Sanjeet Sahni: From CMU-Q to Forbes ME 30 Under 30

Sanjeet Sahni graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) in 2017 with a degree in business administration. He was a student who made the most of his Carnegie Mellon experience, participating in global learning trips, academic competitions, and a myriad of student activities.

In the seven years since graduation, Sanjeet has blazed a trail in entrepreneurship and business in the Gulf region. Now based in Dubai, he was recently named to the Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 list, along with his business partner Angad Kohli.

We sat down with Sanjeet to reflect on his time as a Tartan, and his remarkable journey since.

Note: In entrepreneurship, a strategic exit means selling your interest in a startup for a profit.

Q: Can you tell us about your journey after graduating from CMU-Q?

A: Absolutely. My time at Carnegie Mellon was phenomenal. I met some incredible people and had a fantastic time. This experience served as a springboard for determining my career path.

Before graduating, I received some job offers and was considering various options in professional services, management consulting, and tech startups. However, during my penultimate semester, I started my own entrepreneurial endeavor. This started as a project, but one thing led to another, and we received support from a family office in the Middle East.

We developed an e-learning solution to help employees get better trained by their employers during their onboarding phase. We pitched this solution to the family office at the end of 2017, and they decided to acquire the solution and take it in-house. This was my first full taste of entrepreneurship and the first exit I had. I was only 22, it was a wonderful feeling.

Q: What happened next in your career?

A: I was still considering a full-time job. I received an offer from a company focused on knowledge services, working with consulting firms, sovereign wealth funds, and governments in the Middle East and Europe. I started out in London and was stationed in Dubai after that.

However, during this time, I realized that I enjoyed entrepreneurship more than I thought. I started dabbling in e-commerce. It was doing reasonably well, which gave me the confidence to leave my job and pursue e-commerce full time.

Q: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your business?

A: The pandemic disrupted everything. Our entire supply chain was turned upside down. It was a do-or-die situation for us. However, the assurance that I could always go back to corporate, thanks to my CMU degree, led me to take a risk.

We decided to pivot towards a home decor-focused e-commerce platform. Everyone was quarantined at home during COVID, so it turned out to be the perfect pivot in hindsight. Within seven months of this decision, we exited to one of our channel partners.

Q: What are you doing these days?

A: After the exit, I found myself with mixed emotions. I was fortunate to have another exit, but I was also wondering what to do next. I decided to go to grad school to specialize in private markets and private finance, with venture capital being my key focus. Now, I’m part of Swing Capital, a sports investment firm focused on investing in technology assets and sports teams. We work with global athletes, investment houses, and family offices to invest in companies at the seed level, and teams with high growth potential.We look to invest in sports, media, and lifestyle startups at an early stage, and sports teams with a strong value proposition and strategic placement.

Q: How did you end up on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list?

A: We received an email from Forbes that we have been nominated for the List. I’m very grateful that industry peers and the Forbes team found value in what we are building and recognized us for our work. We’re the only focused sports investment firm in the Middle East that looks to support both sports tech and sports teams as far as I know. The Middle East is home for me so I am glad to contribute a bit towards our ecosystem.

Q: How did you navigate the uncertainty that comes with entrepreneurship?

A: It’s important to accept that there will be uncertainty, but at the same time, to believe in yourself, to push yourself. It can work out if you believe it will work out. And if for some reason it doesn’t, you always can fall back on your acquired assets – your experience and your education.

Q: What advice would you give to others who are considering entrepreneurship?

A: I always tell everyone, no man’s an island. A lot of people have helped me along the way. Keep a positive attitude, look for market opportunities, look for gaps, play to your strengths and just start. A lot of people tend to annihilate themselves in self-doubt, but that belief that you get from being able to do one thing at a time, and just taking it step by step, has led me to where I am now.

Q: How do you feel about your journey after graduating from Carnegie Mellon?

A: I have to say I’m incredibly fortunate, incredibly blessed, and incredibly grateful for my journey since I was a student at Carnegie Mellon, and hope to carry on doing my best beyond as well.