Episode 2: Harvard Grad Nilesh Gonsalves on MBAs, Overworking and the Silicon Valley Life

Synopsis

Host Greg Martin and his guest, Nilesh Gonsalves both started their careers in finance doing investment banking in Toronto. Each took a different path from there in search of a more fulfilling line of work.

From the early days on Bay Street in Toronto, Nilesh worked at Goldman Sachs, then a private equity firm called Birch Hill and then went to business school in search of what to do next. That business school was Harvard. Now he works in Silicon Valley at a startup company called Simplr.

This episode covers lots about happiness and where you can get it from your job. Both Nilesh and Greg have come a long way in discovering what happiness on the job means and over the course of the interview the two discuss this in the context of their careers.

Key Takeaways

• After an early career in finance, Nilesh left the industry and moved to Silicon Valley to work in corporate development and with new companies

• Today he works at a new startup called Simplr which he loves because it is new, there is incredible autonomy and his personal fulfillment and success is heavily tied to the company

• Nilesh attributes his new direction to completing an MBA at Harvard - the two discuss his entrance essay and the theme which was beating the odds, coming to Canada, making an impact and finding success

• Early days in his career were tough, long hours in highly demanding jobs, but it was necessary to get to the stage he is in today

• Nilesh’s work happiness comes from seeing the company grow and do well

Nilesh’s Background

Nilesh currently works at Simplr, a outsourced customer service platform based in Silicon Valley.

He graduated from Harvard Business School in 2016.

Prior to going to Harvard, he spent time on Bay Street in Toronto working in M&A at Genuity Capital Markets, then in Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs and then in Private Equity at Birch Hill Equity Partners.