Studying business and entrepreneurship from top IIMs is the dream of lakhs of aspirants who appear for MBA entrance exams including CAT, XAT and MAT every year. After preparing for Common Admission Test (CAT) for three consecutive years from Praful Billor, son of a farmer from Labarvada village in Madhya Pradesh, he started fulfilling his dream of becoming a businessman by opening a tea shop. Today, he is a billionaire with over 22 outlets across the country and will soon have an international outlet as well.
Praful broke down when he could not pass the CAT in the third attempt. He then moved to cities in search of a job, while his father kept advising him to pursue an MBA for a ‘stable’ future. He worked at McDonald’s. After working for a few months, the young man started selling tea along with his job. He asked his father for a loan of Rs 10,000 for ‘education’ and instead bought utensils for making tea. He opened a stall outside his dream college – IIM Ahmedabad and started selling tea.
Soon his tea became famous and he started earning more from the tea business than his job. He was paid Rs 37 an hour at McDonald’s. He took another loan of Rs 50,000 from his family and joined a local management college to get an MBA degree, however, he soon realized that he learned more by doing business than studying. On the seventh day he left college and expanded his tea shop.
He started networking with the students and staff of IIMs. He spoke English and was unique in many ways in selling tea. His business expanded and he started making around Rs 15,000 per month.
Soon his tea stall was removed by the local authorities and he had to rent a small space outside a hospital to set up a new stall. He first named his stall as Mr. Billor Ahmedabad Tea Stall, but many of his customers could not pronounce the name correctly. Then he shortened it to MBA (Mr. Billor Ahmedabad) Chai Chaiwala. The MBA also reflects his dream degree and is selling tea under the same name, however, the stalls have now become tea houses.
Even at his new stall, he continued to implement new strategies, including putting up a whiteboard at a tea stall to connect people to job-seekers and employees.
In one of his inspiring conversations on YouTube, he said, “Whatever you do, do it with utmost sincerity and hard work and success. If you are a Shodaar, be the best Shodaar and if you sell tea, be the best at it. Whatever you do, give your best.”
Prafulla’s father Sohan Billor, who even today runs a puja shop along with farming, leads a simple life. He said, ‘Prafulla was intelligent since childhood. Parful has not gone the traditional way. Parents should understand and support their children keeping in mind the feelings of their children so that they can do something in life.
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