Entrepreneurs are Made, Not Born: The Golden Rule at MIDAS

As Jean Piaget puts it aptly,

The principal goal of education is to create individuals who are capable of doing
new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.

MIDAS is an entrepreneurship institute headed by Mr. Parag Shah and based out of
Pune. It primarily started off with a Masters program in Entrepreneurship for
students, and has now grown to provide Business Coaching for established
businesses, family businesses and Incubation Facility for startups as well. With a
vision to create 10,000 entrepreneurs and impact over 2crore Indians, Mr. Parag
Shah is making entrepreneurship not just a career option but a way to lead life!
MIDAS is unique in its offering as its the meeting point of conventional education
and real world experiences.

There are tens of thousands out there in India who want to be entrepreneurs, with
good ideas, who do not know how to go about it, who to approach, how to get
things done etc. That is where Mr. Parag Shah steps in. He and his organization
MIDAS are entirely devoted to nurturing and mentoring budding entrepreneurs and
lead them on the way to becoming successful business men and women. They
support to these entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into products and services
and even launch in the market. For established businesses, who have reached a
level ready to scale, or are struggling with stagnancy, MIDASs expert coaches
guide them through a sustainable and scalable model. Family businesses looking for
succession planning or rather finding it difficult to convince next generation to get
onboard, MIDAS propels these businesses with a way forward.

Mr. Parag Shah 57, is a serial entrepreneur and educationist himself who is on a
mission to create and work with 10,000 entrepreneurs. His vast experience across
retail, real estate, distributorship, hospitality, etc makes him the right person for
this vision of developing entrepreneurship skills in men and women, young or old to
conquer the business world. He has developed his own methods to inculcate
creativity, critical thinking and innovation in his students, which is followed by world
class entrepreneurship institutes that he has himself visited as part of research.

What follows is a bit of inspiration, teamed with passion for creativity, sprinkled
with the right amount of advice and real action straight from Mr. Parag Shah
himself.

1. What is the Name of Your Venture?

MIDAS This is an acronym for Management, Innovation, Design and Social

Sciences.

VISION
MIDAS is a not-for-profit foundation established primarily with the vision of
nurturing and mentoring entrepreneurs, innovators, designers, artists and social
scientists.

MIDAS exists to help its stakeholders turn their business ideas/innovations into
tangible products or services that are market-ready. Towards this end, MIDAS is
entirely dedicated to the incubation and development of these business ideas.

MISSION

MIDAS does not consider itself as an educational foundation alone, but goes beyond
this definition to create an ecosystem that challenges the status quo in the field of
education. MIDAS is in the constant quest of new paradigms that better the
educational system and improve the quality of entrepreneurship training.

MIDAS aims to create over 10,000 self-employed, job-creators, who in turn will
employ 500 people each directly or indirectly, thereby, impacting the lives of over 2
crore citizens.

2. Who is your target audience?

Everyone who is an entrepreneur like business owners and startup founders and
also those who aspire to become entrepreneurs like students having completed
their bachelors degree age being no bar!

3. Where is your venture based ( city, state, country) at & What are your target
areas?

MIDAS is based out of Keshav Nagar, Mundhwa, Pune, Maharashtra. Our target
areas are tier 1 cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune,
Hyderabad etc and tier 2 cities like Raipur, Surat, Jaipur, Coimbatore, etc. All cities
thriving with people who want to create something new or bring about a change in
the same process, are welcome at MIDAS.

We believe in having diversity across segments and geographies, as that drives

innovation among people.

4. What problems does your venture solve? What are your products or services?

India has developed a very competent workforce with the economy and
environment opening up to creating more entrepreneurs. The usual thought process
is that entrepreneurship cannot be taught, but at MIDAS we are doing just that
through creativity, critico-thinking and innovation. We are creating and nurturing
the entrepreneurs of the future.
MIDAS is into propagating entrepreneurship. We offer a Masters in
Entrepreneurship for students, Business Coaching for established businesses and
Incubation Centre facilities for startups.

Our venture solves the problem of not being able to think outside the box!

5. Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it come to an existence?

MIDAS has been founded by Mr. Parag Shah who is a serial entrepreneur and an
educationist himself. Having set up and scaled numerous businesses in retail, real
estate, distribution etc, Mr. Shah started MIDAS after his Founding Chairman of
FLAME University stint. MIDAS is based on the four crucibles of thought, namely,
innovation, critical thinking, creativity and communication. Being a visionary,
MIDAS thrives in breaking the status quo and shaping leaders of the future!

