Hi
Priyanka here from ARINGO. Speaking about your profile, your profile looks solid for top European MBAs, especially INSEAD and LBS, and your background actually fits them better than most US programs at this stage. With about 6 years of experience in tech, exposure to both IC and team lead roles, plus founder experience, you already bring what EU schools value.

Your GPA is strong, and your story naturally supports consulting, product, and long-term entrepreneurship. On your second concern, no, moving back to IC roles will not hurt you if explained well. AdComs care less about titles and more about impact, learning, and decision-making. In fact, being hands-on again after leadership roles can be framed as a conscious choice to deepen technical or product expertise, especially in fast-moving tech environments.

What will matter is how clearly you explain why each move made sense and what you gained. Your chances will depend on your GMAT/GRE score, clarity of post-MBA goals, and leadership depth. Focus on positioning your journey as a tech-to-leader-to-founder narrative rather than a linear promotion story.

I’d be happy to offer you a free profile review for your target programs to see where you stand and how to boost your chances, happy to help!
No pressure, no strings - just helpful insights on where you stand and how you can strengthen your chances.

Feel free to connect- Click here
You can also email me your CV at: [email protected]
Good Luck!

the job time stamps you have given add up to 7 years, unless one of the experiences overlapped.
It sounds like you have gained wholesome experience working at startups, multinationals and as a founder yourself. The failed startup will not be viewed negatively, but do show this as a period of immense learning and applying those learnings into your next job. Past entrepreneurial experience justifies the long term goal of entrepreneurship. Between product management and consulting as career goals, you should try to figure where you skills and interest best align - when the market is tough, you want to be sure that your goals are feasible and can be achieved after MBA. Both paths sound ok, but you will need to get down to the details and figure out the better one, atleast for your MBA applications story.
Yes, you should apply to top European and US b-schools. Fortunately, you have the next 6 months to work on any weak areas of your profile, so make the best use of this. Regarding your job role moving back to software development with every switch- well its possible if you move from a startup to an MNC which has more defined designations and hierarchies. Despite this, show continuous learning, growth in responsibilities and career progression, especially in your resume, You may want to write an optional essay to address this. Also your current job and the growth therein will matter more, so position this well.
You didn't mention anything about current extra curricular activities. perhaps that could be an area to grow?

Namita Garg, MBA Decoder
Email: [email protected]
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Thanks for sharing your profile, @DaHomie. It is interesting, but it needs tight positioning. Your experience (6 years, tech + startup) is good, but non-linear, positive diversity factor, career goals, and needs sharper sequencing.

What’s working well:
1. Founder Experience (Even if it failed): This is a major asset, not a liability, especially for European MBAs. Schools like INSEAD and London Business School value: Risk-taking, learning from failure, and entrepreneurial maturity. What matters is what you learned, not the outcome.

2. Technical Depth + Leadership Exposure: Multiple stints as team lead, experience across startup + multinational environments, clear exposure to ambiguity, scaling, and execution. This gives you credibility for consulting, product roles, and entrepreneurship post-MBA.

3. Geographic & Industry Diversity: Indonesian male in tech + startup > underrepresented pool, EU schools, in particular, value this diversity

Risks:
“Resetting” to IC Roles- Will this hurt you? Not if framed correctly. It will hurt if you let admissions interpret it poorly. Right now, your story can sound like, “He couldn’t sustain leadership roles.” You must reframe it as “I chose environments where hands-on execution was required to build depth before scaling again.”

How to position it, emphasize scope, not title, highlight influence without authority, and show why each move made sense for your long-term entrepreneurial arc. INSEAD/LBS cares far more about impact and judgment than clean titles.

Career goals need sharpening. Consulting or Product > Eventually Entrepreneurship. This is too broad for top schools; you need: Short-term (clear): Consulting or Product (pick one per school), Mid-term (logical): Industry/platform exposure, and Long-term (credible): Entrepreneurship (clearly linked to past failure).

Ex: “Post-MBA consulting to build structured problem-solving and exposure to multiple industries, before returning to tech-enabled entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia.”

You can also explore other schools like Darden or Ross.

Do you have a mock score? When are you planning to take the GMAT/GRE?

Round 1 for INSEAD/LBS is strongly preferred for you.

Questions for you:
1) What specifically failed in your startup, product, team, market, or execution?
2) In your IC roles, did you mentor others or influence decisions without authority?
3) Which geography do you want to build your long-term venture in, SEA, India, or global?
4) Who are your recommenders, and can they speak to leadership beyond titles?

We’d love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, work experience, and personal journey so that we can provide a tailored profile evaluation and an honest school assessment. Feel free to book an evaluation session.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD Alumnus
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi @DaHomie! We’re hosting a coffee session on 12th February, ​9.00 PM IST | 10.30 AM ET, bringing together Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD alumnus, who has guided numerous aspirants to top global B-schools, along with an INSEAD MBA 2025 graduate who secured multiple job offers post-graduation.

This is your chance to gain real, insider insights on positioning your profile, navigating the INSEAD experience, and maximizing career outcomes.

Note: This is an exclusive live session. No recordings will be shared. MORE DETAILS