1-on-1 coaching for students & early careers

Early decisions compound.
Get them right.

Get into universities most people think are unrealistic. Land roles at companies that compound your career. I help you see the game clearly -before you've already made the expensive mistakes.

Book your trial
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Imperial College London
Physics — ranked #2 globally
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Founded two companies.
Learned more than any success would have taught me
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Experienced at high-growth startups
Currently, Customer Success Lead at Metris Energy, backed by Octopus Energy

The Problem

Most students don't lack ability. They lack clarity.

Here's what I see constantly: capable students working incredibly hard—but treating subject choices like they're irrelevant, applications like bureaucratic forms, and career moves like checkboxes.

They're putting in the hours without understanding how the people on the other side actually think. The admissions tutor reading your personal statement. The recruiter scanning your CV. The hiring manager deciding between you and someone who looks nearly identical on paper.

What happens? Wasted effort. Generic positioning that blends into the noise. Missed opportunities you only recognise when it's already too late to fix them.

First Ascent exists to close that gap. Build a coherent story. Make sharper decisions before the stakes get high. Understand what signals you're actually sending—before you've sent them.

Who's coaching you

I made the expensive mistakes so you don't have to.

I studied Physics at Imperial College London. Ranked #2 globally for the subject. Got in because I worked hard—but also because I understood, earlier than most, that applications are about signalling the right story, not just achievement.

Then I started a company at universitywhich failed. Not the soft kind of failure you can spin into a success story but the kind where I learned that execution without direction is just expensive motion.

Since then, I've been working at early-stage startups where my main goal is to put myself in uncomfortable positions so that I can grow into a much better founder than I was at 19. Learning what it actually means to think clearly under uncertainty.

I kept getting asked the same questions I once had: How do I position myself? What actually matters when I'm aiming high? How do I avoid quietly closing doors I didn't even know existed?

First Ascent exists because I can help you see around corners I couldn't. The patterns I've learned are about admissions, about career leverage, about how decisions compound—took me years and real cost to figure out. You can shortcut that.

Aryan D. Khedkar

Aryan D. Khedkar

Founder, First Ascent

For Critical Transitions

Three moments where clarity matters most.

Most people don't realise how early certain doors close. Or how much harder it is to fix a mistake once you're a year down the wrong path.

01

GCSEs → A-Level/IB

Your subject choices signal what kind of student you are—before you've written a single word. Most students pick in isolation, without understanding how admissions tutors read these signals. By the time they figure it out, it's already locked in.

02

Sixth Form → University

Everyone sounds the same. The students who get into Imperial, Oxbridge, Ivy League aren't necessarily smarter. They're clearer. They can articulate why they made specific choices—instead of following templates everyone else is following.

03

University → Career

Early career momentum compounds. Get into a top firm or high-growth startup early, you're surrounded by ambitious people and learning faster. Take the wrong first role? You spend two years fixing that mistake while others pull ahead.

Same pattern at every stage: You're making decisions with limited information about how the system actually works. You don't know what signals you're sending. You're optimising for the wrong things because no one told you what the right things are. First Ascent closes that gap.

Your Trial Session

60 minutes without any sales pitch. Just clarity.

You walk away with a plan whether we continue working together or not.

1

First 15 minutes

Map the terrain

Where are you now? Where do you want to go? What's working, what's not, what's actually at stake. I ask uncomfortable questions. You get honest about the situation.

2

Next 30 minutes

Find the leverage points

I show you the 2-3 highest-impact changes you can make. What to focus on, what to ignore, what signals you're currently sending that you probably shouldn't be.

3

Final 15 minutes

Build your 90-day plan

We create a concrete roadmap. Clear next steps. You leave knowing exactly what to do next—not just what to think about.

You get real value from the trial itself. If we're not a good fit, you still leave with clarity you didn't have before.

Pricing

No commitment before you are sure about the value.

I keep my roster small so I can actually help.

Taking 3 more students this month

Trial

£20

Single session

  • 60 minutes, online
  • Assess fit and direction
  • Walk away with a plan
  • No commitment required
Book trial

Standard

£225

Per month

  • 4 sessions per month
  • Weekend availability
  • Best for steady progress
  • Clear, actionable guidance
Get started

Intensive

£425

Per month

  • 8 sessions per month
  • For deadlines & critical decisions
  • Application crunch periods
  • Limited availability
Apply for intensive

Questions

Straight answers.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for coaching."

That's why the trial exists. £20, one hour, no commitment. We figure out if this makes sense for you. If it doesn't, you still leave with a 90-day plan.

"What if I don't get results?"

I only work with people who are willing to do the work. If you show up, engage honestly, and implement what we discuss—you'll see progress. If you're looking for someone to do the thinking for you, this isn't that.

"Why you over other coaches?"

I'm not selling a system or a course. I've been through Imperial, built and killed a company, worked at startups where I had to make real calls. I'm telling you what I wish someone had told me at 16, 18, 21. The mistakes I made—so you don't have to.

"How fast will I see results?"

Depends what we're working on. Application strategy? Clarity within 2-3 sessions. Long-term career positioning? That compounds over months. Either way, you'll know exactly what to do next after our first call.

Here's what happens next.

1
Email me at aryankhedkar100@gmail.com (or click below)
2
Tell me where you are and where you want to go. 2-3 sentences.
3
I reply within 24 hours with available times
4
We do a 60-minute trial. You decide if it's worth continuing.
Book trial — £20 Ask a question

No sales pitch. No pressure. Just clarity.