
Sleep on clean sheets in a dark room.

List your all-time favorite website to waste time on during the work day:
Reddit

What’s your best tactic for handling stress?
Exercise!

Who’s your business hero? Who do you look up to? And why?
Has to be modern Tony Stark and playboy-nerd Elon Musk. He’s not the wealthiest entrepreneur in the world, but he might be the most multi-talented. In second place, maybe Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management, Blockbuster, and Auto Nation. Huizenga purportedly assaulted a prospective customer in the crotch building Waste Management up from a single garbage truck.

Wait, did I say I looked up to this guy?

So far, what has been the best resource for you for MBA-related info?
GMAT Club, coworkers, and good ole’ Google.

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You can follow Axolotl on his application journey (with co-pilot Kyn Chaturvedi) right here. He’ll be posting every two weeks, so check back as he kicks things off on May 15.