The Inspiring Story of MBA Chaiwala a.k.a Prafull Billore

For the last few decades, MBA has become one of the most sought-after PG courses, with students competing to enter into the most prestigious MBA colleges abroad and in India. While many students are lucky enough to pass the tough entrance exams and successfully secure a seat in the college of their dreams, few are not that lucky. However, as they say, fortune favors the brave, and it did indeed for Prafull Billore, otherwise famously known as the MBA Chaiwala. Read this blog to find out about the famous MBA Chaiwala and his journey towards success. 

MBA Chaiwala, The Talk of the Town!

Prafull Billore or more famously known as the MBA Chaiwala these days is the successful owner of his venture named as MBA Chaiwala franchise. The MBA Chaiwala business was started with Rs 8,000 investment only and is now essentially a Rs 3 crore business which is built on something that we Indians all love, i.e. tea. 

Born on January 14, 1996, Prafull Billore who hails from Madhya Pradesh had completed his graduation in commerce. After completing his graduation, he was earning a salary of Rs. 25,000 a month as an Amway Salesman. Just like every other student and MBA aspirant in India, he dreamt of going to the prestigious IIM Ahmedabad to pursue his MBA. He was quite attracted to the fact the MBA graduates would receive a plethora of job offers and handsome salary packages from reputed companies and firms. Hence, he was quite keen on passing the CAT exam and securing a seat in IIM. His parents were also eager for their son to get into the esteemed management institution. 

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Initial Struggle and Hurdles

Despite studying hard for the CAT exams, the soon-to-be MBA Chaiwala failed to clear the exam multiple times, hence his dreams were put on hold. Not satisfied with the way his life was going, Prafull Billore decided to take a break and travel to multiple cities. Finally, he decided to settle in Ahmedabad and look for a decent job. He soon got a job in Mcdonald’s, working his way up from housekeeping staff to kitchen staff to a cashier. His salary at that point was just Rs. 200-300 per hour, which roughly amounted to Rs. 6000 a month.

Despite making decent progress, job-wise, Prafull Billore did not feel happy in his current job. All he wanted was to make a reputable name for himself. He wanted to create his own successful business. Realizing the amount of investment needed to start a cafe business, he dropped the idea altogether. Then he had the brilliant idea of starting his tea stall. Initially, he was hesitant to do so, especially because of all the presumptions and stigmas that usually surrounded roadside tea stalls. Furthermore, he was also afraid of his father’s judgment and expectations. 

Nevertheless, the MBA Chaiwala decided to go ahead with the idea and start his tea stall by borrowing Rs. 8000 from his father. He collected the money from his father on the pretext of pursuing a short-term educational course. On July 25, 2017, Prafull Billore started his tea stall business and named it MBA Chaiwala in Ahmedabad.  

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The Beginning of MBA Chaiwala

Luckily for Prafull Billore, MBA Chaiwala took off well, despite an unsteady beginning. His experience of working under Mcdonald’s paid off since he was able to attract several customers to his stall by either personally approaching them or conversing with them in English. Most of his customers were impressed by his fluency in English and appreciated his friendly conversations. However, while his small business was taking off, his family was still unaware of his new venture. 

To make MBA Chaiwala more attractive and appealing to the crowd, he served his tea in earthen cups along with toast and tissue, instead of using plastic cups. He sold the tea-toast-tissue combo at a price of just Rs. 30. Within one month, he had begun selling 10,000 to 11,000 cups a day and his business was slowly growing, all the while his family remained unaware of his success. Later, his parents found his successful venture on Youtube. While not warming up to the idea of setting his tea stall, his family gradually accepted his new venture. 

So while MBA Chaiwala started to gain a good customer base, his fellow competitors were enraged at his success. The tea vendors in his locality had started to grow jealous of the growing popularity of MBA Chaiwala. The tea vendors decided to unanimously and brutally throw the MBA Chaiwala out of their area. 

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A Fresh Start

Despite the setback, Praful Billore was still set on making MBA Chaiwala a grand success. With the help of a few contacts, he approached a hospital owner and the relevant authorities and requested a space to set up his tea stall. He was granted permission and rented the space for Rs. 10,000, and set up his tea stall again. This time, along with tea he started to offer snacks and coffee too. Furthermore, he built a good rapport with his customers and created a small space in his shop wherein job seekers got the opportunity to write their names, numbers and their qualification to enable potential job providers to find them and contact them. 

Soon after, Prafull Billore started his restaurant named MBA Chaiwala. Although he was mocked for his lack of qualifications and profession, he did not take the criticism personally. He even proudly stated that the MBA in MBA Chaiwala did not stand for Masters in Business Administration, but for ‘Mr. Billore Ahmedabad Chaiwala.’

Within a few years, MBA Chaiwala began growing more popular and established many franchises and cafes around India. Its fame and reputation helped Prafull Billore to earn crores from his successful venture. Over the years, MBA Chaiwala had the honour of serving more than 200 events including women empowerment, entrepreneurship, LinkedIn Programs, etc. He was also invited to many marriage functions and political rallies to serve his famous tea. 

Apart from focusing on growing MBA Chaiwala and its franchises, Prafull Billore also spends his time supporting social causes such as the economic upliftment of underprivileged people and women empowerment by organizing fundraisers and campaigns for the same. Occasionally, he is also invited as a guest speaker in reputed institutions such as the IIM’s and Harvard wherein he speaks about his passion and success. Because of his good presence of mind, strategy, and dedication, MBA Chaiwala garnered a turnover of Rs. 3 crores in the year 2019-20.

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USPs of MBA Chaiwala

Despite intense competition from other tea vendors, the MBA Chaiwala continues to establish its dominance. So what exactly sets it apart from other tea vendors? Given below are a few USPs of the MBA Chaiwala :

• Learning from his previous experience while working under McDonalds, Prafull Billore would engage in friendly conversation with the customers. That combined with his fluency in English attracted a significant amount of customers to his shop. He also had a unique way of serving the tea. 
• He served his tea in earthen cups along with toast and tissue. After expanding his business, he also served other items such as snacks and coffee. 
• He has a small corner in his shop which is dedicated to those who are seeking Jobs. In a way, this allowed potential employers to connect with job seekers.
• He also has a strong social media presence on LinkedIn and Facebook. 
• The MBA Chaiwala also organizes events such as book exchange programs or entrepreneurship programs which creates a significant amount of buzz around his shops. 

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Prafull Billore or the MBA Chaiwala proved that the sky is not the limit. With the right amount of dedication and passion, one can always find success wherever one goes. Prafull Billore did not let his failures dictate his life, instead, he worked his way to the top despite facing numerous hurdles. To read more success stories like this one, stay tuned to Leverage Edu.