In this episode of The Coffee Chat Podcast, our guest Kaushal Dhumal shares his journey from high school business programs to landing a remote internship at a private equity firm while studying at Indiana University. We discuss the reality of starting with grunt work, building technical skills, and the often-overlooked importance of networking. From early missteps in coffee chats to refining outreach emails for better response rates, he offers candid insights on making connections, overcoming common mistakes, and standing out in competitive fields like investment banking and private equity. Whether you’re a student breaking into finance or a professional looking to sharpen your networking game, this conversation is full of practical advice and real-world lessons.Chapters / Key Moments:0:00 – Early life and discovering finance in high school1:35 – Choosing Indiana University for finance1:56 – Landing a remote internship at a small private equity firm2:19 – Starting with origination and data gathering3:09 – Building contact lists and seeing surprising response rates4:05 – Transitioning to investor materials and modeling work6:09 – Balancing internship tasks with schoolwork6:29 – Strengths: taking initiative and problem-solving6:46 – Weaknesses: underestimating the importance of networking7:16 – Navigating finance clubs and finding alternative paths to connections8:03 – Leveraging competition wins to build credibility8:40 – Learning from the worst networking chat11:19 – Avoiding typos and small mistakes in outreach12:14 – Double-checking details like firm names15:25 – Insights on refining networking emails17:27 – The value of keeping messages short and to the point20:42 – Adjusting outreach style based on audience22:21 – Applying lessons from internship outreach to personal networking23:14 – Avoiding over-assumption when suggesting times in emails28:14 – Why growing within a company appeals to him34:47 – Career goals: leaning toward long-term company growth36:58 – Recognizing the importance of attitude in the workplace38:56 – How to go above and beyond when tired or busy45:00 – Closing reflections and key takeaways