Founder’s Story
An engineer at heart, an MBA by training, and a tech founder by trade — here’s why Ritesh Agarwal and Aman Chaudhary chose to build a new-generation business school in Siliguri, and what keeps them up at night.
“I still call myself an engineer at heart,” says Ritesh Agarwal, one of the founders of NEXIS School of Business. “I love building things and solving problems.” That instinct — take something complex, break it down, try different ways to solve it — runs through an engineering degree, an MBA in consulting, years as a tech founder, and now a bold move into education. To Ritesh, the industry changed but the job never did: he’s still a builder solving problems. At NEXIS, the problem is a big one — how a whole region learns business.
How two founders and one problem became NEXIS
Ritesh and co-founder Aman Chaudhary go back further than NEXIS — their families are friends, and both belong to the Lions Club of Siliguri. The spark came when Aman returned to Siliguri fresh from his time at ISB, full of the spirit of entrepreneurship. In those early conversations about “what could we build here,” the two kept circling back to a single problem their region faced: talented students had to leave for a genuinely modern, industry-connected business education. NEXIS became their answer.
The one thing that keeps a founder awake
Ask Ritesh if he ever regrets starting NEXIS, and the answer is honest: not regret, but fear — and a huge sense of responsibility.
“In my earlier software company, the worst case was a client losing a few thousand dollars. With NEXIS, if this goes wrong, there are careers of students at play — young lives who put their trust in us. That’s what makes it really scary.”
— Ritesh Agarwal, Co-founder, NEXIS
That weight is also the point. It’s why the team obsesses over getting the model right rather than simply filling seats.
Why a new-gen business school, not a traditional college
NEXIS deliberately isn’t a conventional degree college. It’s a new-generation business school — an alternative to traditional college education — built around hands-on learning, real ventures, and industry exposure from day one. As Ritesh puts it, if he were 18 and living in Siliguri today, he’d choose exactly this kind of education: “something that gives me hands-on experience and the freedom to try a lot of things.”
That philosophy shows up in the very first semester, where students run real projects like Local Business Consulting and their own dropshipping ventures — a story we tell in detail in life at NEXIS. Curious what students actually study? See the 3-year curriculum.
▶ Watch the full story on the NEXIS YouTube channel.
On Gen-Z, attention spans and 9 a.m. classrooms
The world loves to criticise Gen-Z — short attention spans, the “30-second reel generation.” Ritesh refuses to pass that judgement. “It’s just changing times and changing interests,” he says. “My parents weren’t like me, and I don’t expect this generation to think the way we did. It’s a lesson for us as mentors and entrepreneurs — how do we adapt our approach?”
In practice, that means a team whose job is to make classrooms exciting enough that a Gen-Z student wants to wake up and show up at 9 a.m. — behind-the-scenes industry visits (like understanding how a PVR movie theatre actually runs), real sales challenges during orientation, and a constant question: where’s the genuine learning in this?
- NEXIS was founded to solve a real regional gap: modern, industry-connected business education in Siliguri.
- The founders treat students’ careers as a serious responsibility, not just numbers.
- It’s a new-gen business school by design — hands-on projects and industry exposure from semester one.
- The team adapts teaching to how this generation actually learns, without judgement.
The moment it all felt worth it
Two moments stand out for Ritesh. The first: walking into a full pre-orientation classroom and seeing students in the very seats the founders had only imagined — “a real goosebumps moment.” The second: the Parents’ Conclave, where, after the formal event, nearly every parent told him they could already see a difference in their child. “If your parents are giving good feedback, that’s real validation from your end customers,” he says. “That’s when we thought — yes, we’ve done something right.”
See the model for yourself
Explore the programme that started it all, or visit the NEXIS campus in Siliguri.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded NEXIS School of Business?
NEXIS was founded by Ritesh Agarwal and Aman Chaudhary. Ritesh is an engineer-turned-MBA and former tech founder; Aman returned to Siliguri after ISB. The two are long-time family friends and members of the Lions Club of Siliguri.
Is NEXIS a college?
No. NEXIS is a new-generation business school — an alternative to a traditional college — built around hands-on learning, real projects and industry exposure from the first semester.
What makes NEXIS different from other options in Siliguri?
Instead of lecture-and-exam learning, students run real ventures, consult local businesses, and intern early. See our comparison of the best private colleges in Siliguri.
Based on a NEXIS podcast conversation with co-founder Ritesh Agarwal and founding-batch students.
