7 education experts list their mentors’ advice that helped them become top entrepreneurs today

We often find our best mentors and guides not in our parents but in our teachers. Whether in school, in college, during an internship, or even after getting a job, we often meet inspiring people, some of whom take a special interest in helping us grow. These people, whether they are professional teachers or not, can transform our lives and help us reach goals we never even knew existed!

Such mentors and teachers become guiding forces in our lives and too many top-notch entrepreneurs, scientists, sportspeople, film stars and others in different fields credit their success to a mentor or coach who held their hands and sharpened their minds in a way that they became the stalwarts they are today.

They shared with us the top mentor advice they had from their teachers and guides which shaped them to be the experts they are today.

1. Beas Dev Ralhan, Co-founder and CEO, Next Education India Pvt. Ltd.

"My father has been the most inspirational mentor throughout my life. His entrepreneurial endeavours and never-say-die attitude motivated me to start my venture and shape and nurture Next Education.

He taught me that patience is the key to run a business successfully, which I strongly believe and follow. When you are impatient, you tend to miss critical details and opportunities, which may lead to irrevocable mistakes.

Due to the fast-paced nature of today's world, we value dynamic actions and quick solutions, but if this attitude morphs into impatience, it will cloud your judgement, ruin relationships and destroy your credibility in the market.

Patience, therefore, is an important virtue for entrepreneurs, and something that has helped me go the extra mile in ensuring that Next Education creates a positive social impact.

Keeping an organic approach towards academics to make learners future-ready and not just well-equipped for competitive exams, has not always been easy.

Nevertheless, persistence has paid off, and needless to say, it remains one of the core values of the organisation in its journey towards excellence."

2. Tarun Bhalla, Founder and CEO, Avishkaar

"When I started my business, there’s this piece of advice which had a profound impact on me and the way I’ve run Avishkaar. My mentor once said in order to have a motivated workforce you need to tap into their discretionary hours.

Now, what are these discretionary hours? The time an employee spends travelling back home, their personal me time’.

If they are spending their personal time thinking about how to improve their work, then you will have a committed and dedicated workforce.

At Avishkaar, we empower our employees to become resolute and take ownership of their work. This is just one of the ways which have helped me take Avishkaar to where it is today." 

3. Aakash Chaudhry, Co-Promoter and CEO, Aakash Educational Services Ltd.

"I have been fortunate to have had opportunity to engage, work and learn from multitude of mentors in my personal and professional life. My father, like most children, is my first and closest mentor.

His working style, people management and decision making process have influenced my work principles and have shaped the entrepreneur in me.

In addition, my maternal uncle and a few senior members of the education community, business world, technocrats and my MBA school alums continue to add new dimensions to my work ethics and discipline.

One of the common threads that I have picked up from all my mentors is that there is nothing that cannot be done. If the intent is honest, thoughts are clear, ability to rise up from repeated failures is there and pursuit to better is undying.

Money, fame and ego are distractions; the real purpose of life always is to become useful and not happy."

4. Prateek Bhargava, CEO and Founder, Mindler

"I've learned a lot from many people that I have encountered in my personal and professional life.

The two things that they all believed in and told me to follow was the art of being patient and to persevere against all odds.

This advice has proven to be vital to me in my entrepreneurial journey. It’s helped me build the right team, a team that is aligned to the vision of the organisation."

5. Ishan Gupta, MD, Udacity India

"I have always considered Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, as my mentor.

He once said to me 'Be a genuine leader of your team who leads from the front and your team will always be there to take up any and every challenge for you.'

This advice has stayed with me and has proved right time and again. I am a firm believer of honesty and transparency and I have always tried to maintain the same with my team.

It has helped me gain their trust and to motivate them to push their limits and go the extra mile whenever required. Thanks for this advice, Vijay."

6. Vineet Chaturvedi, Co-Founder, Edureka

"Entrepreneurship is full of uncertainty and I'm lucky to have Lovleen Bhatia (CEO and Co-founder at Edureka) and Kapil Tyagi (Co-founder at Edureka) as both my mentors and partners in this journey.

One advice from them that I live by even today is celebrating small victories.

This doesn't just help me and the team stay motivated but also ensures that we drive towards our goals as a force to be reckoned with."

7. Vamsi Krishna, CEO and Co-founder, Vedantu.

"All the way through my journey, each of my mentors/ teachers have taught me something.

But the best one I till date relate to or live day in day out is being fortunate enough to derive true joy of satisfaction in interacting with students everyday and in being able to shape their lives for the better.

I would like to advice the same to all the budding entrepreneurs."

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/on-teachers-day-7-education-experts-list-their-mentors-advice-that-helped-them-become-top-entrepreneurs-today-1595889-2019-09-05