Shahreer Zahan is the founder and CEO of Adroit Education, an education consulting service and mentorship program that has fundamentally changed how Bangladeshi students access top American universities. Since 2017, Adroit has helped students secure over $100 million in scholarships from institutions like Princeton, Stanford, MIT, and Yale, while maintaining a near-perfect success rate across eight years of operation.
What sets Adroit apart in Bangladesh’s crowded education counseling market is its refusal to operate like a traditional agency. Adroit works exclusively with highly selective institutions that don’t pay commissions and accept fewer than 3% of international applicants. The company deliberately turns away hundreds of applicants each year to maintain small cohort sizes of 50-60 students, prioritizing depth of mentorship over volume of placements. This approach has helped the company grow entirely through word-of-mouth without external funding or paid marketing, with 95% of students coming through referrals.
The results speak to the model’s effectiveness: when Shahreer started, only five or six Bangladeshi students were gaining admission to top US universities annually, almost all from British curriculum schools. Today, that number ranges from 80 to 200 students per year, with equal representation across all curricula: IB, British, and NCTB. Adroit’s alumni network now includes PhD candidates at Princeton and Cambridge, employees at Microsoft and Google, investment banking analysts at Jefferies, and founders of Silicon Valley startups valued at over $100 million.
In this fascinating interview, conducted over email, Shahreer traces his journey from a disappointed university applicant, whose near-miss with financial aid at Rochester and NYU planted the seed for Adroit, to running operations from a Dhanmondi restaurant with three students, to building a selective program that receives 500-600 applications annually. He details the four pillars of Adroit’s methodology: Strategy (personal branding and extracurricular development), Test Preparation (Adroit’s critical reading program “Artemis”), Application Preparation (authentic storytelling through dynamic writing workshops), and College Selection and Financial Aid (data-backed analysis and direct advocacy with universities).
The conversation explores critical strategic decisions that enabled Adroit’s growth: hiring team members who genuinely cared about students rather than just possessed skills, demystifying SAT preparation with consistent methodology, encouraging meaningful extracurriculars, and building a cohort system where students support each other. Shahreer discusses his competitive advantages against both commission-based agencies and newer mentorship programs attempting to replicate his model, emphasizing eight years of institutional knowledge, established processes, extensive research on university admission trends, and an authentic alumni network that cannot be quickly duplicated.
Shahreer candidly addresses the major challenges facing Adroit today: declining student quality due to social media’s impact on attention spans, uncooperative schools that don’t invest in post-graduation outcomes, students overcommitted to coaching centers with little time for meaningful extracurriculars, rising global competition, and increasingly need-sensitive US universities. He outlines both short-term priorities: building a technology platform to automate routine tasks and restructuring the team to address new student needs; and a long-term vision for geographic expansion into Bangladeshi diaspora communities globally, to serve over 500 students annually while preserving Adroit’s core values.
The conversation goes deep into Zahan’s personal philosophy on entrepreneurship: why passion for solving problems matters more than chasing money, how physical health through Muay Thai and long-distance running directly impacts business decisions, why nothing is absolute and continuous learning is essential, and how founders must accept they’re not the center of the world. He shares three critical mistakes other founders should avoid: hiring the wrong people, seeking validation from skeptics, and sacrificing health for hustle; and describes his productivity habits, including 10,000 daily steps while listening to founder podcasts and maintaining frequent Zoom calls with alumni at elite institutions.
If you are an entrepreneur, operator, or someone interested in the inner workings of venture building, this is a must-read. You will learn how to build a mission-driven business that achieves sustainable profitability without external funding or paid marketing, how to create competitive moats through depth rather than scale, how to maintain quality while growing in a market that rewards volume, how to differentiate a service business in an industry dominated by transactional relationships, and much more. Happy building. Enjoy!
I. Personal Journey And History
Future Startup: Please briefly tell us about yourself and your journey to what you are doing.
Shahreer Zahan: I’m Shahreer Zahan, founder and CEO of Adroit Education.
My path to entrepreneurship began unexpectedly—with a door that almost opened. At St. Joseph Higher Secondary School in Dhaka, I immersed myself in scientific Olympiads, quiz competitions, and environmental leadership, graduating with a perfect GPA and earning selection to the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. This foundation led to acceptances at the University of Rochester, New York University (NYU), Hong Kong University of Science & Tech (HKUST), and the University of Helsinki for my undergraduate studies.
