(March 28, 2023) Every day, when Aamir Qutub drives to work, he chooses from his fleet of luxury cars to take him to his office in Geelong, where the headquarters of Enterprise Monkey Proprieter Ltd are located. Aamir is the founder and CEO of Enterprise Monkey, which operates out of four countries, and continues to head Angel Next Door, which he founded during the pandemic, to help make life easier for everybody.
The entrepreneur and tech investor has come a long, long way from when he boarded a plane for the first time in his life, bound for Australia, where was all set to begin life as a student in Deakin University. Born in Aligarh, UP, Aamir had a middle-class upbringing, and dreamt, even as a child, of owning a business some day. He wanted to study more, he had his sights on Deakin University in Australia, but didn’t want to ask his father for money. While his parents weren’t poor, the tuition cost at a foreign university was beyond them. With some difficulty, Aamir’s father scraped together the fee for his son’s first semester.
Aamir Qutub
Hustle to make it
Alone in Geelong, Aamir had to find ways to fund his study. He applied for dozens of jobs – and got no responses. In the end, he landed a job as a janitor at the airport in Geelong. “In India, a cleaning job is looked down upon,” Aamir said in an interview. “In Australia, it’s like any other job. When my parents found out about work, they became quite sad. My relatives also started gossiping about me and giving the family a hard time.”
Aamir remained unfazed, working the 6 am to 6 pm shift, studying during his breaks. The long hours got in the way of his work and he was forced to quit. He found himself another job and would wake up at 3 am to deliver newspapers. He continued to search for work, finally landing an internship at at IT firm and then at ICT Geelong, where he was promoted quickly and soon worked directly under the general manager. When his boss quit, he was appointed the interim GM and was promoted again, becoming the company’s youngest GM. “Within a year, the revenue of the company increased by 30 percent,” Aamir said.
Striking out as an entrepreneur
In 2014, the Global Indian registered Enterprise Monkey Proprietor, with an investment of AUD 4,000, which he had managed to save. He hired himself an assistant in India and began working with a team of four. Business grew and Aamir scaled up on hiring, only to find, he dind’t have the money to pay them. “We were making money, but I was in debt. I took a loan of around AUD 100,000 from private lenders to maintain the cash flow,” he recalled.
Again, he was in a financial quandary. He had left the safety being employed, turning his back on what had promised to be a glowing career, even if it wouldn’t one of entrepreneurship. He took that leap and found success, only to find himself back where he started – wondering where they money was coming from. The situation worsened, to the point where Aamir couldn’t afford to put fuel in his car. “I had 17 employees, the turnover was big but the profits weren’t there.”
This was his most troubling time as an entrepreneur. Aamir knew he had to step back and assess the situation. He realised that he had taken on small clients – that move hadn’t paid off. He had also fallen into the trap of planning, taking focus off the goal itself. “The business was repositioned on profitability rather than on growth, and voila! I repaid the debt within three months.”
Today, the company employs a 100 people and has a turnover of over Rs 12 crore. Enterprise Monkey Proprietor Ltd was also awarded the Australian Smartest Innovation of the Year.
Giving Back
These days, the business runs on “auto-mode,” as Aamir puts it, leaving him with room for other pursuits. He set up the Aamir Qutub foundation and continues to work with students in India. This included setting up the first-ever recruitment drive in his alma mater, Aligarh Muslim University, during which 2000 students were placed in 30 companies. He also introduced free WIFI on campus and Smart classrooms, even lobbying national policies for the students.
During the pandemic, Aamir founded “Angel Next Door,” an outreach program that mobilised the community, allowing citizens to ask for – and provide – help discreetly. Aamir, who was also named the Australian Young Business Leader of the Year, continues to live in Geelong with his wife, Sarah Niazi, who is a dentist. “My life has always been exploring new possibilities,” he said, adding, “I always wanted to be successful, I just wanted to pursue what I loved and I had this belief in myself.”
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