Sid Agrawal

MIT, Sloan School of Management

(Agrawal also attended the MIT School of Engineering; He is earning an MBA and an engineering master’s degree through the two-year Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program.)

“Relentlessly curious generalist, a budding squash player, and lover of Nepali tea.”

Hometown: Siraha, Nepal

Fun fact about yourself: While attending Harvard as an undergraduate student, I sang as a tenor with Mirch, a South Asian a cappella group.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Harvard University, AB in Applied Mathematics.

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Analysis Group, where I served as a senior analyst.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Nike, Beaverton, OR

Where will you be working after graduation? Analysis Group, where I will take on the role of associate after graduation.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

* Co-Lead of the MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize: Spearheaded MIT Sloan’s top healthcare pitch competition that attracted over 80 entrants, awarded $30k in prizes, and featured over 20 VC and healthcare industry experts as judges.

* Co-founder of ReGoods: Launched ReGoods, a furniture re-commerce startup while enrolled in the MIT Sandbox program, which aims to reduce furniture waste. The venture successfully served over 200 customers and generated $90k in revenue.

* Co-Chair of LGO Alumni Relations Committee

* Teaching Assistant for 15.011 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions

* Member of LGO Leadership Seminar Committee

* Recipient of the Aaron Raphael Alumni Fellowship

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? My most prized achievement was co-leading the MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize (SHIP) 2024. With my co-lead Clara Hunnewell and our team of 15 students, we provided a platform for over 80 healthcare entrepreneurs tackling urgent US healthcare challenges, such as opioid abuse and the intricacies of accessing healthcare benefits. We brought together over 20 industry and venture capital experts to judge the semi-finals and finals. This year, I spearheaded new mentorship initiatives for semi-finalists and finalists in partnership with MIT Venture Mentoring Services, including VC discussions tailored for healthcare founders and personalized mentorship. I feel proud to have contributed to a platform that supported healthcare innovation, offering $30k in non-dilutive prize money and enabling networking opportunities.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? At Analysis Group, I played a key role in a pioneering project to develop a modeling platform for a leading pharmaceutical client. The platform was designed to accelerate market access to a cancer drug. This platform revolutionized the traditional, error-prone Excel-based modeling process by enabling faster, more accurate value-based drug pricing analyses. My pride in this work stems from its innovative nature—creating a first-of-its-kind drug pricing platform that demanded reasoning from first principles to build it. Witnessing this product’s development from inception to its adoption by modeling experts at the client’s end was immensely fulfilling.

Why did you choose this business school? They say “Sloanies take their work seriously, but don’t take themselves too seriously.” This ethos, vibrant throughout my experience interacting with Sloanies while applying, perfectly aligned with my aspirations for business school. I wanted to be in a place where I would be constantly challenged and inspired by classmates, both in the classroom and through extracurricular activities, with a commitment to excellence. Equally important was finding a community of down-to-earth, compassionate individuals. Sloan’s community, teeming with such people, has allowed me to be myself and continually grow.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite MBA course, “The Engine Lab: Building & Scaling Tough Tech Ventures,” was a brand-new collaboration between Sloan and HBS. This course taps into MIT’s renowned ecosystem for deep technology ventures. My favorite component was a hands-on project with Transaera, a startup developing an innovative cooling system. Learning was enriched through discussions with founders and investors of companies we studied, often at The Engine, a deep tech VC firm. Professors Fiona Murray, Jim Matheson, and Joshua Krieger expertly combined academic rigor with practical knowledge. The interaction with the other teams and learning from their projects, which addressed critical sustainability issues like decarbonizing cement and carbon capture, added a rich, collaborative element to the course.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite event at Sloan was “Rolling Sloans,” a student-organized concert held every semester. As someone passionate about music, I found the event well-organized and exceptionally entertaining. It was always a delightful surprise to discover the incredible musical abilities of peers I hadn’t known were performers. This event exemplifies the depth of talent at Sloan, reflecting a community where surprises and talents unfold in the most unexpected ways.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Reflecting on my MBA journey, I wish I had emphasized quality over quantity more discerningly. Despite understanding the trade-off, I often leaned towards taking on more engagements than focusing on their depth. Balancing academics, recruiting, extracurriculars, conferences, talks, and social events often led me to overcommit, diluting the richness of each experience. Given another chance, I would set firmer boundaries around my commitments, prioritizing the depth and quality of my engagements to enrich my overall experience.