But the financial aid packages fell short—not by much, but enough to place an impossible burden on my father. I stayed in Bangladesh and accepted a full-tuition (100%) scholarship to study Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the North South University.
That disappointment became the seed of Adroit. During my second year at North South, I realized that the intensive research I’d done into US financial aid policies and application strategies—sitting inside EMK Center and American Center—could serve others. My juniors from St. Joseph and the Olympiad community were navigating the same maze I had. When I looked at the landscape in 2017, I saw agencies focused on commission-driven placements at less selective institutions, but no one was genuinely mentoring students through the rigorous process of applying to highly competitive schools and achieving scholarships.
The gap was clear. I had lived the problem, understood the process intimately, and saw students who needed what I wish I’d had. So I started Adroit—not with business training, but with lived experience and a conviction that bright students shouldn’t lose opportunities to financial barriers they could navigate with the right guidance.”
The first lesson is that passion for solving a problem matters more than chasing money. If you start a business just to make money, you will compromise when it becomes convenient. But if you are genuinely trying to solve a problem you have lived, the mission sustains you through difficult decisions.
Future Startup: Tell us about how Adroit Education got started. What was the motivation behind specifically starting a venture like Adroit? How did you come up with the idea? What went into building the initial operation/first version of the platform/product/services?
Shahreer: Adroit didn’t begin with a business plan or investment capital. It began with three students who needed help.
Before 2017, I was already doing this work informally. When I was applying to US colleges myself, I had spent months researching which schools offered full or near-full financial aid to international students. This information for international students’ aid percentage wasn’t easily available on university websites. The majority of the information was for US Citizens. You had to dig, compare, and piece it together. After going through that process, I started helping friends navigate the same questions. It felt natural to share what I’d learned.
In 2017, three of my juniors reached out. Two were from the Astronomy Olympiad community, one from St. Joseph. They were facing the same maze I had. I agreed to help them properly, not just with casual advice but with the full journey: understanding their stories, mentoring them through their essays, helping them choose schools strategically, and crafting applications that showed who they truly were.
There was no formal investment. Just time, attention, and the knowledge I’d gained from my own experience. I worked with each student individually, helping them think through what they wanted to say and how to say it authentically. Sitting at the restaurant “North End” in Dhanmondi, we talked about fit, about financial aid policies, and about which schools aligned with their goals.
That year, all three got into excellent schools with strong financial aid. Aadib went to Rochester Institute of Technology to study Electrical Engineering. Ishraque ended up at Colgate and is now doing his PhD in Geophysics at Princeton. Anuva chose St. Lawrence University and is currently pursuing her PhD in Planetary Science at Arizona State University with a prestigious NSF and NASA Fellowship.
Adroit is not an agency. It is a mentorship program. We take students who may be gifted academically or in extracurriculars, and we work closely with them to help them discover and craft their own stories. We help them understand who they are, what they have to offer, and how to present that authentically to the world’s top universities. That is the core of what we do, and it is fundamentally different from what an agency does.
Future Startup: Tell us about the thesis behind starting Adroit. What problem is Adroit trying to solve?
Shahreer: When I started Adroit, I saw two problems that needed solving. The first was about how students were being served. The market was dominated by agencies that sent students to universities in Australia, the UK, Canada, and the US based on where they could earn commissions. These agencies advocated for themselves, not for students. They didn’t care about fit. They cared about placement. If a university paid them, that’s where students went, regardless of whether it was the right choice academically or financially.
I wanted to build something different. A mentorship model where I would actually strengthen the candidacy of the students, which would ultimately advocate for them. This meant training them for extracurriculars, guiding them through the SAT and TOEFL/IELTS, brainstorming ideas for their personal essays, and then helping them identify schools where they had a strong chance of admission and financial aid. The goal was to find the finest right fit for each student, both academically and financially.
The second problem was about access. When I started in 2017, only five or six Bangladeshi students were getting into top US universities each year. Most of them came from British curriculum schools. Meanwhile, I explored different forums and saw students from Nepal, India, or Pakistan going to excellent liberal arts colleges and research universities in much larger numbers. I knew Bangladesh had talented students who could compete at that level. They just needed the right guidance and support.
So Adroit’s thesis was simple: be the advocate students deserve, focus on genuine fit over commissions, and expand access to top US universities for Bangladeshi students who had been overlooked.
