Entrepreneur@IIMB
AMAN CHINDALIA
CO-FOUNDER PROJECT PREFIX
Jugaadu : What is Project Prefix?
Aman : Project Prefix is a 10-month old CA coaching centre based in
Hyderabad. It’s a project because we don’t aim to run it as a commercial organization
and Prefix as once you are a CA, the letters CA get prefixed to your name.
J : How did you come up with Project Prefix?
A: I started studying for CA in 2008. During the course I realized
that there were a few aspects of the CA education that were completely being
missed out. Traditional CA coaching does not focus on a holistic development
but only technical knowledge. There is a complete absence of skills like
communication skills and analytical skills in students. Even the articleship
that forms the most integral part of CA is not utilized to its maximum as
students are not aware of what to expect from it. Our centre takes care of all
of this. Our tagline captures our business objective : “We are changing the way
CA coaching is done”.
J : How did you go about it once you decided to go ahead with Project
Prefix?
A: I was very confident about the idea right from the beginning. I
met three of my friends who I met during my articleship at KPMG and who also
bought into this idea. Then we decided to meet the CA fraternity of Hyderabad
to get their opinion and feedback on the idea. We also did some market research
by speaking to students and their parents and understanding their needs and
expectations from a coaching centre.
J : What major obstacle did you face initially?
A: CA coaching industry is very fragmented. There are no big brands.
However there exist local coaching centres run by teachers with decades of
experience. Convincing parents that four 23 year olds with no teaching
experience could coach their children was the biggest obstacle we faced.
J : What are the future prospects of Project Prefix?
A: Project Prefix had gained sufficient recognition now. Our first
batch had a 100% pass percentage. We intend to hire more teachers now. The plan
is now to expand in Hyderabad and also move to other cities.
J : What do you think about Entrepreneurs at IIMB?
A: I haven’t had a chance to connect with many entrepreneurs here. I
am not even aware of many of them. TWIST in my opinion is a great medium for us
entrepreneurs and aspirants to connect and share our stories.
