Aziz Lalljee
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by.
You probably know that to transform your career or get into your top B-school, you need to tell a mythic story of yourself. I help you tell that story.
Aziz Lalljee
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by!
You probably know that to transform your career or get into your top B-school, you need to tell a mythic story of yourself. I help you tell that story.
Let’s start with me.
I’m conventional, creative, and weird. The conventional part. It’s what makes my Indian mother proud of me.
I went to two fancy business schools. I was an undergraduate at Wharton (attending Penn as a Joseph Wharton Scholar), and later got my MBA with Honors from Chicago Booth (where I was a Merit Scholar). I had two fancy jobs.
After college, I was a consultant at Navigant (getting promoted quickly and traveling the world). After Booth, I became (rather improbably quickly) a partner at a venture capital firm in Chicago.
Now the creative part. It’s what makes me proud of myself.
At Penn, I got a second (undergraduate) degree in History, with a specialization in Intellectual History. I did this because I wanted a “real education” and to simply satisfy my curiosity about how (we think) we know what we know.
After Booth, I bet the house to launch and run a fintech startup for five years (2010-2015). I did almost everything wrong in retrospect, and lost my shirt. I learned a ton about how businesses are actually built and invaluable truths about myself as founder, leader, follower, and husband. I then bet (what remained of) the house again to join two early-stage ventures: a social incubator focused on mental health of women and an online marketplace for educational tools and programs. I did these things because I care deeply about women, mental health, and education. The experience taught me I could never go back to a job where I wasn’t personally deeply invested in the impact I was having.
“From day one, Aziz made the MBA application process truly fun. Amazing coach & an equally amazing friend. I ended up with acceptances to nearly all of the schools to which I applied.”
– Class of 2024 Admit
And finally the weird. It’s what makes my life amazing, no matter what.
Tennis. I’m obsessed with it – playing it, watching it, even reading about it. It’s my little microcosm for beauty, purpose, and mythic battle in quotidian life.
My daily drugs are poetry (especially of the ecstatic, romantic sort – think Whitman, Rumi, Siraj) and Qawwali (South Asian Sufi music).
To build authentic, profound connections with others in my life, and to help you to do that in your life, is why I’m here, now, doing this. Read on.
Now let’s talk about you.
Sure, you’re a professional and/or MBA applicant with an impressive past and promising future. That’s not the point.
Here’s the point – you’re a hero on a mythic journey.
When it comes to business school admissions, schools ask essentially two questions of their applicants: What makes you tick? And how will our MBA help you tick better?
What they – and future employers – are looking for is self-knowledge and the ability to communicate it – that you know who you are, what you want, and how X job or Y school can help you get there.
But if you delineate your past accomplishments, make some formulaic identity statement (ala “I am X kind of person, driven by Y, looking for Z), and share some researched but contrived answer about how their special resources/reputation/opportunities will fuel your goals, your efforts will fail.
Here’s why. No employer or admissions officer cares about you as a litany of experiences and collection of interests and ideas. They don’t even care about the substance of your struggles and hopes and dreams.
What they really want is to be moved and inspired by you. To love you and to root for you.
What they care about, fundamentally, is that you care. You, in your own mind, are a hero on your own mythic journey – of ultimate consequence to the world.
That brings us to… us! If you work with me, we will tell your mythic story.
We will educe these pieces from your life, give it form and shape within your values, and craft it as a unique work of (true) art. Each piece of this legendary tale will be factually, emotionally and contextually true to your life, and replete with trials and thresholds and apotheoses and atonement, moving and inspiring anyone lucky enough to read it.
And when we’ve done that, not only will you land your dream position or get into your top school, you will have built your own legend. A legend that allows you to know and present your simplest and highest self and allow that self to connect with others in profound and lifelong ways. You’ll be well on your way in that career you think you want. 😊
“Admitted To My #1 School Because Of Aziz! He was empathetic, honest, enthusiastic, and so genuine in every interaction we had. He pushed me outside of my comfort zone and provided immense support throughout the entire process.”
– Duke Class of 2023 Admit
Where can I find you on the www?
What’s your Myers Briggs type?
ENTP! Apparently it's the type of entrepreneurs. Very excited to be bringing some “T” to this team.
And your top 5 Strengthsfinder® strengths?
- Activator
- Ideation
- Adaptability
- Self-Assurance
- Competition
Basically, I love being a thought partner and helping other people activate their potential. And I love a good competition. Job markets and MBA applications are competitive. Let’s do this together.
If you could be any kitchen tool, what would you be?
A Japanese Gyuto Meat Knife. Precise and powerful.