Today, that number has grown from five or six students to 80 to 200 students getting into these top institutions every year. That growth tells me the problem was real, and the solution is working.
Future Startup: Tell us about the first year of Adroit? Tell us about how you set up the organization, how big the team was, challenges in the early days, what helped in the growth of the company, how you reached the conviction that this is an important problem to solve, and has the potential to scale. Tell us about a few major strategic decisions/activities that have helped grow the business.
Shahreer: The first year was just me and three students: Anuva, Aadib, and Ishraque. I ran everything solo from a restaurant called North End in Dhanmondi and the library at North South, working part-time.
The growth was steady. That first year, three students. The second year, eight. By the third year, we had 21 students, and I knew I couldn’t do this alone anymore. I brought on my first team members, three students from North South University who are still with me today. Hiring them was one of the most important decisions I made.
In those early days, almost everything came through word of mouth. I was part of the Astronomy Olympiad community, and my first clients came from there. When they succeeded, they told their friends. The news spread through the Olympiad network, and students started referring to each other. Meanwhile, we opened Facebook and Instagram pages. Students could see Adroit’s track record, and they wanted to be part of this mentorship program. I’d say 90% to 100% of our early growth was organic referrals.
I reached the conviction that this problem mattered and could scale when we started getting more applications than we could handle. Students wanted to work with us. We had to create a selection process and turn people away. That’s when I knew the demand was real.
A few strategic decisions shaped our growth. First, hiring the right team members who genuinely care about students. Second, we demystified SAT preparation. Students coming to Adroit were preparing for the SAT in all different ways, so we created a clear, consistent method. Third, we encouraged students to pursue diverse and meaningful extracurriculars, not just academics. Fourth, we kept improving our thematic profile development strategies and coherence in the overall application.
We also built a cohort system where students helped each other through the application journey. Instead of chasing volume, we kept cohorts smaller and focused on ensuring 100% success rates. This approach felt counterintuitive at first, but it worked. We built a niche community with an unorthodox method, and that genuine effort is what drove the business forward.
II. Today And The State Of The Union
Future Startup: How much has Adroit evolved from those early days? How do you introduce Adroit today to people who are not familiar with the work of Adroit?
Shaheer: Adroit has changed significantly since those early days, and the numbers tell that story clearly.
When we started, we were working with two or three students at a time. Today, we work with 50 to 60 students per cycle. A couple of years back, our class size was as large as 80. What makes this more impressive is that we select these students from a pool of 500 to 600 applications. And almost all of those applications come through word of mouth and the reputation we have built over the years. We have never had to chase students. They come to us.
Another major shift is the alumni network we have built. When we started, we only had students going through the process. Now we have a growing community of graduates who have gone on to do remarkable things. Some are pursuing PhDs/Masters at Princeton, Stanford, Cambridge, or Carnegie Mellon. Others are working at companies like Microsoft, Google, or founding engineers at Silicon Valley Startups valued over $300 million.
One of our alumni has founded an AI Hardware Tech Startup in Silicon Valley valued at over $100 million. We have students working at Jefferies as investment banking analysts or multiple consulting interns at McKinsey.
Beyond Bangladesh, we are also starting to see non-resident Bangladeshis from around the world reaching out to work with us, which tells us that the program’s reputation has started to travel.
When it comes to introducing Adroit to people who are not familiar with our work, the biggest challenge is that the concept of an agency is so common in Bangladesh that people often assume we are one. They think we have ties with universities or that we earn commissions for placing students. So I always make a clear distinction.
Adroit is not an agency. It is a mentorship program. We take students who may be gifted academically or in extracurriculars, and we work closely with them to help them discover and craft their own stories. We help them understand who they are, what they have to offer, and how to present that authentically to the world’s top universities. That is the core of what we do, and it is fundamentally different from what an agency does.
Future Startup: Please tell us about the products and services you offer. Tell us how your service delivery works.
Shahreer: Adroit offers a structured, end-to-end mentorship program designed to take a student from where they are today to where they deserve to be. The journey is built around four core pillars, and each one is designed to work together as a whole.
The first pillar is Strategy. This is where the journey begins. When a student joins Adroit, we sit down with them and work on building their personal brand. We help them understand their strengths, identify a clear theme for their application, and figure out how all the pieces of their profile fit together. From there, we advise them on choosing the right extracurriculars, help them build professional networks, and connect them with opportunities that allow them to develop real skills and create meaningful impact. The goal is not just to look good on paper. It is to become someone whose story is genuinely compelling.
