Work

A 360° view of Indian education from the inside: business schools, universities, admissions consultancies, edtech and test prep.

Author of The Dropship — the Admissions Director’s blog at Masters’ Union

Share of enrolments22.5%→40%
Community0→2,100
Team3→10

Built the marketing function and grew the team from 3 → 10; member of the core leadership team, reporting to the COO.

  • Scaled marketing’s share of enrolments from 22.5% to 40% (~300 students, ₹44 Cr) while eliminating ₹8L of wasteful spend.
  • Launched the Annual Report (700+ leads from top schools), pan-India celebrations and a flagship brand film that doubled PMax closures.
  • Founded the Global Admissions Playbook, a Discord community from 0 → 2,100 members (50% India, 27% US, 23% rest of world) that drove ₹45L in core-programme revenue.
  • Founded the Athena Network, a returnee-to-work platform: 1,000 members, two 200-person hiring events with 20 recruiters.
  • CXO events: JSA Leaders Golf (90+ CXOs and diplomats) and the McKinsey Asia chairman’s book launch.
  • 10+ n8n automations for attribution and reporting (how I build).

  • Co-led 50 people across sales, marketing and product as one of a 5-member executive team at iQuanta; ran always-on campaigns for the flagship product and led hiring across 3 verticals.
  • Built the playbooks and GTM for the flagship CAT product, then replicated the cadences for CLAT, NEET and IPMAT.

  • Advised 3 business and design schools at Jetri on GTM and admissions funnels: BSM, HSB and JSID.
  • Conceived and launched BSM Ignite, a national competition (500 participants → 20 finalists, ₹2L prize) that became BSM’s primary lead engine.

Applications800→5,000
Enrolments60→202
Yield33%→60%

Owned the funnel from discovery to enrolment and a multi-crore marketing budget: ~₹100 Cr cumulative revenue across cohorts. Member of the Cabinet; led a 25-person team.

  • Scaled applications 6.25× (800 → 5,000) and enrolments per cohort 3.4× (60 → 202) with a tiered selection framework.
  • Structured ₹10+ Cr in scholarships and banking partnerships for aid, adding +₹1.87L contribution margin per student.
  • Rebuilt the MUBAAT entrance test as a multi-modal evaluation (game-based logic, video, writing).
  • Raised offer-to-enrolment yield from 33% → 60% with Term 0: daily programming on Discord, up to 10 city meet-ups per round, business challenges.
  • Curated the most diverse class to date (Cohort 4, 202 students): 11 CAs, 30+ founders, alumni of McKinsey, BCG, Bain and Google, and admits who chose MU over Duke, Columbia and IIM-A.
  • Standardised 1,377 interviews on shared rubrics; hosted 50+ webinars and AMAs; wrote The Dropship, the Director’s blog.
  • Grew social from 7k → 541k followers. Scripted and drove the brand film (2.5M views); hosted 10+ podcast episodes (shorts: 3.6M views).
Karan with three students in red Money Heist jumpsuits and masks
Orientation-day prank
Admitted students and the admissions team at a Bangalore meet-up
Bangalore admits meet-up
Masters’ Union welcome kit with stickers and an #InTheUnion sign
Welcome kit for admits
Kenny Sebastian in a Masters’ Union classroom session
Kenny Sebastian, guest session

Women per cohort30→120
  • Promoted within a year. Scaled cohorts 4×, from 30 → 120 women across three cycles and through COVID: ₹25 Cr in revenue and ₹2.2 Cr in need-based scholarships.
  • Turned an open-door process into a selective funnel (top conversion on the interview panel) and led 100+ outreach sessions at women’s colleges.

Intensive build Sep 2024 – Mar 2025: curriculum, placement and cohorts, full-time and pro bono.

  • Free, structured guitar education, run in cohorts: placement test, level-based cohort, 21-day programme, assessment. 50+ students, pro bono. More on the Music page.

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