There's something exciting about watching students analyze a case study that mirrors your own startup's journey - like reading someone

There's something exciting about watching students analyze a case study that mirrors your own startup's journey - like reading someone else's book report on your life.

Earlier this month, I sat in a PE/VC class at Ashoka University where students were dissecting a case study on an Indian mental health startup.

The case traced the company's journey over the past decade - the fundraising, the pivots, the market evolution, the tension between impact and unit economics.

Sounds... a bit familiar?

It was basically a mirror of the struggles and motivations behind building Emoneeds right now. Sitting in that room, watching students debate the exact same decisions I wrestle with every week, was surreal and honestly a little humbling.

But the real highlight was sharing the stage with my dad.

Rajat Goel has built Eye-Q Hospitals from a single clinic into a network serving 4 lakh+ patients a year across Tier 2 and Tier 3 India as well as Africa. I'm trying to do something similar for mental health - different domain, different era, same stubborn belief that healthcare should reach the people who need it most.

We agreed on some things. We debated others. In public. In front of a room full of sharp students who weren't shy about asking hard questions. It doesn't get more exciting than that.

A few things that stuck with me:

• The mental health industry has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. The same company stuggling 10 years ago, could be thriving today because demand and awareness for mental health is accelerating at a very fast pace.

• Shridhar Sethuram's class design was top-notch - case study into fireside chat is the kind of teaching that actually builds intuition, not just knowledge. Some moments brought me back to my Kellogg days

• The students brought genuine energy and curiosity. Not performative questions - real ones. That's rare and it was genuinely energizing.

Two generations of healthcare entrepreneurship. One stage. A room full of future investors and builders asking the right questions.

A good classroom is one which engages both sides of the table and Ashoka delivered that manifold.