The second pillar is Test Preparation. As standardized test scores remain an important part of the application process, we take them seriously. Adroit runs a structured critical reading program called Minerva, which builds strong reading habits, provides consistent practice with clear guidelines, and helps students develop a personalized strategy for exam day. The results speak for themselves. The majority of our students finish with SAT scores of 1500 (out of 1600) or above.
The third pillar is Application Preparation. This is where the heart of the work happens. American colleges want to understand who you are, not just what you have achieved. Our creative team runs dynamic writing workshops and provides individual feedback to help each student present their most authentic self. We help them uncover the experiences, challenges, and motivations that have shaped them, and then we help them tell that story in a way that is honest, compelling, and genuinely personal.
The fourth pillar is College Selection and Financial Aid. For most families, the cost of studying abroad is the single biggest concern. What many people do not realize is that the most elite American colleges often offer the most generous financial aid packages in the world. Using our own data-backed analysis, we evaluate college options that align with each student’s academic profile and financial situation. We guide them through every step of the financial aid application, help them gather the necessary documents, and, when needed, advocate directly with colleges to negotiate aid packages. The goal is to make a world-class education not just possible, but affordable.
Together, these four pillars create a mentorship experience that is far removed from what a traditional agency offers. We do not place students. We prepare them, support them, and advocate for them, from the very first conversation to the day they receive their acceptance letter.
Our work is highly personalized, and we refuse to compromise on quality. We believe that saying no to some students is what allows us to say yes fully to the ones we accept. That commitment to quality and success is what sets us apart from other providers in the market.
Future Startup: Who are your ideal customers, how do you serve them, how do you reach them, and why should they take your services over other providers?
Shahreer: Our ideal students/clients/cohort members are those who have shown consistent academic excellence and seriousness in their studies. Typically, we look for students with all As in O and A Levels, or SSC and HSC. We focus on this level of academic strength because we are working with students who require very high financial aid, often above $65,000 per year. That said, we do occasionally accept students with a couple of Bs if they demonstrate strong potential in other areas. Another reason being top colleges predict future academic performance in college based on the prior academic rigor the students have handled and how well they have performed.
When it comes to financial preparation, families need to understand the reality of US college costs. American universities are becoming increasingly need-sensitive every year, which means financial need can affect admissions decisions. We expect families to be prepared to contribute at least $25,000 for colleges that cost around $90,000 per year. From there, we work to secure financial aid to cover the remaining amount. This expectation helps us set realistic goals and ensure that the process ends successfully for both the student and the family.
In terms of how we reach students, the answer is simple. Almost 95% of our clients come through referrals and word of mouth. This is a trust-driven and results-driven industry. Parents and students trust us because they have seen what we have accomplished with others. We have never needed aggressive marketing. Our work speaks for itself, and the community spreads the word.
As for why students choose Adroit over other providers, it comes down to expertise and results. We have maintained a success rate close to 100% for eight years. That is not because we work with every student who approaches us. In fact, we turn away many applicants every year. The reason is simple. Our work is highly personalized, and we refuse to compromise on quality. We believe that saying no to some students is what allows us to say yes fully to the ones we accept. That commitment to quality and success is what sets us apart from other providers in the market.
Future Startup: How does your pricing work? How do you ensure the success of the students/customers?
Shahreer: Our pricing model is designed to be accessible while sustaining the quality of service we provide. We charge a flat fee that covers the entire application cycle, and we work hard to keep that fee reasonable compared to international consultants. For families facing financial constraints, we evaluate each situation individually. Our goal has always been to serve students who deserve this opportunity, not just those who can easily afford it.
Success is ensured through several mechanisms. First, we are extremely selective about who we admit. We only work with students who have the grit. Second, we maintain small cohort sizes, which allows us to give each student the individual attention they deserve. Third, we have a proven framework built over eight years that has consistently delivered results. And finally, our team is deeply invested in each student’s outcome. We consider our mentees’ applications as one of our own applications. We keep proofreading and push students to polish until we’re satisfied it’s flawless.
It’s this attention to detail, and the joy of celebrating each acceptance letter together with our mentees, that drives everything we do.”
Future Startup: How big is the business, how many users do you have today, what is the revenue number, etc?
