Pranav Jyoti on Why Traditional Education is Failing Entrepreneurs
Pranav Jyoti, General Partner at Mirai Capital and CIO for the Private Office of His Highness Shaikh Ahmed bin Faisal Al Qassimi, discussed education and the investment approach of family offices.
In the latest episode of The Dollar Diaries, listeners were treated to an engaging conversation with Pranav Jyoti, the General Partner at Mirai Capital and Chief Investment Officer & Business Consultant for the Private Office of His Highness Shaikh Ahmed bin Faisal Al Qassimi. The discourse traversed diverse topics ranging from the rigidity of the education system and the essence of entrepreneurship, to the role of innovation and the unique dynamics of global investment ecosystems. This blog post delves into the key insights shared by Pranav Jyoti, offering a comprehensive reflection on his invaluable perspectives.
Education: A Legacy of Rigidity and the Call for Evolution
One of the central themes discussed by Pranav was the nature of education, particularly within Indian and other colonized countries. The education system, he argues, was traditionally designed not to cultivate thought leaders or innovators but to produce employees suited for specific roles in a structured economy. This legacy has perpetuated a mindset that values rote learning and adherence to predefined syllabi over creativity and critical thinking.
Pranav highlighted the enduring structure of classrooms that have remained fundamentally unchanged for over 1,500 years — a single instructor disseminates knowledge to many students in a dimensional, transactional learning environment. This antiquated model fails to tap into the emotional and intellectual potential of learners. Moreover, the system’s emphasis on memorization — be it Fayol’s 14 principles in business studies or Python programming exercises — often results in knowledge that is seldom applied practically.
Yet, over the past decade, there has been an increasing recognition of the need to reform education. The rise of technology, particularly AI, offers an unprecedented opportunity to personalize education and broaden horizons beyond the traditional syllabus. Pranav points to AI’s emerging use in therapy, underscoring the shifting paradigm where learning and emotional well-being intersect, helping students and learners approach life as a continuous journey of discovery rather than a checklist of academic achievements.
Entrepreneurship Versus Traditional Employment: The Indian Dichotomy
Pranav candidly discusses the ingrained expectations that education systems impose on students, often channeling them toward employment rather than entrepreneurship. Even so, despite these structural constraints, a small but rising number of individuals emerge as entrepreneurs and innovators. According to Pranav, this entrepreneurial segment remains minuscule compared to the broader population conditioned to seek job security.
He elaborates on the social dynamics that are beginning to shift the perception of entrepreneurship in countries like India. Over the past decade, entrepreneurship has become more socially acceptable and even “sexy,” leading more youth to consider starting their own ventures. However, this change is just the tip of the iceberg — massive systemic and cultural shifts are still necessary to nurture large-scale innovation ecosystems.
Pranav also touches on the challenge of scale. He draws from personal observations of family-run businesses and small enterprises where the goal is often sustainability rather than scale. For example, he reminisces about a trip to India, where the owners opted to keep an old, manual washing machine rather than invest in modern appliances that would free time for scaling their business. This reflects a broader cultural pattern of contentment with steady revenue and profits rather than exponential growth or innovation—an attitude Pranav views as limiting potential.
The Dynamics of Global Markets: Capitalism, Legacy, and Relationships
Pranav offers a fascinating framework for understanding global markets by dividing them into three broad categories:
America: A highly capitalistic, objective, and mature market driven by performance and results.
Europe: Markets focused more on legacy, history, and long-term stability, making the ecosystem slower to change but tightly structured.
Rest of the World (including Asia, Middle East, Japan, China): This collective is dominantly relationship-driven, prioritizing partnerships, emotions, and cultural ties.
In Asia and many relationship-oriented markets, business decisions often emphasize trust and emotional connection over pure financial returns. Consequently, venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) structures that work in Silicon Valley do not transpose effectively in these cultures. For example, VCs in the Valley invest large sums based largely on beliefs in ideas, whereas in Asia, investment decisions frequently hinge on Internal Rate of Return (IRR) with deep relational considerations.
Pranav foresees this divergence potentially hindering innovation in India and similar markets, where pure financial objectivity and risk-taking ecosystems necessary for breakthrough startups like OpenAI or Apple are less established.
The Ecosystem for Innovation: Beyond Transactions to Partnerships
A recurring theme throughout the conversation was the distinction between transactional and partnership-driven business cultures. Pranav emphasizes that while transactional approaches measure success by immediate returns and defined roles, partnerships foster long-term growth, mentorship, and joint value creation.
