‘I’m in the money-making business’: Tanvir Sultan, MBA

Though he is just a man, but what he does for a living makes him so much more. He may not be the hero of a child’s dream, but he is the hero that the child’s father aspires to be. Today, he agreed to an exclusive interview with The Business Standard, provided we introduce him this way.

This man is none other than Mr Tanvir Sultan, an MBA graduate.

TBS: Hello sir, good morning! Shall we move some mountains today?

Mr Sultan: Good morning! You know, I typically refrain from giving interviews. But when I saw the word “business” in your paper’s name, I thought, “why not?” So, here I am in your studio, ready to chat.

TBS: Let’s start with a quick question then. How much do you think is okay to spend on a cow for Eid-ul-Adha?

Mr Sultan: I don’t like to think of it that way. However much you want to spend, you should invest that money 12 months prior to Eid. And then when Eid comes, you buy a cow with the profits from your investment.

TBS: Okay…There’s a lot of speculation about what your job actually is. Are you a business owner? If so, what is it that you do?

Mr Sultan: Haha please! I am a serial entrepreneur. I am in the money making business. Digit-All [digitally sign anything without reading], Opti-Mystic [ecommerce app where you can be optimistic about getting 9% of your orders] and Peace-Piece [a mental health app] are a few of the startups I have founded so far and exited from.

TBS: Are your start-ups profitable? We know many people nowadays build start-ups which either run at a loss or have no functionality.

Mr Sultan: Startups shouldn’t focus on profit. Startups should only focus on getting funding, killing the competition and then offload the shares on a local stock market. My strategy is to always find an exit.

TBS: There’s been much criticism regarding a long vacation you have taken recently. It’s said to be a veneer of hypocrisy since you always preach about working for your employees. What do you have to say about that?

Mr Sultan: When my employees go on a vacation, they waste it by going off to some beach. I use my hiatus to build a network. While people are busy criticising me, I am taking opportunities that they are missing out on.

TBS: What is your opinion on a four-day work week? Do you think it would boost productivity?

Mr Sultan: A four-day work week will negatively impact an employee’s mental health. At our workplace, we are a family. And staying apart from family during a three-day long weekend is not something many can handle.

TBS: Here’s a dilemma. When it comes to the mentality of family in a workplace, it seems actual families in the workplace are given promotions despite their lack of skills. How do you view this? What do you look for when handing out promotions?

Mr Sultan: There’s this metric called CKQ – Corporate Kinship Quotient. It’s more important than your IQ and EQ. It measures the impact of family ties on corporate success: immediate family (90-100), distant cousins (70-80), family friends (50-60), and strangers (0-10). I look out for this metric. If you want to succeed in the corporate field, find an organisation where your CKQ is higher.

TBS: As a follow-up, what do you look for in terms of recruitment?

Mr Sultan: First and foremost, the thing I look for is candidate’s CGPA. I don’t think university education is important to be successful. You don’t need a degree to do most of the jobs out there. But it is important to know that the person I am hiring is good at achieving their goals, but not necessarily good at picking a goal.

TBS: There’s a growing belief that the most replaceable position for an AI in any company is the CEO. What are your views on that?

Mr Sultan: No comment.

TBS: You never express any opinions about the current state of politics. Why is that?

Mr Sultan: I think talking about things like politics, seasonal changes or the weather is just counterproductive. Why waste time on things that I have under my control. Like I only have two seasons – AC-off and AC-on; all within the grasp of a remote control.

TBS: Okay. Now, let’s do some quick questions. Where do you place yourself on the Forbes list?

Mr Sultan: At number two.

TBS: Who is at number one?

Mr Sultan: My future self.

TBS: Who is your role model?

Mr Sultan: My past self.

TBS: What is the ideal age of a worker for you?

Mr Sultan: Depends on the worker’s gender.

TBS: Do you think gender plays a role in productivity? If so, why?

Mr Sultan: In my organisations, I have seen women offset the productivity loss they themselves cause by inspiring the men to work harder just by being present. So the net productivity is the same. All you have to do is find the right male to female ratio.

TBS: What is your view on romantic relationships in general?

Mr Sultan: I am a very romantic person. I have a girlfriend, who happens to be much younger than me. She graduated from New School, NY. Right after her graduation, she found my email from my Bumble bio and decided to send me a dating proposal. Her 12-slide presentation really convinced me to invest my time in her.

TBS: In your opinion, what should be the ideal age gap in relationships?

Mr Sultan: No comment

TBS: Speaking of graduation, would you like to tell us where you graduated from? Your fans and followers are curious to know where Mr MBA got his degree from.

Mr Sultan: I started my BBA at North South University (NSU). Then I did a credit transfer to Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. After that, I received my MBA from Monash, Malaysia.

TBS: That’s an interesting combination of institutions.

Mr Sultan: I think we are done here.

TBS: Thank you for your time.