Shahreer: Adroit is a small but impactful business. We work with 50 to 60 students per application cycle, which is deliberate. We could take on more, but we have chosen to prioritize quality over volume. Every year, we receive 500 to 600 applications, and we turn away the majority of them to maintain the level of personalized attention that drives our results.
Financially, the business generates strong revenue relative to our operating costs and maintains healthy profit margins. We operate with a lean team, low overhead, and a focus on sustainability. We have never taken external funding, and we have never needed to. The revenue we generate allows us to pay our team fairly, reinvest in the program, and continue serving students without compromising our mission.
The real measure of success, though, is not in revenue. It is in outcomes. Our students have collectively secured over $100 million in scholarships from the finest universities since 2017. We have maintained a near 100% success rate for eight years. And we have helped transform the landscape in Bangladesh, where annual admits to top US universities have grown from single digits to 80 to 200 students per year. Adroit is not a large business by traditional standards, but it is a meaningful one for society, and that has always been the goal.
Future Startup: How does your distribution and marketing work?
Shahreer: Our distribution and marketing are almost entirely organic. Around 95% of our students come to us through word of mouth and referrals. This started early on when our first clients came from the Astronomy Olympiad community. When they succeeded and got into top universities with strong financial aid, they told their friends. The news spread naturally through the Olympiad network, and then beyond it.
We do have a presence on Facebook and Instagram, but these platforms serve more as validation than active marketing. Prospective students and parents visit our pages to see our track record, read about student successes, and understand what we offer. The content reinforces what they have already heard from others.
The reality is, in this industry, trust and results are everything. Parents do not choose a mentorship program because of an advertisement. They choose it because someone they trust told them it works. Our success rate and the outcomes we deliver have created a steady stream of referrals. Every year, we receive 500 to 600 applications without spending a single taka on paid marketing. That organic growth tells us we are solving a real problem in a way that genuinely works.
Future Startup: What are the core operational functions of Adroit? How does your operation work? What are the operational pillars? How is the company structured? How big is the team? Tell us about your organizational culture.
Shahreer: The team is intentionally small. I started alone, working from a restaurant and the university library. Today, our creative team includes Tasnim, a Fulbright Scholar now in the US; Shehrin, who recently completed her Master’s in Creative Writing from Canada; and Samiha, who finished her Master’s in Biotech from Malaysia. They were my earliest recruits from North South University—and the fact that they’re still with us says everything about the culture we’ve built. Our research team is led by Arafatur Rahaman, an active social science researcher, and our consulting team by M R Hossain. We’re currently restructuring to better match how our students’ needs are evolving, which will add another layer of support to the system.
Operationally, the company is structured around the student journey. We have team members who focus on strategy and extracurricular planning, others who lead test preparation through our Minerva program, a creative team that handles essay development and application writing, and specialists who guide college selection and financial aid applications. Everyone works collaboratively, and no one operates in a silo.
When it comes to student and parent culture, we prioritize relationships over transactions. We run annual trips to Sreemangal and BaseCamp, where students bond and build community. We’ve created a cohort system where students support each other rather than compete, and when they’re not working together in our office, you’ll probably find them studying or working on applications at a café somewhere in Dhaka.
The results have been remarkable. Most of our students heading to top US universities have already formed deep friendships through Adroit before they ever leave Bangladesh. Some found their best friends. A few even found their soulmates (yes, really). So when they land in an unfamiliar country and arrive at a campus with only one or two other Bangladeshis—which is typical at these highly ranked schools—they don’t feel insecure or lost. They already have a community. They visit their Adroit friends in different states over summer and winter breaks, or crash in each other’s dorms on random weekends.
III. Market, Competitive Position And Future
Future Startup: How big is the market in which Adroit operates? Where do you see the market going?
Shahreer: The market we operate in was quite small when we started, but it has grown significantly. When Adroit began in 2017, only five or six Bangladeshi students were getting into top US universities each year, and the majority came from British curriculum schools. Today, that number ranges from 80 to 200 students annually, and what is really encouraging is that there is now equal representation from all the curricula — IB, British, and NCTB. That shift shows the market is opening up to students from more diverse educational systems.
