This is the story of Aryan Bhargava, a BBA student from Maharaja Agrasen, who felt he was on the right path. He had done a few internships, understood a fair bit about business and even made a solid return by investing on his own.
At one of his internships, he worked with startup founders where he was doing research, helping with paperwork and assisting with agreements for investors. Before that, he was at a cold storage company where he tracked prices and was involved in buying a big machine from Italy for better quality checks. These weren’t just college assignments. He was doing real work with real responsibilities.
From the outside, it looked like Aryan was off to a strong start in his finance journey.
But inside, he had his doubts.
There wasn’t any big failure or moment of crisis. Just a quiet thought in the back of his mind that maybe he was pretending to understand more than he actually did. He knew how to use Excel and had used formulas before, but deep down, he wasn’t sure if he truly understood what he was doing.
One day, during an internship, he was asked to compare the finances of a few companies. He opened Excel, started working and then froze. He didn’t know where to begin. That’s when it hit him: “I’ve been working with data, but I don’t really know how to build something from scratch.”
That one moment stayed with him.
He didn’t want to keep doing surface-level work or just follow instructions. He wanted to actually understand how things work in finance. So he decided to start learning a financial modelling and valuation course not for a certificate or to show off on his CV, but just to get better at the work he was already doing.
Now, Aryan is placed at Daloopa as financial analyst. But this time, he feels prepared. He knows how to break down a company’s numbers, build a model step-by-step and explain things clearly in interviews and that too without fumbling or guessing.
Here’s our conversation with Aryan — an honest chat about what it really takes to grow, even when it means admitting you don’t know everything.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Sure. I did my schooling in Delhi from Bal Bharti and then St. Columba’s. Later, I did my BBA from Maharaja Agrasen Institute under IP University.
To be honest, I wasn’t a topper or anything. But I always liked reading about business and finance. During college, I did internships where I got to work with real companies. One was a cold storage firm where I helped with pricing data and logistics, and the other was a startup in Jaipur where I worked on research and paperwork. These helped me learn the basics, but I could feel I wasn’t job-ready yet.
Q: What made you join a financial modeling course?
I thought I already knew Excel really well. During my internships, I had used it for making tables and using formulas like VLOOKUP and all. But when I joined the course and saw what others were doing, I realized I didn’t know even 10% of what was needed.
We had to build full business models, do company analysis, link different sheets and it was much more complex than I had imagined. That was a big reality check for me. I knew then that I needed to start from the beginning.
Q: What were some of the problems you faced during the course?
The speed and the amount of detail.
I remember one of the early classes where we were making a model for a service company. Everyone in the class was moving ahead and I was still stuck trying to figure out how to link the income and cash flow parts. I messed up my file badly and had to do the whole thing again at home. I was up till 2 in the night trying to get it right.
Another thing was, I was scared to ask questions in front of everyone. I didn’t want to look dumb. But when I finally started asking, I got the help I needed and things became a bit easier.
Q: How did you improve and overcome those challenges?
I stopped comparing myself to others. I made my own notes and started redoing all the files by myself after class.
One example I remember clearly where we were doing a model for a hotel project and I just couldn’t get the profit and investment part to match. I redid it three times, each time making fewer mistakes and on the fourth try it finally worked. That feeling was amazing.
I also started watching some parts of the class again at night and writing down what I didn’t understand so I could ask the next day. That helped a lot.
Q: After the course, how was your job hunt experience?
Honestly, tougher than I thought.
I started applying and got a few interview calls. But I failed in many technical rounds. The kind where they ask you to explain your thinking or solve a simple case. I would panic, forget things, or explain in a confusing way.
In one interview, they asked me how a company earns profit and how I would compare it with other companies. I knew the answer, but I made it sound too complicated. I realized later that they didn’t want my fancy words. Just clear and simple logic.
Q: What helped you finally crack it?
Mock interviews. I started doing them regularly with Manoj sir and Himanshu sir.
At first, even the mocks went badly. I would get stuck or go blank. But slowly, with every attempt, I got better. I remember in one mock, sir told me that “You’re giving textbook answers. Tell me what you think.” That changed how I approached everything.
I stopped trying to sound smart. I started explaining things in my own words, like I would to a friend. And that worked.
In my final interview, when they gave me a small case to solve, I stayed calm. I first asked them some questions, told them how I was thinking and only then gave my answer. It wasn’t perfect, but it showed them that I had clarity.
Q: Any advice you’d give to others starting this journey?
Yeah, just don’t be overconfident like I was. Just because you’ve used Excel or seen a few finance YouTube videos doesn’t mean you’re ready. Until you sit down and build a model from scratch, under time pressure, you won’t know how ready you actually are.
Also, please don’t take failures personally. I failed in many interviews. Some of my friends got jobs before me and it felt frustrating. But if you keep learning from each rejection, you will get there.
And definitely practice interviews. Knowing things is one thing, being able to explain them clearly is another. Mock interviews helped me go from nervous and confused to calm and confident.
Lastly — never say “I know Excel” until Excel has made you feel totally lost at least once.
Aryan’s journey isn’t the typical success story with big numbers or perfect grades. It’s a story of learning the hard way, falling down and getting up and finding confidence through real effort.
For anyone feeling lost in the middle of their learning or job hunt, Aryan’s been there. And he’s proof that if you keep showing up and working on your weaknesses, good things will follow.
You can connect with him on LinkedIn here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/aryan-tejasvi-bhargav-53a73b294
