P.C. Musthafa, Co-founder and CEO, ID Fresh Food
Alma mater: IIMB
In October 2018, when IIMB named me as a distinguished alumnus, I became the youngest recipient of the award. It was one of the proudest moments in my life. Perhaps my parents were prouder to see my name engraved on the IIMB wall of fame.
Back in 2005, while I was pursuing my MBA at IIMB, my cousins—Abdul Nasser, Shamsudeen T.K., Jaffer T.K. and Naushad T.A.—and I decided to start iD Fresh Food. Initially, I worked as a part-time founder because I was focused on my education. It was a long-standing dream to study at IIMB. For someone hailing from a small town in Kerala and having studied in a Malayalam-medium school, this was a huge opportunity and I wanted to make the most of it.
Looking back, I can see how the experience at campus shaped me not just as an entrepreneur, but also as an individual with healthy self belief. It empowered me to build iD as a successful business, without compromising on our core values of trust, integrity and giving back to the society.
I am often asked if it is essential to study at a b-school to become an entrepreneur. While there are several examples of successful entrepreneurs who do not have any formal education, in my experience, the IIMB exposure has been truly enriching. MBA taught me a great deal about running a business, creating opportunities for growth, and thinking big. It also helped train my mind to learn new things and stay curious.
Education is not just what you learn in the classroom, it is also about interactions with professors and other students. Professor D.V.R. Seshadri, for instance, has been my mentor and pillar of support. I had the courage to quit my well-paying job and take up entrepreneurship because of his faith in me.
Entrepreneurship is a powerful tool for social change. In my case, entrepreneurship was driven by the desire to make a difference in people’s lives. As the son of a daily wage labourer, who had experienced challenging times, I wanted to build a better world, powered by empathy, trust, kindness and equality.
It is our job as entrepreneurs to understand people and help solve their problems. Innovation is nothing but making that happen in new and effective ways. At iD, we use common sense as much as we use state-of-the-art technology to innovate and drive India’s largest fresh food brand. iD is now a Harvard Business Review case study and exemplifies the merits of bringing together the best of innovation and tradition in food.
During the pandemic, we transformed ourselves from an offline company to an online company over the span of three days. Today, when I am invited to share iD’s success story at the Harvard Business School, MIT-Sloan and the United Nations, it drives me to do better, for our customers, employees and communities. To aspiring entrepreneurs, I have just one piece of advice. Ask yourself: “Why do I want to be an entrepreneur?” Once you have an honest answer, chart your own journey. Don’t chase success. Follow your passion, make mistakes and learn from them.
—As told to Abhinav Singh