"No MBA, Just Common Sense": How A 10th Pass Indian In US Became A Millionaire

A story of an Indian immigrant in the United States, who opened a restaurant and became a millionaire, is going viral on social media. Taking to X, a user named Sunil shared the story of his Gujarati friend who immigrated to the US, opened a Gujarati restaurant, and now lives a comfortable life in the land of opportunity. In his post, the user comically spoke about his own master's degree and habit of listening to podcasts as he recounted the inspirational story of his friend, who despite studying only till 10th grade, managed to achieve success.

"Met a Patel friend who runs a restaurant in New Jersey. He was in his late 40s and 10th pass. I am engineer with masters degree who listens to podcasts," the user wrote. "I told him that Peter Thiel said that the worst business one can do is open a restaurant. Very high failure rate and customers are very unpredictable. When I mentioned Peter thiel's name, he raised his eyebrows to think. Obviously, he doesn't know who Peter Thiel is," he added. 

Take a look at the post below: 

Advantage of being a Gujarati:

Met a Patel friend who runs a restaurant in New Jersey.

He was in his late 40s and 10th pass. I am engineer with masters degree who listens to podcasts. 😂

I told him that Peter Thiel said that worst business one can do is open a restaurant.…

— Sunil (@sunilavaria) August 18, 2024

Mr Sunil revealed that his friend believed that running a restaurant was a sure path to becoming a millionaire. The friend explained that he has at least 50 families who are regular customers. He dismissed Peter Thiel's opinion that restaurant customers are unpredictable, saying that minor issues, like under-seasoned food, do not deter patrons. They simply request adjustments and continue their patronage. 

"He himself has 50 families who are his relatives that live in New Jersey who will come to his restaurant for a good Gujarati food. If salt is less, they will not stop coming. They will simply tell him to add more salt.  A lot of Gujaratis from New York and Pennsylvania hire tourist bus when they have to go to visit swaminarayan temple in Robinsville. In the way to Robinsville, they make a stop at his restaurant to eat delicious Gujarati thali. That's 50-75 people per bus," the friend told Mr Sunil. 

The X user explained that all his friend has to do is wake up every morning, and cook dal, chawal, roti, sabzi and dhokla. Over ten years, this simple approach turned him into a millionaire, he said. Mr Sunil concluded his post emphasising that his friend's success came not from formal education or business theories but from practical common sense, intuition and taking calculated risks. 

"That's 10th pass immigrant for you. No MBA, no listening to podcast. Just common sense, intuition and ability to take calculated risk," the X user wrote. 

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This story resonated with many social media users. It sparked a discussion about the value of traditional education versus practical experience. 

"Cannot blame the west for not being familiar with such business models which are nurtured and promoted by community ties and networks. Probably unique to just a few communities in the world, all of them from India," wrote one user. 

"Have at least 5 friends in mid 30s, easily netting $1.5M a year in the business of selling marbles and exporting Gujarati namkeen to the West," shared another. "It's very simple when you practically feel and use the logic and see what's happening around you . This simple observation can give you more idea about the business rather than listening podcasts which only makes you feel that you need a lot of skill which is not true for most!" commented a third user. 

Since being shared, the post has accumulated more than 564,000 views and nearly 8,000 likes.