Stern Faces of Change: Krish Bajaj, Khubani BTE ’25
The Khubani Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship (BTE) Program, named this past April in honor of a landmark gift from Ideavillage, whose Founder and CEO is alumnus Anand (Andy) Khubani (BS ’89), has been met with enormous interest from applicants since the program launched in 2021. This STEM-eligible four-year undergraduate degree is the first U.S. undergraduate business program of its kind to seamlessly integrate business, technology and entrepreneurship and engages Khubani BTE students in a highly experiential, interdisciplinary curriculum.
Unique coursework includes an experiential Design Sprint in the fall semester of the first year, in which students partner with early-stage New York City ventures, including those founded by Stern alumni, for a week-long immersive learning experience. The program also leverages NYU’s excellence in data analytics, computer science, and technology through strategic partnerships with NYU Courant and NYU Tandon. From core business classes to capstone startup labs, the program builds not only technical expertise, but also an aptitude for managing ambiguity.
Meet Stern Undergraduate College student Krish Bajaj (BTE ’25), a student in the inaugural Khubani BTE cohort, who will graduate this May.
Stern Faces of Change: Krish Bajaj, Khubani BTE ’25
Hometown: Mumbai, India
What made the NYU Stern Khubani BTE Program the best fit for you?
In high school, I was an aspiring social impact-driven entrepreneur. I would thoroughly enjoy building and offering services that added value to the lives of the people around me. In the eleventh grade, I started a health-tech initiative with the goal of gamifying fitness for the youth while everyone was locked in their homes during the pandemic. We helped over 300 students improve their physical health. When I got into NYU, I was overjoyed but felt a bittersweet sensation rise within as I knew it meant I had to wind down my current venture. Little did I know I’d be stepping into one of the best entrepreneurship programs the world has ever seen. On top of that, I had the privilege of being a part of the inaugural Khubani BTE class!
My unwavering pursuit to drive positive social change has been fueled by the community of like-minded hustlers eager to leave the world better than they found it. The Khubani BTE Program has taught me the art and science behind entrepreneurship. The curriculum has equipped me with all the essential intangible skills required to succeed as an entrepreneur while providing me with the unequivocally important business sense developed at Stern. Even though I don’t enjoy programming, learning the basics of Python, Java, and information technology have made me aware of the skill sets I need to assemble a well-rounded team for any venture I choose to build in the future. Honestly, it feels like the program was tailored to support my entrepreneurial aspirations; I have loved it.
The Khubani BTE Program emphasizes experiential learning. What was one of the Program’s hands-on learning experiences that stood out to you and why? What was something you learned from the experience you will take through with you to your career?
The design sprint during the fall semester of our first year stood out to me. The three days over which the sprint was held was a cumulative application of all the theoretical entrepreneurial concepts we learned throughout the semester.
My team was tasked with improving the usability of a futuristic hand sanitation device that was being sold to boutique hotel chains, restaurants, and retail stores. Following the design thinking and effectual principles to empathize with users and draw actionable insights on how to improve our product seemed straightforward in theory. However, having never approached and interviewed strangers in person, I soon realized it was more daunting than I anticipated.
So we came up with an idea to make it slightly easier to start conversations. We asked employees at several restaurants and hotel lobbies if we could place our sanitation device at their reception. Then we split up into groups and observed how people interacted with the device. This helped us identify numerous iterations that we later suggested to the startup and also made it easier for us to approach people and ask them about their experience.
This experiential learning lesson challenged me to overcome my nerves of interviewing strangers, and also taught me how to ask the right questions to get insightful feedback required to achieve product market fit.
By the end of the sprint, I learned that if you can understand people well, you can build world-changing businesses. This has been one of the most important lessons the Khubani BTE Program has taught me.
I follow the same mantra today and still leverage design thinking and effectuation daily. Whenever we build a new product or sign a new partnership at my startup, Roam, the only question I ask myself is, “Who is the person behind this, and what can I learn about them that will help me serve them better?”
Tell us about one of your favorite Stern professors and how they have impacted you?
Professor Ashish Bhatia is one of my favorite professors at Stern. His invaluable guidance and support have been monumental in my personal and professional development as an entrepreneur. He always shares practical advice and has a plethora of mind-blowing quotes for every occasion.
“Everyday without hope or despair,” is one of my favorite quotes he’s shared with us. It taught me to do one of the hardest things any entrepreneur can do – detach myself from the outcome and focus on the input. This teaching has been of monumental importance in helping Roam grow rapidly by focusing on what’s in our control.
His relentless encouragement has constantly pushed me to take action and ask myself difficult questions. Through my multitude of interactions with him over the years, he empowered me to build the courage and self-confidence required to better the lives of over a million international students who migrate to the U.S. every year.
What is one of your favorite memories from the Khubani BTE Program?
At the end of our first year, our entire cohort had a very emotional gathering at the top of Stern’s KMC building. We presented Professor Bhatia with a huge poster with 50 little envelopes containing a handwritten note from each of us. However, it wasn’t the gesture that made it my favorite, even though it was pretty heartwarming to watch Professor Bhatia tear up. It was the feeling of companionship as we celebrated the successful completion of our first year together and the first year of Khubani BTE as a new program at the School. It made us all feel like we were a part of something much larger than ourselves. At that moment, we knew the Khubani BTE Program was a force to be reckoned with — a new beginning for technology and entrepreneurship at Stern.
You’ve launched a startup while at Stern. Tell us briefly about your startup and how being in the Khubani BTE Program has helped you develop your company.
I’m building Roam, a platform that simplifies immigration for international students by aggregating all the resources they need to start their lives in a new country.
We help them get set up with everything, from the basics like a bank account and credit card to the more complex tasks like choosing an insurance plan and procuring an H-1B visa without the lottery. We do this while saving them thousands of dollars, tons of stress, and loads of time. For students, we’re the quickest, most affordable way to start their life abroad. For businesses, we serve as the most effective gateway to reach the student population. To see what we’ve done so far, check out our Instagram!
Being in the Khubani BTE Program has been monumentally resourceful in helping me develop Roam. The combination of intangible people skills, rigorous business acumen, and technical expertise has helped me prepare well to persevere through any challenge or uncertainty that may arise.