6. How did you identify your co-founder?

I dont have a co-founder.

7. What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?

MIDAS aims to reach out to maximum students across the country through
collaborations with universities across India. We aim to provide undergraduate
courses also over time, which will include courses beyond the usual finance,
marketing, etc and teach innovation, creativity, critical thinking for students to
understand that entrepreneurship is not just as a career but a lifetime opportunity.

We also intend to reach out to business owners especially in SME and startup
segment who require experts to revive and thrive their businesses.

8. Where do you want to see yourself in next 5 years?

I envision MIDAS to have trained at least 2000 more entrepreneurs by 2022.

9. Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?

Self funded.

10. What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you
resolve them?
Setting up an education venture like MIDAS takes a long time to take off. The
gestation period is three years minimum, and it is only now that we have achieved
a breakeven point. Given my prior work experience of running multiple businesses,
I had set aside funds that would be required for running this institute and had a
well laid out plan for the same. Astute planning has kept aside much of the
problems, but the challenges remain same as of any other startup!

11. Are you married, single or in a relationship?

Married with a wife, two children, daughter in law and a grandson

12. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?

I read, write, and see good movies, and listen to music.

13. Whats your favorite food & holiday destination?

Paneer tikka favorite food dish and Europe favorite holiday destination.

14. Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?

I do not have a single role model as such. All business people and academicians are
my role models. There is no perfect human being and I believe I get to learn
something from everyone, be it my driver or Warren Buffet! My student could
motivate me today, and so could my client its more about me wanting to still
learn and get inspired by people.

15. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who
work for someone else?

Entrepreneurs are self-driven who believe they can control the environment. They
focus on what they can control and not on what they cant. Entrepreneurs are the
last to take the profits home, and first to bear losses. Managers on the other hand
work for a fixed salary, and with a limited purview.

Entrepreneurs innovate and challenge the status-quo!

16. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do
differently?
Nothing at all. Its been a very fulfilling life and all the troughs and peaks have only
enriched my experience.

17. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?

Being an entrepreneur is not an easy task. My family has been one of the biggest
support in my journey all along, and they have been affected by it severely at the
same time. When my children were small I believed in spending quality time rather
than quantity, so every evening from 8.30pm 10.30 pm my time was all for them
and we would talk about all things in the world except business.

As they grew up, they began working with me at a very young age, which made
them become a bigger part of my time and experience, so we had more special
moments in our own manner. Being an entrepreneur requires you to sacrifice much,
so even though I managed giving time to my family, my social circle has not been
too active. Cest la vie!

18. Anything you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?

Believe in yourself. Dream big, dare to fail! Respect those who have failed.

19. Tell us something about your education & family background.

I was born and brought up in Daund, Maharashtra. My father was a doctor and
mother, a home maker. I completed my B.Com from Fergusson College, Pune and
was interested in business from a very young age. Organizing a cricket event in my
hometown at the age of 11 was my first brush with the entrepreneurial nerve in
me. This went on to flourish as I started my first business of developing photo films
in my photography lab and studio, opening a distribution chain of Nestle vending
machines and becoming the largest at that pan-India. Venturing into real estate
and hospitality and finally into education first at FLAME University and now MIDAS,
life has been a wonderful journey of exploring myself and working with people from
all walks of life!

20. What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in
similar domains?

MIDAS is focused on new and innovative products and services. We believe and
have proven it that entrepreneurship can be taught, and that entrepreneurs can be
made, provided youve a fire in your belly and gumption to back yourself up.
Currently there are 14 products and services in development which reaffirm our
work towards creating entrepreneurs. MIDASs teachings are in line with the
Socratic concepts like critico-thinking, works of Tina Seelig which combine
knowledge, attitude and imagination as a form of learning. Offerings of MIDAS are
at par with international standards of education with practical nuances and lateral
thinking coming into play.

21. Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of
Your Business & Contact Person

Name: Mr. Parag Shah

Add: MIDAS, Florida Estate, Keshav Nagar, Mundhwa, Pune

Phone: 7738090293

Email: info@midasindia.net

Website: www.midasindia.net

Contact person: Akankasha Singh