Looking forward, I see strong potential for continued growth. The biggest change is awareness. Eight to ten years ago, students were going to agencies that would simply place them wherever they could earn a commission. Students had limited information and often ended up at universities that were not the best fit. Today, with the internet and AI, students are far more informed. They can research universities themselves. They know about job opportunities, graduate school outcomes, and academic reputations. They are not just thinking about going abroad. They are thinking about going to places where they can access better academics & professors, research opportunities, and eventually, a stellar career outcome. That mindset shift is pushing more students toward top-ranking universities.
At the same time, we are seeing families change how they approach the process. Conversations about college expenses and financial aid are starting much earlier now. Families from NCTB backgrounds, in particular, are taking early preparation seriously, not just academically and in extracurriculars, but financially as well. They understand that getting into a top US university with substantial aid requires planning years in advance. This was not the norm even a few years ago, but it is becoming standard. That cultural shift tells me the market will continue expanding as more families understand what is possible and prepare accordingly.
On top of that, we’re seeing a lot of parents and students overwhelmed by curriculum options—NCTB, IB, Cambridge, Edexcel, AP (Advanced Placement)—and unsure which path makes sense. That’s another gap we’re looking to address.
That said, we have seen a slight dip recently due to the Trump administration’s interventions in higher education last year. Some students have shifted their focus from the US to Australia and other countries. However, the most meritorious students are still keeping their primary focus on top US universities and treating Australia and other destinations as secondary options. I believe this is a momentary situation. The fundamentals of US higher education, especially at elite institutions, remain strong. Things will stabilize within a year or two, and the long-term growth trajectory will continue.
Future Startup: There is a somewhat critical/negative connotation with student consultancy services in the market. How do you respond to that criticism?
Shahreer: I think the criticism is valid, but it is directed at the wrong model. The negative connotation exists because most consultancy services in Bangladesh operate as commission-based agencies. They advocate for themselves, not for students. They send students to universities that pay them, regardless of fit. They treat students as transactions. That approach deserves criticism.
Adroit operates completely differently, but explaining that difference has been one of our biggest challenges from the beginning. In a market dominated by agencies, the concept of mentorship was unfamiliar. Even today, when we receive applications and call students and parents for interviews, we have to spend the first meeting explaining what mentorship actually means and how it differs from what they have seen elsewhere.
What changes their perception is the conversation itself. During that initial meeting, we discuss the student’s story, their interests, their strengths, and their goals. We ask questions that agencies do not ask. We talk about fit, not just placement. We explain our process in detail and show how we work collaboratively with students over time. By the end of that meeting, parents and students understand the difference. It is not something we can explain through marketing. We have to prove it through our expertise, our approach, and the care we demonstrate in every interaction.
Future Startup: What competitive advantage does Adroit hold over its competitors?
Shahreer: Adroit faces two types of competitors, and our competitive advantage differs for each.
The first type is agencies. Against them, we have a fundamentally different business model. Agencies send students to universities that pay them commissions. These are typically less selective institutions with higher acceptance rates that need to fill seats. We send students to highly selective universities where the acceptance rate for international students is often below 3%. These universities have an abundance of applicants and only accept one or two students from Bangladesh each year. They do not pay commissions. They do not need agents. What they look for is exceptional students who fit their community. Our advantage over agencies is not just that we operate differently. It is that we are solving a completely different problem. We help students compete for opportunities that agencies cannot access.
The second type is newer mentorship programs. Over the past few years, four or five similar programs have started, some founded by our previous students or recent alumni who got accepted to universities and decided to replicate our model. Against them, our competitive advantage comes from depth and experience.
We have eight years of institutional knowledge. We understand not just the application process, but the nuances of how different universities evaluate students, how financial aid policies have shifted over time, and which strategies work in which contexts. We have conducted extensive research on universities, tracking admission trends, aid patterns, and outcomes. That research informs every decision we make, from which schools we recommend to how we position each student’s application.
We also have established processes. Over eight years, we have refined how we mentor students, how we run workshops, how we provide feedback, and how we build cohorts. New programs are still figuring this out. We have already solved these problems.
Finally, we have an authentic client base and alumni network built over nearly a decade. Our alumni are now doing PhDs at Princeton and Stanford, working at Microsoft and McKinsey, and founding startups in Silicon Valley. Many of them return to mentor current students. That network is not something you can replicate quickly. It is the result of years of trust, strong outcomes, and genuine relationships. New programs do not have that foundation yet.
Future Startup: Tell us about the major challenges of Adroit today.
Shahreer: Adroit faces several significant challenges today, and many of them are interconnected.
