Hi there! I am Jai Santhoshi Sathish Kumar and I’m twenty-three! I hail from Erode, Tamil Nadu – would call it home – this city truly is the Indian version of Stars Hollow for all the right reasons. I’ve spent 18 years of my life growing up in Erode – moved to Chennai for college – and then moved again to Bangalore for my first job – and traveled back and forth to Singapore for work – and now, as I write this, I am not sure where I’d be flying to next – and can humbly say that at this point in time, the world remains my oyester

A lot of who I’ve become and am evolves from the school I went to – The Indian Public School, Erode – had been my go-to from 2005-2017. Along the way, this school also gifted me with the best of friends – and I will always owe one for life. To break boundaries and fly high, I decided to move schools – pursued the infamous JEE coaching and landed at Suguna PIPS, Coimbatore. Was quiet a roller coaster, but in all-honesty – I had quiet the growth arc moving schools, leaving my comfort pad.

The JEE coaching had its fruition – I joined IIT Madras in 2019 to pursue Bachelors of Technology in the department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Don’t question me on why Metallurgy – I’d just like to say I went with the flow. Reflecting, I was looking to make breakthroughs in the space of Materials (had inane ambitions of inventing a hydrophobic desalinating surface using lotus leaves)

Life at IIT Madras (As all the headlines go) – was a rollercoaster. First year – would call it life-altering and disastrous at the same time. Second year – Re-incarnating, clarity, realized GPA matters. Third year – one word, hustle. Fourth year – Chaotic, PMS-ed the whole year, but of-course hustled. IITM taught me a lot of different things, but for the sake of it, let me quote my learning –

Life is what you make out of it. Period. (For the better lack of choice)

I wouldn’t agree more on this. Right from Day 1 of insti (commonly known as Uni by the muggles) – we were thrown into a well with 10000001 things to choose from. And so I did – filled my calendar up with a ton of things to do – Espoused 4ams for life. Some of the wildest things that I’d never even probably dreamt of doing in life are –

1. Play squash (the best sport really!) – playing Inter-IIT
2. Run Asia’s largest student run festival? Lead 800+ people? Well, did it.
3. Welding, molding, Carpentry – the cargos in the summer heat was the price I paid
4. Elections, campaigning, politics – winning moment – first female culsec
5. Starting a social enterprise (failed) – yet started
6. Starting my own NGO (survived) – figuring out next steps
7. Friends – 100s of them – high agency individuals – learnt a ton from them!
8. LitSoc – the experience beats everything else (Queen of Sheba ofc!)
9. T5E – Best of people are in T5E trust me!
10. Perseverance to do anything in life (Ex. Beating Chennai heat)

Thankyou insti, for everything really.

I took out to do a short stint at Blaze AI – before Bain. A 6 month role in the founder’s office / growth team – amazing, amazing folks to have ever worked with! The chai breaks, the huddles, the pohas, the attempts to eat healthy – their attempts at teaching me to code! Grateful for ever to Chirag and Lauren for this opportunity!

Next was Bain – where I’m at currently – Bleeding red. Consulting. Business. Strategy. Excel. Dabbled across various legs of healthcare – provider, services – still dabbling and hoping to do so for quiet a while.

Now onto the fun things in life – my passion has evolved across a multitude of things, but the core of it remains around the following things:

1. Science / Math (I love problem solving + and will remain an eternally curious person)
2. Writing / Reading (I believe that the core of my beliefs are a reflection of what I read -> which translates into my thoughts and writings)
3. Social Impact (While the world often scrambles at impact as a mere tick in your college checklist, I think my ultimate purpose in life is to build something for humanity)
4. Friends & Family (I love spending time with my family and friends, and of-course, love making new friends!)
5. Music (Though not gifted with vocal excellence, I appreciate music in all forms – currently trying to learn the violin :))
6. Playing squash!

Lovely talking to you through! If you’d like to connect feel free to reach out – sk.jaisanthoshi@gmail.com