Career Inflection Points: Insights from Harvard Grad and Rhodes Scholar Dhruva Bhat + Short Essay on Anxiety of Ambitious Professionals
Dhruva joins Network Capital's Advisory Board as an Academic Adviser
Dhruva Bhatt has a good-looking CV. He went to Harvard for his undergrad, was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, and co-founded Lumiere Education, a one-of-a-kind learning company for school students. I asked him to become the academic adviser to Network Capital partly because of his credentials but largely because he is one of the clearest thinkers I know. It helps that he doesn’t take his accomplishments too seriously. Learn more about his journey below.
Here are some noteworthy points of our discussion:
Lean into your curiosity: Growing up he wanted to be a fiction writer but somewhere along the way, debating happened, and he did pretty well at it.
"I fell headfirst into debating and competitive debating, which shifted my focus from fiction to understanding the real world."
Explore, then exploit. Don’t specialize without knowing why.
"Harvard’s liberal arts system allowed me to try different subjects and ultimately led me to major in economics."
Imposter syndrome is not a thing. Everyone can feel like an imposter depending on the context, so it's pointless to dwell on the term.
"At Harvard, the transition wasn’t too painful even though it was clear I was out of my depth in many ways."
Try wild things. Dhruva gave hedge funds a shot while doing a PhD in developmental economics. His debating skills helped him get the job. The reason wasn’t as straightforward as it seems. Listen to the episode to learn more.
"Bridgewater’s interview process is oriented towards testing how you think and pressing the edges of your logic."
Do what gives you energy.
"Starting Lumiere Education in the summer of 2020 was a burst of energy for me. I could see the impact I was having on the lives of students."
Doing well is not a precondition for doing good but it helps. It gives you more flexibility
"Lumiere Education combines regular programs with generous amounts of financial aid, making us one of the largest pre-research programs in the world."
Let the big questions facing the world guide your motivation to work. You may find your personal mission statement along the way.
"There are thousands more students who don’t have access to these types of opportunities yet. How do we think about going beyond what we’re comfortable with?"
Does happiness emerge from happiness? You decide after listening to the episode.
"I am feeling more at peace with myself and feeling more joy than I have at any time in the past."