Sarvpriya Srivastava : A Serial Entrepreneur, With A Civic Mindset
Sarvpriya Srivastava
CEO
She uses her head to follow her heart and believes that having the privilege of using her intelligence to build her dreams and watch her ideas translate into reality has helped her break mental shackles and made her believe that anything is possible if you can muster the courage to dream big.
In this interview, Sarvpriya shares her career and professional journey. She also gives a few tips to upcoming entrepreneurs.
Could you give a brief overview about your career journey?
I have been an entrepreneur much before I understood what it meant to be one. My professional journey began in my second year of BTech when I had spotted a pain point.
My college had abruptly stopped selling textbook-sets along with the tuition, leaving my juniors scrambling. Fortunately, I had still kept my entire Year-1 text book set in my hostel room and I offered to sell it at half the original price to one of my juniors at the girl’s hostel. She was quite relieved. Thereafter, she brought me more of her friends who were in the same need. I started to buy sets from my batch mates and sold it at a markup. I was making so much profit that I ventured out to a distant market to buy books in bulk. This venture was a financial success, but I didn't see it as entrepreneurship at the time.
Later, inspired by the app boom, I dreamt up various ideas but lacked the courage to pursue them. I remained certain however, that I didn't want a traditional job. In my final year, I channeled my entrepreneurial spirit into a college
project - a doctor marketplace, a novel idea before Practo's rise. However, my team dissolved as friends focused on placements, leaving the project unfinished. An year after graduation, I established Gavel Legal, an Online Legal Consultations & Lawyer Discovery platform. Thereafter, in 2023, I had a privilege of starting The Ivy Dream, a US-based Boutique Admissions Consultancy specia-lizing in Ivy League Schools.
What motivates you in your daily life to work tirelessly?
What drives me every day is this desire to make sense of the world through the ventures I build. Entrepreneurship is my window to the world. It’s an art form that helps me understand the world better and also gives me the tools to express myself. It's different from school or college where the pressure to get good grades and landing a typical job becomes everyone's priority. That's never been my thing.
Business has also opened my eyes to the world of invisible transactions both qualitative and quantitative. I used to be an idealist, but through my businesses, I've become more grounded in the realities of the world. I have also come to appreciate the value of exchange.
Can you talk about your experience at SRM university Chennai?
The main campus of SRM, where I studied, was massive. It was like a city in itself, teeming with people from very diverse backgrounds and perspectives. It was my first experience getting exposed to such diversity and I think it really opened my mind. SRM has also given me one of the greatest happiness of my life - my husband, who I run The Ivy Dream with. We met in our first year and have been best friends ever since.
Can you describe your leadership style? How do you guide and motivate your team?
I believe in a trusting leadership approach. I empower my
What motivates you in your daily life to work tirelessly?
What drives me every day is this desire to make sense of the world through the ventures I build. Entrepreneurship is my window to the world. It’s an art form that helps me understand the world better and also gives me the tools to express myself. It's different from school or college where the pressure to get good grades and landing a typical job becomes everyone's priority. That's never been my thing.
Building your own business is a rollercoaster, but it's incredibly liberating if you find joy in the pursuit itself
Business has also opened my eyes to the world of invisible transactions both qualitative and quantitative. I used to be an idealist, but through my businesses, I've become more grounded in the realities of the world. I have also come to appreciate the value of exchange.
Can you talk about your experience at SRM university Chennai?
The main campus of SRM, where I studied, was massive. It was like a city in itself, teeming with people from very diverse backgrounds and perspectives. It was my first experience getting exposed to such diversity and I think it really opened my mind. SRM has also given me one of the greatest happiness of my life - my husband, who I run The Ivy Dream with. We met in our first year and have been best friends ever since.
Can you describe your leadership style? How do you guide and motivate your team?
I believe in a trusting leadership approach. I empower my
employees, both in India and the US to be creative and share their ideas freely. I value open communication and welcome healthy debate. Debates make me feel like everyone is invested in the company's success. In India, the startup culture is finally fostering a more trusting and collaborative work environment, but I've been fortunate to experience this first hand with my American colleagues.
What are your goals for the next five years?
In the next five years, I'm really interested in launching another tech startup from the ground up. I love the initial stages of building a business - brainstorming ideas, testing them out, and then seeing them come to life. In the long term, I seek to start a private equity firm focusing on businesses which have potential to improve the lives of the indigent, not just in India, but anywhere in the world. I do not believe that profitability and public good are incompa-tible. In fact, I believe that they can be great allies. Moreover, the diversity of business sectors that I will be able to learn about and operate in, fills me with enthusiasm. It's my way of making a mark and finding my place in this vast world.
What advice do you have for aspiring business leaders?
"Unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don't do it",- Charles Bukowski. Building your own business is a roller-coaster, but it's incredibly liberating if you find joy in the pursuit itself. Because, if you are truly passionate about what you do, then failures won’t disappoint but inspire you to ‘crack the code’ as I like to call it.
Moreover, the realization that your ideas have value and they can become a reality - is a superpower. I want more people to discover this feeling because it's within all of us.
Sarvpriya Srivastava, CEO, The Ivy Dream
Sarvpriya is a serial entrepreneur who is currently the CEO of a US-based elite admissions consulting firm, The Ivy Dream, which propels its clients into top American universities by crafting authentic and powerful narratives. She is also the founder of Sparks NGO, which facilitates one on-one career mentorship to young girls in small cities and villages.
What are your goals for the next five years?
In the next five years, I'm really interested in launching another tech startup from the ground up. I love the initial stages of building a business - brainstorming ideas, testing them out, and then seeing them come to life. In the long term, I seek to start a private equity firm focusing on businesses which have potential to improve the lives of the indigent, not just in India, but anywhere in the world. I do not believe that profitability and public good are incompa-tible. In fact, I believe that they can be great allies. Moreover, the diversity of business sectors that I will be able to learn about and operate in, fills me with enthusiasm. It's my way of making a mark and finding my place in this vast world.
What advice do you have for aspiring business leaders?
"Unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don't do it",- Charles Bukowski. Building your own business is a roller-coaster, but it's incredibly liberating if you find joy in the pursuit itself. Because, if you are truly passionate about what you do, then failures won’t disappoint but inspire you to ‘crack the code’ as I like to call it.
Moreover, the realization that your ideas have value and they can become a reality - is a superpower. I want more people to discover this feeling because it's within all of us.
Sarvpriya Srivastava, CEO, The Ivy Dream
Sarvpriya is a serial entrepreneur who is currently the CEO of a US-based elite admissions consulting firm, The Ivy Dream, which propels its clients into top American universities by crafting authentic and powerful narratives. She is also the founder of Sparks NGO, which facilitates one on-one career mentorship to young girls in small cities and villages.