Labour of love

BENGALURU: Life has been nothing but “super stressful” for Rohit MA since the COVID-19 outbreak. The co-founder and MD of Cloud Nine Group of Hospitals admits that this is probably the most challenging situation he has encountered as an entrepreneur. From nurses who wanted to stay home owing to family pressure to doctors apprehensive of adopting new technology like tele-consultations, and a pandemic scare at the hospital, Rohit has had to think afresh to keep things running smoothly. “When we heard about young nurses being under pressure to stay home, we called their parents to explain the measures we are taking to keep them safe, and tell them the value each of them adds,” he says.

Those were lessons that the IIM-B alumnus admits he wouldn’t have heard in any B-school. Hailing from a family of doctors and entrepreneurs, Rohit entered the world of business at 18 when his father suggested that he, along with his brother, get real-world business experience. The duo went on to merchandise high-end consumer electronics, an experience that has held him in good stead even to this day.

So despite being an engineering graduate and working at MNCs, turning entrepreneur was always at the back of his mind. Armed with experience in the corporate world, Rohit plunged into the F&B space, joining the then popular pub Purple Haze to take the business forward. It was then that his entrepreneur father, Ashok Kumar, and maternal uncle, Dr R Kishore Kumar – now the founder-chairman and neonatologist of the chain – were discussing the neonatal standards in the country and thought of starting a network of NICUs. “Since I was already managing businesses, they asked if I interested in maternity ventures, and I was,” he says.  

“When we began in 2007, the idea was to reach profitability for the first unit in 36-48 months. However, we hit the target in nine months,” he says about his family business where disagreements are sometimes due to different aspirations. “We’re from different generations, so sometimes our ways differ. But we figure things out,” says Rohit. 

With growth came the question of funding. “We took time deciding about the way ahead, since it would mean getting an external person into the family business. But bringing on board a CEO helped professionalise the company,” says Rohit, whose chain has its footprint from Chennai to Chandigarh, with six hospitals and independent clinics in Bengaluru. He has also invested in 22 other businesses. With stress being inevitable, Rohit finds solace in fitness, sketching (a trait he inherits from his artist mother, Usha) and company of his nine-year-old son, Rishi, and wife, Monica. “My son dares to question and gives me a new perspective,” he says.