DECODING BUSINESS MINDS: UNLEASHING THE POWER OF WEALTH CREATION

This is a manifesto to change a country where a Master of Business Administration (MBA) is primarily to get a job, and not to start a business! Serial entrepreneur Ajay Gupta is the quintessential Indian businessman. He has spent more than three decades in businesses creating companies that have grown despite numerous obstacles and challenges that came from within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, but more so from a societal mindset that has origins in the British Raj.

Ajay Gupta is a serial entrepreneur who has spent over three decades growing businesses in education, healthcare, edtech, FMCG/retail and multimedia. Ajay has pioneered two extremely successful pan-India education startups— Bachpan (comprising over 1,200 play schools)and Academic Heights Public School (comprising over 110 schools)— that continue to grow exponentially, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. This growth is the result of the franchise model of business, but infused with unparalleled research, innovation, multilayered support, technology and continuous upgradation. To fulfill his dream of connecting PG (playgroup) to PG (post-graduation), Ajay has co-founded a world-class higher education institution, the Rishihood University (an Impact University) at Sonepat in Delhi-NCR. Ajay has had polio from when he was nine months old and walked all his life with the help of crutches. Due to orthopaedic complications, he has now become fully wheelchair-bound. To create more accessibility for Divyangs and create a national movement for inclusivity, he started the Hum Honge Kamyab Foundation. Ajay’ s philanthropic work was recognized when he was awarded the Kailashpat Singhania Award in 2019 and the Global Choice Award in 2021. A prolific writer, Ajay has published his short stories, experiential articles and poetry in magazines and social media. He lives in Delhi with his wife Deepshikha (his ‘ girlfriend’ after marriage), daughter (a doctor) and son (a lawyer). You can know more about Ajay by visiting ajaygupta.info or emailing him at ajay.bachpan@yahoo.com