Why I Chose MFAB to Transform Our Family Business

I never really planned on joining the family business. For most of my childhood, I was chasing a professional chess dream, competing at a decent level for nearly a decade, while my mother, a lifelong teacher, made sure I didn’t flunk school as I spent evenings figuring out how to checkmate opponents.

Then came SRCC, where I stepped out of my shell, but chess still stayed my priority. The pandemic forced a reset, and what began as walking into our plant in Nagpur to “help for a bit” turned into a permanent role.

Over five years at Premier Synthochem Industries, a manufacturer and exporter of speciality chemicals for dyes, pigments, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and polymers, I moved across roles. I worked on the shop floor optimising operations, in the lab with R&D, with vendors and export customers, and on developing new business. A science background from school and a commerce degree later helped me navigate both operations and business decisions.

Those years gave me resilience but also showed me the limits of instinct.

I learned how to win deals and move products, but I also saw the ceiling, which was decision-making driven by habit, governance shaped by memory, and HR managed without structure. That was the headspace in which I applied to ISB’s PGP MFAB.

Why MFAB: Building a Bridge Between Legacy and Scale

I wasn’t looking for an escape from work. I wanted a better way to do it.

The programme felt like a bridge between what my father built with trust, craftsmanship, and frugality and the systems we now need for efficiency, ambition, and peace of mind. When the offer letter arrived, I set one rule for myself, which was to treat each term as a high-intensity learning week and return to the business with a clear strategy.

The first week justified that decision. Case studies in financial management and marketing helped me quantify choices we once made on instinct. Faculty members simplified complex concepts into frameworks I could apply immediately. Conversations with peers were equally valuable.

Over coffee, someone from logistics shared how they professionalised HR without losing family culture. Another, from retail, explained how they handle inventory and manage working capital. These exchanges showed me how diverse industries face surprisingly similar challenges. The cohort taught me the true value of collaboration and peer-to-peer learning.

Learning to Let Go: Delegation and Soft Skills

Being a sole successor adds another layer of responsibility. My father’s way works and has ensured growth, but the next jump requires different muscles. The programme’s one-week-every-six-weeks format forces me to delegate and let colleagues take ownership. It is uncomfortable but necessary.

I came in thinking I needed hard skills, and while I do, the softer ones are what move the needle. Making decisions with courage, negotiating with clarity, hiring for values as much as skills, and giving feedback is what lead to change.

For anyone considering MFAB, here is my honest advice. First, fall in love with your business. Understand your processes, your people, and your P&L before you come. Bring live problems to class, and use the programme to test solutions. Be realistic about the workload by deciding upfront what you must handle yourself and what you can delegate.

What lies ahead for me is simple to state but hard to achieve: turn classroom lessons into systems, build a strong second line so the business runs without me in the room, and expand my role into strategy and development. Through ISB, I aim to achieve these goals while keeping our culture intact.

Synopsis: 

Shailesh Dravid never planned on joining the family business, but a temporary stint at Premier Synthochem Industries turned into a five-year journey across operations, R&D, and business development. Now, as part of ISB’s PGP MFAB Class of 2026, he is focused on professionalising the business his father built. With structured learning and peer insights, Shailendra is preparing to move beyond instinct-driven decisions and scale the company with purpose and systems.