The first is the decline in student quality, particularly in terms of focus and intellectual depth. Social media and short-form content like reels have created fragmented attention spans. Students struggle to focus on reading scholarly books or engaging deeply with complex ideas. The aspiration for genuine intellectual pursuit has weakened. Many students want the outcome of getting into a top university, but they are not willing to invest in the kind of deep, sustained learning that these universities value.
The second challenge is that schools in Bangladesh are not cooperative. Many treat us like another agency and show little interest in collaborating. What is more concerning is that schools themselves are not invested in post-A-levels or HSC placement outcomes. They focus on getting students through their exams, but they do not care what happens next. That lack of support makes our job harder because we are trying to build well-rounded students in an ecosystem that does not prioritize that development.
The third challenge is time. A lot of students are spending excessive hours going to coaching centers after school, and often, that time investment is not even translating into better academic results. As a result, they have little time left for meaningful extracurriculars or preparing for the SAT. Neither their academics nor their holistic profile development is getting the attention it needs. We recommend extracurriculars that build genuine skills and impact, but students cannot commit because their schedules are already overloaded with coaching that may not even be effective.
Beyond these, the global competition is rising exponentially, and US universities are becoming increasingly need-sensitive, which makes financial aid harder to secure and requires even more strategic planning. And as newer mentorship programs try to replicate our model, we have to continue differentiating ourselves and proving our value in a market that still struggles to understand the difference between mentorship and transactional consulting.
The education market in Bangladesh is dominated by volume over value.
Future Startup: Tell us about Adroit’s plans: short-term priorities and long-term vision.
Shahreer: Our short-term priorities are building infrastructure and capacity. That means two things: developing a tech platform and restructuring our team.
Currently, our operations are highly manual. We track everything through spreadsheets, personal communication, and direct mentorship. That works when you are serving 50 to 60 students, but it is not scalable. We are building a technology platform that automates routine tasks, streamlines communication, organizes feedback, and tracks student progress. This will allow us to serve more students without sacrificing the personalized attention that drives our results.
We’re also in the middle of restructuring. Over the past few years, we’ve noticed students struggling with fragmented attention and difficulty making academic decisions. We’re deep in development on something exciting that addresses this while opening up a new market. More on that after the initial phase succeeds and we see a tangible outcome.
Long-term, we are focused on geographic expansion. Adroit has spent eight years proving that our model works in Bangladesh. Now we want to replicate that success in Bangladeshi diaspora communities globally. These families face similar challenges but lack access to the kind of culturally informed, mission-driven mentorship we provide. The vision is to serve over 500 students annually across multiple markets while preserving the values and quality that have always defined Adroit.
Focus on your work. Serve the people who need what you offer. Do not waste energy trying to convince people who are not ready to listen. Your job is not to be understood by everyone. It is to stay focused on the problem you are solving and the people you are serving.
IV. Reflections And Lessons
Future Startup: What’s your take on the education market in Bangladesh?
Shahreer: The education market in Bangladesh is dominated by volume over value. Most institutions focus on getting students through exams rather than developing them holistically. Schools do not care what happens after graduation. Agencies prioritize commissions over student outcomes. There is a cultural obsession with credentials but little emphasis on genuine learning. The market is growing and becoming more aware, but the infrastructure and mindset still need significant change.
Future Startup: From your experience, how should students who want to pursue higher studies abroad think about it? And also, how can they better prepare for such a path?
Shahreer: Students should start early and think holistically. Pursuing higher education abroad isn’t just about good grades—and a university should be seen as one chapter in a much longer journey.
So start with intellectual vitality: cultivate a genuine eagerness to read, learn, and explore ideas. If you love astronomy, read Feynman or Sagan for the joy of it—not to impress an admissions committee. If economics excites you, dig into intellectually rich texts and start thinking about where in Bangladesh you want to make an impact with that degree. READ VORACIOUSLY — start developing critical reading habits as early as possible. It will help you with everything: acing the SAT or IELTS, writing essays, and even acing classes in your future college.
Build a profile that reflects who you actually are, what you care about, and what you want to contribute. Pursue extracurriculars that align with your real interests, not activities that just look impressive on paper.
Financial planning matters too. Understand financial aid policies early and plan accordingly with your family.
Most importantly, be authentic. Admissions committees can tell when someone is manufacturing a persona. The best preparation isn’t learning how to game the system—it’s becoming someone genuinely worth admitting.
