Manan Mittal

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

“Gamer by passion, Techie by education, Founder by profession and husband for life.”

Hometown: Delhi, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have a tattoo with my company’s logo and my favorite games on my arm

Undergraduate School and Major: Georgia Institute of Technology, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Co-Founder, The Gaming Project

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of IIM Bangalore’s MBA program that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? IIM Bangalore, aside from being the top institute in the country, sits at the heart of the Silicon Valley of India. The college gets frequent guest lectures from Industry stalwarts, startup founders, political dignitaries and even influencers on extremely diverse topics. The eminent faculty has oceans of knowledge to impart and deep connections in the industry. These things aligned with my goal of learning from the best in the country and the world. As an added bonus, the beautiful campus stole my heart when I visited it last year for my brother-in-law’s graduation.

What has been your favorite course or extracurricular activity at IIM Bangalore? What has been the most important lesson that you have learned from it? Professor Srinivasan’s Competition & Strategy course. It was the first class I attended and, from the very beginning, he made it clear that we were in for an intense experience. He emphasized the importance of being thoroughly prepared for each class and encouraged us to delve deeper into our studies. These lessons extend beyond our MBA and apply to life in general: always prepare meticulously and continually question your assumptions.

Another skill I am trying to pick up is Squash. It’s a game I have never played before but have the opportunity to pick up while here. The learnings from that are straightforward: Keep hitting the ball.

What makes Bengaluru such a great place to earn your MBA? Bengaluru represents the melting pot of India, with people from all over coming here to work. The amount of talent here is unparalleled. When I was hiring for my company, I found it very difficult to draw people away from this city. The number of companies that have a presence in this city, from startups to global MNCs, make it an extremely attractive destination. Lastly, the weather here is just amazing.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I co-founded a startup at the age of 24 and sold it by the time I was 29. I started the company while I was still working at Reliance Jio. I was following my passion for video games and wanted to build something that could increase its popularity and bring in people who had never been able to afford to play games. So, I launched The Gaming Project, India’s first Cloud Gaming Platform.

Through the ups-and-downs of the startup, I was able to raise a seed round, scale the company from ideation to revenue and finally sold it to a company looking to enter the same space.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: I recently participated in my first National Case competition on Product Management with my friends and placed 5th overall. The learnings I got from that experience were immense. The problem statement gave a blank canvas to us to be as creative as possible in coming up with a solution. It was an exercise which allowed us to consider all the angles that a PM has to look at in the real world, from customer research, to feature prioritizations, to UI/UX design. I was able to apply a lot of the learnings from my courses being taught here as well as my previous experience as a founder. I loved participating in that competition and hope to do even more in the future.

What is your class’s favorite hangout away from school? Why do you gather there? We frequently go to Amul to have ice cream, pizza and sandwiches. Some of our best and worst conversations have happened there.

What do you hope to do after graduation? I want to be a product manager in the software domain. My previous experience fits very well with the profile but more than that, it is a field that attracts me. The responsibility of owning a product and turning it into a solution that fits a customer’s needs is what excites me about this field.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into IIM Bangalore? Don’t shy away from the mistakes and learnings in your life. Highlight these in your profile as MBA programs highly value how you have overcome difficult situations. Focus on your learnings and demonstrate it in your experiences. Start early and give yourself enough time to shape your story.

DON’T MISS: MEET IIM BANGALORE’S EPGP CLASS OF 2025