# From Last in School to IIM Ahmedabad: The Power of Self-Belief | Mridul Poddar | TEDxGEA Youth

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rUCXJrJh-k
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/5rUCXJrJh-k
Generated: 2025-11-10T17:34:32.178+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Mridul Poddar transitioned from consistently ranking last in school and facing academic struggles, including failing exams, to achieving an All India Rank of 27 in the CA final exams and securing admission to IIM Ahmedabad by fundamentally shifting his self-belief and focusing on consistent, smart effort over sheer volume of study.

**Key Points:**
- Mridul Poddar consistently ranked last in school, even failing exams annually, before achieving an All India Rank of 27 in his final CA exams.
- He advises that success is not about one lucky break but about carrying momentum and building character traits like adaptability, resilience, and perseverance.
- The compounding effect is illustrated: a 1% decrease daily (0.99^365) results in near zero (0.03), while a 1% daily improvement (1.01^365) results in 37.78, emphasizing consistency.
- He rejected the notion that he needed to study longer hours (like 15-16 hours a day) or that only IIT/IIM graduates were capable of success.
- He realized that focusing solely on academic scores was like investing in a single stock, whereas diversifying efforts across skills and relationships yields better long-term dividends.
- His core message is that the most important investment is self-belief, which dictates future actions and outcomes.

![Screenshot at 00:00: Speaker Mridul Poddar standing on the TEDx stage with the title slide displaying 'The Finance Ninja' and his name, setting the context for his motivational talk.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-00-00.png)

**Context:** Mridul Poddar delivers a TEDx talk at GEA Youth, sharing his personal journey from being a low-achieving student, who even received a detention notice for being mischievous, to becoming a high-achieving Chartered Accountant (CA) who gained admission to IIM Ahmedabad. The talk centers on overcoming self-imposed limitations defined by academic labels and embracing the power of consistent, small improvements (compounding) in character and effort over time.

## Detailed Analysis

Mridul Poddar begins by describing his history of academic underperformance, citing his batch rank of 114 out of 114 students at Gundecha school, and how failing one or two subjects every year became normal, making him feel like he was born to fail. He contrasts this with his eventual success, achieving All India Rank 27 in his final CA exams and securing admission to IIM Ahmedabad. Poddar emphasizes that success isn't about one lucky break but about consistency and momentum, using the mathematical illustration that a 1% daily decline (0.99^365 = 0.03) leads to near failure, while a 1% daily improvement (1.01^365 = 37.78) leads to massive growth over a year. He argues that people often operate within self-created 'prisons' of identity defined by labels like 'bad at math' or 'last ranker.' He shares that in his 12th grade, he pursued the CA foundation course while his peers expected him to only focus on academics for IIT/IIM entrance, showing he diversified his focus. He stresses that qualities like adaptability, resilience, and perseverance matter far more than mere exam scores, concluding that the most crucial investment is believing in yourself first, as that belief drives the consistent effort needed for compounding growth.

### Early Academic Struggles

- Ranked 114/114 in his batch at Gundecha
- Consistently failed one or two subjects every year
- Felt destined to fail, like a 'penny stock'.

### The Power of Compounding (Visual Aid)

- Illustrates that 0.99^365 leads to 0.03 (failure) while 1.01^365 leads to 37.78 (massive success)
- Shows that small, consistent efforts compound over time.

### Shifting Mindset and Investment Strategy

- Realized success is not about one lucky break but carrying momentum
- Shifted focus from only academics to building relationships, resilience, and diversification (like investing across various buckets).

### CA and IIM Success

- Pursued CA Foundation course while peers focused only on IIT/IIM prep
- Secured All India Rank 27 in final CA exams and gained admission to IIM Ahmedabad.

### Conclusion and Core Message

- Labels and scores are temporary sentiments that change
- The only thing that matters is believing in yourself first, as this belief drives the consistent effort needed for compounding growth.

![Screenshot at 00:00: Speaker Mridul Poddar standing on the TEDx stage with the title slide displaying 'The Finance Ninja' and his name, setting the context for his motivational talk.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-00-00.png)
![Screenshot at 00:19: Slide displaying a picture of students from Gundecha, where Poddar mentions having 114 students in his batch.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-00-19.png)
![Screenshot at 01:17: Slide displaying a table of Poddar's academic performance, highlighting low scores in subjects like English and Physical Education, contrasting with high scores in others.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-01-17.png)
![Screenshot at 04:51: The screen displays the core mathematical concept: 'THE POWER OF COMPOUNDING' showing \(0.99\)^365 = 0.03 and \(1.01\)^365 = 37.78.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-04-51.png)
![Screenshot at 06:30: Slide showing a photograph of Poddar receiving an award/certificate from an official, likely from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India convocation.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-06-30.png)
![Screenshot at 09:59: Slide displaying a quote: 'We are captives of our own identities, living in prisons of our own creations,' emphasizing self-imposed limitations.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-09-59.png)
![Screenshot at 11:18: Speaker gesturing towards the audience while delivering his final piece of advice about self-belief.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/5rUCXJrJh-k/00-11-18.png)