A sneak peek in the life of our full-time MBA alumnus Parth Chauhan
Deciding to join a full-time MBA program can be for various reasons. You might want to grow in your current career or switch to a different career. Another reason might be that you want to learn how to start and grow your own business. That is exactly why full-time MBA alumnus Parth Chauhan from India decided to join the MSM full-time MBA three years ago. To pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur and to further develop his entrepreneurial skills, Parth joined the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program.
The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program is a cross-border exchange program which gives new or aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to learn from experienced entrepreneurs running small businesses in other participating countries. The exchange of experience takes place during a stay with the experienced entrepreneur, which helps the new entrepreneur acquire the skills needed to run a small firm. The host benefits from fresh perspectives on his/her business and gets the opportunities to cooperate with foreign partners or learn about new markets.
“The application process for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Program can be lengthy and requires you to clearly state your intent, ideas and business plan,” Parth explains “For me it was not that difficult to write the business plan because I was already working on it for some time. The most difficult part was to find a suitable entrepreneur/company that matched my interests. In addition, the pandemic made it hard to choose a location in the midst of a lockdown in most of the countries. Luckily, I was accepted by an ed-tech NGO based in Athens, Greece”.
The knowledge Parth gained during the full-time MBA clearly helped him to work on his business plan and to understand the business of his host entrepreneur. “I was able to connect a lot of dots due to the knowledge I gained in the full-time MBA. Especially the tools learned in the Strategy, Marketing, Decision Making Tools, Innovation Management, Leadership and Culture modules were beneficial.”
As a new entrepreneur, Parth benefited a lot from the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program: “Now that I have completed the program, I know that the journey of an entrepreneur is equally challenging everywhere in the world, irrespective of the country, region or culture. Networking and connections are one of the most important aspects that every entrepreneur should focus on. Being open and receptive to ideas, experiences and feedback always helps”
But there was more to the valuable learning experience. “I also have a lot of memorable moments. Since I have knowledge of sound, I was able to help my host entrepreneur in setting up a studio for his organization. There were a lot of interesting, funny and memorable moments while we worked on setting up his studio. I also recorded a podcast episode with my host entrepreneur and through that I was able to learn a lot about his entrepreneurial approach and mindset.”
Future plans…
Parth has set clear goals for his future career path: “I plan to scale up my own business and to make slow yet steady steps towards that goal. The objective of my own business is to harness the power of sound through music, podcasting, events and artist management. The aim is to create an entity for the promotion of art, especially for artists who are not able to find a platform easily.
Just like my host entrepreneur I also wish to get into education in some way. That is actually one of my major objectives for the future.”
An advice for current and future students
Parth advises current and future MBA students to get the most out of their study time: “Be as social as possible! Be part of as many initiatives as you can, especially the ones that are out of your comfort zone. If you have a passion for anything there may be an organization to support you, and if not, then there is the possibility to create one. Entrepreneurial experience will come in handy no matter what.”