What is the biggest myth about your school? A common misconception about Sloan is its perceived emphasis on quantitative skills, which might deter those with a more creative background. This view stems from MIT’s reputation in STEM, suggesting Sloan follows a similar focus. However, this isn’t entirely accurate. While Sloan mandates the statistics-based course Data, Models, and Decisions (DMD) in its core curriculum, it also offers remarkable flexibility beyond that. My experience included excellent analytics courses alongside diverse classes in entrepreneurship, finance, and leadership, which aren’t strictly quant-focused. A prime example of Sloan’s broad curriculum is the unique “Rap Theory and Practice” course by rapper Lupe Fiasco, a visiting artist at MIT.

What surprised you the most about business school? What surprised me most about business school was the unparalleled access it provided. Reflecting on my journey, it’s humbling to acknowledge the remarkable environments and individuals I’ve had the opportunity to engage with—opportunities that would be challenging to find outside of this setting.

Among numerous unforgettable experiences, my key highlights were insightful discussions with top venture capitalists Julie Yoo from a16z and Bilal Zuberi from Lux Capital during the MIT Sloan VC Trek in Silicon Valley; a conversation with Jeff Wilke, an LGO alum and former CEO of Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer Business); and special access to iconic sporting venues, including Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, during a study tour on sports and entertainment in the UK and Spain.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The classmate I admire most is Leah Gaffney, whose remarkable excellence and dedication in all her pursuits are truly inspiring. Leah and I share a passion for healthcare, a field where her accomplishments are both significant and impactful. What astonishes me every time is her ability to uncover and share the most intriguing opportunities and events in the ecosystem. Observing Leah’s resourcefulness at MIT has been a lesson in excellence. Beyond her academic and professional successes, Leah excels in fostering community spirit, highlighted by her organization of a memorable reunion for our LGO class after we returned from our six-month long internships. Her collaboration with the administration to enhance the student experience further demonstrates her deep commitment to community betterment. Despite her impressive accomplishments, Leah’s humility and approachability remain constant sources of inspiration for me, often prompting the thought, “What would Leah do in this situation?”

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. The entrepreneurial spirit at MIT has truly captivated me. While my venture with ReGoods was an incredible introduction to entrepreneurship, I aspire to found a company in the healthcare or sustainability sector to create a meaningful impact in these critical areas.

2. I hold great respect for professionals who impart their real-world experiences by teaching in Sloan’s MBA program. One standout example is Brian Halligan, co-founder of HubSpot, whose teachings greatly enriched my learning at MIT. In the latter part of my career, I aspire to accumulate a wealth of knowledge and experiences that I can hopefully share by teaching a course in a business school.


 What made Sid such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?

“Throughout his time enrolled in the LGO program, Sid Agrawal has been a strong supporter of and role model to his peers. During his first year, Sid co-led the LGO Class of 2024 Alumni Relations committee, supporting the ties between LGO students and alumni and strengthening our broader community network in the process. He analyzed data from a multi-year survey on LGO alumni career trajectories and synthesized the value LGO alumni derive from their LGO experience and interests in continued program involvement for the LGO Alumni Board.

During the second year of his program, Sid served as Teaching Assistant for the MBA Core course 15.010 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions, integrating with the MBA core instructors and first-year class. He also co-led the MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize in February 2024, which was a competition within the Sloan Healthcare BioInnovations Conference that supports early stage healthcare startups by providing feedback from, and opportunity to network with, experienced industry professionals. Sid completed his six-month LGO internship at Nike in Beaverton, OR, with a resulting thesis on “Digital Twin-Driven Supply Chain Enhancement to Support D2C Growth.” We at LGO look forward to his continued engagement as a member of the alumni community. We are happy to share that Sid will re-join The Analysis Group upon completion of the LGO program this May.”

Patricia Eames,
Academic and Student Affairs Administrator
MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO)

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024