Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

Manek Daruvala is the Hyderabad-based co-founder of test prep company TIME (Triumphant Institution of Management Education) Pvt. Ltd (estb. 1992). With over 40 IIT/IIM graduates in its core team, TIME offers school and college-leavers rigorous coaching to write competitive entrance exams for admission into professional study programmes and employment in banks and corporates. Currently, the company has 200 full-time teachers on its muster rolls providing test prep education in 200 centres in 100 urban habitats. Thus far, TIME has prepped 2 million school and college-leavers.

Newspeg. In July last year (2020), TIME tied up with the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, aka Gurukulam, an initiative of the Telangana state government which manages 1,000 social welfare residential schools/colleges for students from underprivileged households. Under terms of the agreement, every year TIME will mentor and prepare 30 Gurukulam students for CAT (Common Admission Test), the qualifying exam for admission into the IIMs and other B-schools.

History. A science and business management alum of Bombay University and IIM-Ahmedabad, Daruvala acquired five years of valuable experience in Godrej and Boyce Mfg Co, Mumbai and VJ Info Systems Ltd, Hyderabad before going solo in 1992. “While working in Godrej, I mentored MBA aspirants on weekends. That was the time when together with some friends I ideated TIME. I moved to Hyderabad as head of education and training at VJ Info Systems Ltd and quit corporate life 18 months later to promote TIME together with my partners Viswanath Pillutla and Pramod Kumar with a modest initial investment of Rs.24,000,” recalls Daruvala.

Direct talk. “I believe the key to our success is our passion for teaching and our well-researched pedagogies and content. Students write our customised mock tests for several weeks in the run-up to final exams. This is not empty boasting. Of the 5,000 graduates admitted into the IIMs last year, 2,600 were from TIME. Our success rate is equally good for GMAT (Graduate Management Aptitude Test) and Bank Probationary Officers exams,” claims Daruvala.
Tuition fees (full programme): Rs.5,000-70,000

Future plans. “As we go forward, we will continue to invest in manpower and technology to further improve our services. By 2024, we expect to add 200 more TIME centres in as many tier II and III cities countrywide as possible,” says this irrepressible edupreneur.