He shares personal anecdotes reflecting the importance of mission-driven companies and leaders who leverage emotional alignment rather than merely chasing profits or exits. Citing examples such as American Express, Pranav shows how companies that prioritize customer experience and mission over cost-cutting or quick profits often sustain long-term success.
Within investment strategies, Pranav highlights the emergent role of family offices as distinct from traditional institutional investors. Family offices approach investment with a mindset that goes beyond IRR to focus on partnerships, legacy, and sector synergy. For instance, a family office interested in the automotive sector may invest across a range of related industries (such as batteries, refineries, and data centers) because of a cohesive vision for the space, not just immediate financial returns.
Generational Perspectives, Flexibility, and the Evolving Workforce
Another thought-provoking segment of the discussion revolved around generational shifts in work attitudes, flexibility, and risk tolerances. Pranav observed that younger leaders and employees tend to have higher risk appetites, sometimes approaching roles with strong personal purpose but also inflexibility due to specialized expertise or preferences.
For example, a young design thinker resistant to adopting new technological skills may excel in their niche but may be limited in leadership potential without broader flexibility. Pranav stresses the value of balancing purpose-driven assertiveness with openness and adaptability — a synergy critical for personal and organizational growth.
He also references the humorous but insightful example of operating systems preferences at work (Mac versus Windows) to illustrate the practical implications of rigidity in teams, emphasizing that flexibility is a two-way street for successful collaboration.
Life Lessons from an Executive Search Consultant
Pranav shares unique insights drawn from his early career as an executive search consultant, where he often interviewed candidates earning many times his salary. These experiences taught him essential lessons about humility, learning from others, and the vast spectrum of human stories beyond textbook education.
He underscores the value of treating life as a continuous school where every interaction, success, or failure is a lesson that shapes one’s mental resilience, emotional intelligence, and long-term purpose. This perspective is particularly poignant considering the growing mental health challenges faced by students and young professionals worldwide.
Balancing Work and Life in a Global Context
The conversation also touched on cultural attitudes toward work-life balance and the practicalities of navigating everyday challenges like traffic and commute in bustling cities such as Dubai. Pranav and the host shared their strategies for managing time efficiently, including delaying start times and using travel time productively, highlighting the importance of recognizing “opportunity cost” rather than seeing expenses purely as costs.
Furthermore, they discussed the generation-specific propensity to invest heavily in ancestral homes despite rarely spending time there. This speaks to evolving definitions of “home” and retirement, shaped by globalization, mobility, and shifting personal values.
Mirai Capital: Building a Legacy through Partnership and Impact
Before wrapping up, Pranav shared insights about his current role at Mirai Capital. Operating as a multifamily office, Mirai Capital uniquely bridges governments, entrepreneurs, and investors, fostering collaboration between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) alliances.
The firm focuses on creating partnerships that extend beyond mere capital infusion to hands-on operative control and strategic mentoring, reminiscent of a grandfather backing a grandson’s lemonade stand while coaching him to build success step-by-step. Mirai capitalizes on its strong government relationships and access to families seeking to diversify wealth, especially Japanese families expanding their footprint beyond home borders into vibrant markets like UAE and India.
Advice to Entrepreneurs and Investors
When asked about traits he dislikes in entrepreneurs, Pranav identified a dismissive attitude — particularly when founders undermine others’ efforts or refuse collaboration. Equally, he acknowledged that passing on investment opportunities can be a nuanced, situational decision. The dynamic nature of business means companies can pivot, transform, and thrive in ways that an initial evaluation might not predict.
He concluded with a call for mission-driven entrepreneurship, adaptability, and long-term relationship-building as the pillars of enduring success. His journey from HR and business development roles to fund management exemplifies a holistic approach to value creation — one grounded in people, partnerships, and purposeful investing.
Pranav Jyoti’s conversation on The Dollar Diaries offers rich perspectives on multiple interrelated domains: education, entrepreneurship, market dynamics, investment philosophies, and the future landscape of global business. His views challenge traditional notions, urging stakeholders across education systems, startups, corporations, and investment firms to embrace flexibility, mission-led purpose, and partnership-driven approaches.
For entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals navigating today’s complex global economy, Pranav’s insights underscore the imperative of building ecosystems that transcend rigid structures and transactional mindsets. Innovation, after all, is not a one-time event but a continuous lifestyle fueled by learning, collaboration, and enduring value creation.
As the world transitions into an increasingly interconnected and emotion-capitalistic global village, voices like Pranav Jyoti’s pave the way for more conscious, inclusive, and impactful business practices — a narrative that The Dollar Diaries eloquently brings to its audience with each episode.