Originally reported and written in July 2022, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

An MBA is often viewed by Indian society as the ultimate degree. So, when an MBA graduate quits a high-paying job to start something unconventional, it does take people by surprise. 

We bring to you five MBA graduates who dared to dream beyond the borders of the degree. 

1. MBA Limbu Pani Wala 

When MBA grad Mohammed Arif Hussain decided to ditch the traditional job route and open a nimbu paani business, he not only took everyone by surprise, but also heard many jibes along the way. 

“Everybody doubted it,” he told Telangana Today. “Things like ‘gharwalon ka naam kharab kare’ (You’re ruining the family name) and ‘bade khandaan se hoke aise kaam’ (Why are you doing such things when you’re from an established family?) were said to me in a discouraging way. But there is no compulsion that if I have an MBA degree, I will have to do a job.”

“I have a degree in business administration, which basically means I learned how to run a business.” And that is exactly what he did. 

His stall in Hyderabad, ‘MBA Limbu Pani Wala’, which opened in February 2021, provides a refreshing break for people with soda nimbu pani, plain nimbu pani, and dry ice nimbu pani and even mocktails. The drinks are sold for Rs 30 to Rs 60, and Mohammed says what sets him apart from other stalls is that his drinks come with a guarantee of hygienic preparation. 

If he wanted, Ram Kumar Shinde could have chosen to not continue his father Lakshman’s........

© The Better India