KISH GILL, FOUNDER & CEO, GENTEM INDONESIA LIFELONG LEARNING GROUP
True entrepreneurs don’t just advise on risk; they live it. They trade the comfort of the spectator’s box for the white-knuckle thrill of the driving seat. For a decade, Kish Gill excelled as an investment banking guru, advising Boards on capital allocation and charting strategy for major firms. Yet, the urge to build—to own the outcome and influence society directly—became an undeniable pull. His perspective was profoundly shifted during an Executive Education course at Harvard Business School in 2015, which revealed entrepreneurship as the ultimate challenge: a test as much about emotional intelligence (EQ) as raw intelligence (IQ).
Instead of taking the arguably easier route of starting a business from scratch, Kish found his destiny in the deep end: acquiring a struggling, almost-dead education franchise in Indonesia, Wall Street English (WSE) in 2017. This was his high-stakes bet—a decision that exchanged the reliable calculus of corporate finance for the gritty, unpredictable fight to revive a dying business. His story is the ultimate blueprint for turning calculated opportunism and crisis management into a powerful, purpose-driven legacy.
From School to Social Club: Redefining Value
Kish recognized that WSE was “dying” because of its toxic culture and a product market fit that had not evolved with changing consumer behaviour that prioritized flexibility and social connection over academics. His turnaround strategy was radical: transforming WSE Indonesia from a rigid offline-only language school into a hybrid ed-tech platform marketed as a lifestyle-based community.
Our target market of busy young adults who wanted to improve their English proficiency valued flexibility and the social aspect of learning over academics. Therefore, the model shifted to selling memberships, offering members the freedom to learn on their own terms. Like a gym member chooses their workout, WSE members could choose their path, leveraging the online self-learning app or immersing themselves in engaging social activities offline. A “VIP” membership experience was introduced, elevating the brand. Being a member of Wall Street English Indonesia meant having a new social identity as four interest-based communities were curated with fun and engaging events.
Almost all of its 10 physical centers were relocated with fresh designs resembling modern, community social spaces across three cities.
Kish also transformed the business digitally, not only internal systems, but making digital marketing a core expertise.
The Ultimate Test: Crisis and Character
By the end of 2019, the business was growing, profitable and had successfully been turned around when came the defining fire: the COVID-19 pandemic. For a service business built on physical centers, the lockdown was an existential threat, forcing Kish to face the hardest test of his leadership.
He had three non-negotiable core values—Family, Integrity, and Excellence—and the crisis demanded he live them out immediately. His first decision was costly but defining: zero employees were laid off. “We don’t cut each other off because we’re family,” he stated. Though salaries had to be reduced, the commitment to keeping the team together and the commitment to our members was paramount.
Simultaneously, he made a high-stakes operational gamble: doubling down on digital. The challenge wasn’t just delivering classes online, but mastering the “art of selling online” for the first time. This strategic pivot was successful, fueling record profits that enabled Kish to make an astonishing gesture: he repaid every cent of the salaries that had been cut during the worst months of the pandemic
“Without my employees going the extra mile, we wouldn’t have a home to return to,” he reflects. This action was not merely compensation; it was integrity proven through ultimate fidelity, solidifying a culture of excellence and innovation.
Growing Beyond – Gentem Indonesia Lifelong Learning Group
This successful pivot generated the capital and the philosophical blueprint for the wider Gentem Group, which is based on the belief that all successful people are lifelong learners. The Group’s mission is therefore to cultivate the essential characteristics of lifelong learning which is comprised of a set of skills and mindset
Leveraging the physical locations and customer base of Wall Street English, Kish converted all centers to Gentem Lifelong Learning centers and now offers complementary products such as:
- Genstarkids: Developing the love of learning in kids aged 3-12 through a personality-based learning methodology focusing on the development of communication, character and cognitive soft skills
- INDIES (Independent International Education Solutions): Providing objective unbiased guidance for students and parents planning to study abroad as well as equipping them with the soft skills necessary to thrive whilst studying abroad
- Professional Skills: A business skills course (Presentations, Meetings, Personal Branding, Business writing) for both corporate clients and young professionals
- Street Talk: An online, conversation-focused token-based program for busy professionals looking to practice and improve speaking in English
- Gentem Corporate Solutions: Customised English and professional/workplace development courses for large corporates, online and offline
Kish sees the Group as a platform upon which to build complementary lifelong learning businesses leveraging both cross/up-selling and cost synergies with shared sales and marketing expertise and has ambitions to grow beyond Indonesia.
The Legacy of Integration
For Kish, the notion of work-life balance is obsolete; his philosophy is work-life integration. He doesn’t seek to escape his business; he seeks challenges within it, likening the rush of managing a crisis to adrenaline sports like skiing and racing. This intensity came with real financial commitment: he invested a large proportion of his life savings and did not draw a salary for the first three years of the venture. The business is his “baby,” and the constant pursuit of growth is the reward.
His final counsel for aspiring entrepreneurs distills his entire, comprehensive journey into one powerful principle: Purpose with a Profit.
“Don’t focus on making money for yourself,” he urges. “Your goal should be to really create value for other people. Because once you create real value… the money will come.”
He warns against building fragile ventures designed only for a quick flip that compromise quality. Instead, the focus must be on building a sustainable, profitable business that keeps the customer’s best interests at its core—a lesson learned in the corporate world, and proven in the high-stakes, purpose-driven school of entrepreneurship. Gentem Indonesia Lifelong Learning Group is not just an education platform; it’s a testament to what happens when financial savvy meets ethical commitment.