He failed class 6, dropped out of school and worked on his father’s farm, today he runs a food company that is reportedly worth over 4 billion rupees.
A failed exam often seems like the end of the road. Many students begin to believe that one report card will define the rest of their lives. But the journey of entrepreneur PC Musthafa tells a very different story, one where failure became the starting point and not the destination.Born in a remote village in Kerala’s Wayanad district, Musthafa failed Class 6 and dropped out of school to work alongside his father, a daily wage laborer who barely earned enough to feed the family. Today he is the CEO of iD Fresh Food, a company valued at over Rs 4,000 crore, whose products reach thousands of homes in India and several international markets every day.
The teacher who refused to let a class 6 fail go away
Musthafa’s childhood was defined by poverty. His family lived in a small hut in the village of Chennalode, where even two meals a day were uncertain. His father earned around 10 rupees a day working on a ginger farm, and young Musthafa often joined him in the fields instead of focusing on school.After failing class 6, he stopped attending classes altogether.One day, his math teacher noticed the empty desk in the classroom and decided to find it. He walked to the farm where Musthafa worked and asked a question that would change his life forever.“Do you want to spend your life doing the same hard work as your father, or do you want education to change your future?”The conversation stayed with him.Musthafa returned to school with renewed determination. The boy who had failed a year passed class 7, excelled in class 10, won a free seat and free meals during college, scored 63rd rank in Kerala engineering entrance exam, completed computer engineering at NIT Calicut and then studied management at IIM Bangalore.
From a six-figure salary to delivering idli pasta on a scooter
After graduating, Musthafa worked with multinational companies in the Middle East and the United States, earning a salary his family never imagined possible.However, he wanted to build something of his own.In 2005, he returned to Bangalore and, along with his cousins, invested their savings to start a small food business from a modest 50 square feet kitchen.The idea was surprisingly simple.Musthafa noticed that the packaged idli and dosa paste available in the market often contained preservatives and were not always prepared hygienically. He decided to make fresh pasta with no added chemicals or preservatives and sell it in plain plastic packets.In the early days, there were no delivery vans or sophisticated supply chains. Musthafa himself would load packets of fresh pasta onto his scooter every morning and deliver them to neighborhood grocery stores before sunrise.
From a small kitchen to a Rs 4 billion food brand
This small kitchen has become one of the best-known fresh food companies in India.Today, iD Fresh Food produces more than 50,000 kilos of fresh dough every day. Its products, from idli and dosa pasta to parotas and chutneys, are sold in major Indian cities and international markets including the UAE, the US and Oman.The company, which started with a handful of employees, now provides livelihood to thousands of people and is estimated to be valued at over Rs 4,000 crore.Musthafa’s personal journey has been equally extraordinary. From growing up in a small village home where every rupee mattered, he now lives in Bangalore and has often spoken about how education transformed not only his career but his family’s future.
Why students should remember the story of PC Musthafa
There is a tendency to believe that success belongs only to the best in school. PC Musthafa’s life challenges this assumption.He failed class 6. He dropped out. He struggled with English. He came from a family that could barely afford daily meals.None of these setbacks stopped him from studying at NIT Calicut and IIM Bangalore, leaving a well-paying corporate career, or building one of India’s most successful locally grown food brands.For students disappointed by their exam results, her story offers a simple but powerful lesson: a failed exam can change your plans, but it doesn’t have to decide your future. Sometimes all it takes is a teacher who believes in you and the courage to start over.
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