Schools do not care what happens after graduation. Agencies prioritize commissions over student outcomes. There is a cultural obsession with credentials but little emphasis on genuine learning.
Future Startup: Tell us about your biggest lessons on the life of a founder, and growing and building a business.
Shahreer: The first lesson is that passion for solving a problem matters more than chasing money. If you start a business just to make money, you will compromise when it becomes convenient. But if you are genuinely trying to solve a problem you have lived, the mission sustains you through difficult decisions. When the mission is clear, the money follows. When money is the mission, integrity becomes negotiable.
The second lesson is that health is everything. Staying fit and healthy is the greatest blessing from the Creator, and it directly affects how you build your business. When you are physically strong, you think clearly, you handle stress better, and you approach challenges with optimism instead of anxiety. I practice Muay Thai (Thai Kick-boxing), run long distances, and stay active because I know that my ability to lead depends on my physical and mental state. Founders often sacrifice health for hustle, but that is short-sighted. You cannot build something sustainable if you are running on empty.
The third lesson is that nothing is absolute. You have to stay open to learning because the world changes faster than you expect. What worked five years ago may not work today. Universities are becoming more needs-sensitive. Students are more distracted by social media. New competitors are entering the market. If you cling to old assumptions, you become irrelevant. I learn constantly from my students, from my alumni network, from podcasts, and from mistakes. The moment you think you have figured it all out is the moment you stop growing.
The fourth lesson is that you are not the center of the world. Everyone has their own priorities, their own struggles, their own version of reality. As a founder, it is easy to think everyone should care about what you are building, but they do not, and that is fine. Focus on your work. Serve the people who need what you offer. Do not waste energy trying to convince people who are not ready to listen. Your job is not to be understood by everyone. It is to stay focused on the problem you are solving and the people you are serving.
Future Startup: 3 mistakes you made that you would like other founders to avoid.
Shahreer: First, hiring the wrong people. One bad hire can undermine everything you have built. I learned early that team members must share your mission, not just your workload. Skills can be taught, but values cannot.
Second, seeking validation from others. In the early days, I spent too much energy trying to convince people who did not understand what we were building. I wanted schools to partner with us, agencies to respect us, and skeptics to believe in our model. That was wasted effort. The people who need what you offer will find you. The people who do not get it never will. Focus on your work, and the results will speak louder than any explanation.
Third, sacrificing health for hustle. I used to think working around the clock proved my commitment. It did not. It just led to burnout, poor decisions, and diminishing returns. You cannot build something sustainable if you are running on empty. Health is not a luxury. It is the foundation. Protect it, or eventually everything else collapses.
Future Startup: How do you stay productive as a founder? How do you learn and grow as a founder?
Shahreer: Health is my foundation. I believe staying healthy is the most important thing for a founder because everything else depends on it. I practice Muay Thai, long-distance running, and calisthenics regularly. Physical discipline translates into mental discipline, and staying fit ensures I have the energy and clarity to lead effectively.
One of my favorite habits is making sure I walk 10,000 steps a day. During these walks, I listen to podcasts from other founders and TEDx lectures. I also follow Instagram and social media pages of successful companies in my space to see what they are doing, where trends are heading, and whether anything can be adapted to Adroit. These walks give me time to think, learn, and stay connected to what is happening in the broader entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Another advantage I have is my alumni network. Many of my students are now at amazing places. I have frequent Zoom calls with them, and they share their new experiences, learnings, and perspectives. Those conversations keep me informed about what is happening in elite universities and top companies, and they often spark ideas I can bring back to Adroit.
Future Startup: 5 books you would like to recommend to our readers.
Shahreer: I am sure other founders have recommended non-fiction and entrepreneurship books, but I have always been drawn more to fiction and narrative. These five books had a deep impact on my growing up.
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.
- The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak.
- Shonkhonil Karagar by Humayun Ahmed.
- Joddopi Amar Guru by Ahmed Sofa.
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
You have to stay open to learning because the world changes faster than you expect. What worked five years ago may not work today.
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Notes: Thank you for reading. A few notes before you go:
- If you end up enjoying this interview, we would be grateful if you could share it with others who might find it inspirational and educational: post it on Facebook/LinkedIn, send it to your friends and WhatsApp group chats, and share it widely. I can’t exaggerate how much it helps us to grow and do more good work when you share our work.
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