He writes that sophisticated management skills can transform your business vision and entrepreneurial skills. Murtaza Jabalpurwala
When Murtaza Jabalpurwala returned to India with an MBA, he was determined to become the founder of a tutoring startup.
To get all the facts and figures right, Murtaza spent a day walking around Mulund, a suburb in northeast Mumbai. He moved from one educational institution to another, submitting business plans to investors and ultimately getting rejected. But he didn't stop.
He started the venture at a basic level. His workplace did not have modern equipment, and his classrooms did not have air conditioning. There were no benches or desks, and students sat on the classroom floor. But it was fulfilling, and soon Murtaza transformed the business with the support of his wife Vidya. Famously known as Sir Murtaza, his teaching business, which now boasts 500 students, 15 teachers and eight full-time staff, is a far different entity than it was before he completed his MBA.
For Murtaza, the CKGSB MBA was a journey of introspection and self-discovery, and the experience taught him where his true passion lies.
love of teaching
Born and brought up in Mulund, Murtaza was a go-getter from an early age, as his father's failed pharmaceutical business soon made him realize the truth of life.
At the age of 18, while still attending university, Murtaza launched his own money-making scheme by buying lecture notes cheaply and selling them at a higher price. He also started tutoring children and taught mathematics alongside his studies.
“That’s how I supported myself throughout my college career,” he says. “Teaching children after school is big business in India. Parents in India are very particular about their children's education, and my parents were no exception.”
“But I had an entrepreneurial spirit in me,” he continues. “Still, I think I knew I wasn't cut out to work for other people.”
Murtaza, who studied civil engineering at one of Mumbai's leading universities, started working in engineering even before graduating. But he was still tutoring part-time, so it wasn't suitable.
He was always reading about China in newspapers and magazines. He wanted to experience for himself the enormity, the industry, the speed of change.
Before moving to Shanghai, he completely closed down his tuition business and enrolled in the Yangtze River School of Management. “My main goal was to go to China and change my career,” he says.
“The MBA gave me a lot of time for self-reflection. I realized how I could contribute in the education industry. I couldn't pretend to be anything else.”
While pursuing his MBA in China, Murtaza took some time to adjust. The food was different, the people and culture were different. However, it was even more difficult to return to India after my MBA and start my teaching business from scratch again. It was hard to get it back from the ground. “Then at CKGSB he started applying what he learned in his MBA,” he says.
Murtaza started running his business differently. Before earning his MBA, he devoted 80% of his time to teaching and 20% to management. After MBA, it was the opposite.
He became more hands-on and less personally involved. He hired someone to do administrative work for him. He rented all of his premises without purchasing them. He made sure that every teacher he hired had a competitor teaching the same subject at the same time. Therefore, they need to be careful.
His MBA experience gave him much-needed pause for reflection. And it helped him build his business better than before.
“My time in China was one of the most anxious times of my life, and I kept asking myself, 'Where do I want to go?'” Murtaza recalls. “During that delicate moment, my classmates, teachers, and friends at CKGSB helped make it as comfortable as possible for me.”
“They came up with the answer together with me, and that's why I feel so attached to them,” he emphasizes.
(The author is a graduate of Yangtze River Business School in Beijing)
When Murtaza Jabalpurwala returned to India with an MBA, he was determined to become the founder of a tutoring startup.
To get all the facts and figures right, Murtaza spent a day walking around Mulund, a suburb in northeast Mumbai. He moved from one educational institution to another, submitting business plans to investors and ultimately getting rejected. But he didn't stop.
He started the venture at a basic level. His workplace did not have modern equipment, and his classrooms did not have air conditioning. There were no benches or desks, and students sat on the classroom floor. But it was fulfilling, and soon Murtaza transformed the business with the support of his wife Vidya. Famously known as Sir Murtaza, his teaching business, which now boasts 500 students, 15 teachers and eight full-time staff, is a far different entity than it was before he completed his MBA.
For Murtaza, the CKGSB MBA was a journey of introspection and self-discovery, and the experience taught him where his true passion lies.
love of teaching
Born and brought up in Mulund, Murtaza was a go-getter from an early age, as his father's failed pharmaceutical business soon made him realize the truth of life.
Expanding
At the age of 18, while still attending university, Murtaza launched his own money-making scheme by buying lecture notes cheaply and selling them at a higher price. He also started tutoring children and taught mathematics alongside his studies.
“That’s how I supported myself throughout my college career,” he says. “Teaching children after school is big business in India. Parents in India are very particular about their children's education, and my parents were no exception.”
“But I had an entrepreneurial spirit in me,” he continues. “Still, I think I knew I wasn't cut out to work for other people.”
Murtaza, who studied civil engineering at one of Mumbai's leading universities, started working in engineering even before graduating. But he was still tutoring part-time, so it wasn't suitable.
He was always reading about China in newspapers and magazines. He wanted to experience for himself the enormity, the industry, the speed of change.
Before moving to Shanghai, he completely closed down his tuition business and enrolled in the Yangtze River School of Management. “My main goal was to go to China and change my career,” he says.
“The MBA gave me a lot of time for self-reflection. I realized how I could contribute in the education industry. I couldn't pretend to be anything else.”
While pursuing his MBA in China, Murtaza took some time to adjust. The food was different, the people and culture were different. However, it was even more difficult to return to India after my MBA and start my teaching business from scratch again. It was hard to get it back from the ground. “Then at CKGSB he started applying what he learned in his MBA,” he says.
Murtaza started running his business differently. Before earning his MBA, he devoted 80% of his time to teaching and 20% to management. After MBA, it was the opposite.
He became more hands-on and less personally involved. He hired someone to do administrative work for him. He rented all of his premises without purchasing them. He made sure that every teacher he hired had a competitor teaching the same subject at the same time. Therefore, they need to be careful.
His MBA experience gave him much-needed pause for reflection. And it helped him build his business better than before.
“My time in China was one of the most anxious times of my life, and I kept asking myself, 'Where do I want to go?'” Murtaza recalls. “During that delicate moment, my classmates, teachers, and friends at CKGSB helped make it as comfortable as possible for me.”
“They came up with the answer together with me, and that's why I feel so attached to them,” he emphasizes.
(The author is a graduate of Yangtze River Business School in Beijing)
