A CONVERSATION WITH RAJ BHATT

RAJ BHATT '97 College | STORY BY: Savannah Summers ‘22 College

Raj Bhatt graduated from Rundle College in 1997. He subsequently attended the University of Calgary, earning a scholarship and his Bachelor of Commerce and Finance, and later went on to Harvard to receive his MBA. He is now a successful entrepreneur with multiple businesses across the US and Canada including Woops!, a French macaron company, and LiveMAST, a vegan coaching business.

Upon interviewing Mr. Bhatt, I was confronted with the theme, “What did you learn in 2020?” It is apparent that everyone, no matter their age or stage in life, has learned something, and this is especially true for business owners like Mr. Bhatt.

Firstly, in search of some background information, I asked Mr. Bhatt how Rundle played a role in finding his path. It soon became clear that he attributes much of his success to his Rundle education, as part of a strong foundation that “definitely shaped [him]”. As a person and student, “[he] thrived in the small class size setting where [he] was able to find [himself] through athletics, academics, and leadership.” Furthermore, Mr. Bhatt described to me how he was a boy who, with a little help and encouragement, could accomplish great things. He was naturally talented at things like accounting, business, and sport. Mr. Bhatt said, “Rundle allowed me to pull those traits and skills out.”

Looking back at his high school experience, Mr. Bhatt said the teachers, and the environment at Rundle taught him “respect, how to treat others, communication, how to stretch yourself, and balance in life.” These are fundamental aspects of how he runs his business now. In his words, these are the “hand-shake aspect of things in life.” In fact, this year he enrolled his two sons at Rundle, in grades five and seven, after moving back to Calgary from New York. This is a clear testament to how strongly Mr. Bhatt feels connected to Rundle and the values that are upheld. Now, getting to the “what did you learn in 2020?” part of the interview. I asked him about what hurdles he came across with COVID-19 and how he overcame them with regards to his businesses. He described the whole experience as a “blessing in disguise”. The early part of COVID-19 was “very painful” for him because it was very unexpected, and he was faced with challenges he never thought he’d have to face as a business owner.

His business Woops! was especially hard hit. Woops!, a macaroon company, whose stores were originally based almost entirely in malls in the US, was closed down completely. He had a couple of blank days like I’m sure many entrepreneurs have had during the pandemic, where he simply didn’t know what to do. However, “in

Woops! did not have an online presence, and that was what they needed in order to have a successful business during the pandemic. So he adapted and built one.

that rock bottom, that’s when the clarity came.” The main problem was that Woops! did not have an online presence, and that was what they needed in order to have a successful business during the pandemic. So he adapted and built one. He had to “become smaller to begin growing again.” The pandemic also happened to be the driving factor for his return to Calgary. So while he was rethinking and growing on the business side of his life, he was doing the same at home, with relatives and family in Calgary that he hadn’t seen for a while. I asked where he sees himself in the near and distant future. He explained that he is fully immersed in his passion for business and exchange with others and plans to continue that until he settles down completely. At which point, he will probably still be doing some kind of business but just in a smaller way. He said, “Once you find your passion, you just have to play to it. Passions are for life.” He’s been going through a transformation over the past four years, which he described to me as honing in on his strengths, instead of focusing on his weaknesses. His advice is to “spend your time and effort focusing on your strengths and your weaknesses will naturally become smaller and you will start growing. That’s time better spent.” Lastly, to close our conversation, I asked what his most memorable experience at Rundle was. His first answer was a twoweek trip to Australia with Mr. Hauk and Mr. Bridal. There he got to know many peers and teachers better, by sharing a lot of unique experiences with them in a new environment. Travel and culture are a very important part of Mr. Bhatt’s life, speaking three Indian languages fluently and travelling often (before COVID-19 at least). He explained, “It’s only when you have a global sense of mind, can you find yourself at your best.” After this exchange with Mr. Bhatt, I gained new insight into what it means to be an entrepreneur, but even more importantly, how during tough times, you have to play to your strengths and adapt, no matter what your profession is. Mr. Bhatt also helped me gain some perspective on how valuable the education that I am receiving truly is, after describing his experiences to me as someone who graduated from Rundle and had time to reflect. For that, I am grateful for the introspective conversation we had.

If you are interested in learning more about Mr. Bhatt’s company, you can find that here: https://bywoops.com/