Inspiring stories of Indian Entrepreneurs

Very few people are able to achieve a meticulous working system and win the appreciation of a very large number of people. Kasturbhai Lalbhai was one such prominent industrialist who was successful in attaining the honor of a nationalist businessman and a renowned magnate, a tribute that is often related with another business tycoon G.D. Birla. Right from stabilizing his father's yet-to-be established business to instituting a vast business empire, Kasturbhai worked throughout his life with immense hard work, dedication, honesty, and determination, thereby keeping his family business ongoing, ever since his ancestor Shantidas Zaveri began in the Mughal Era. Apart from setting up numerous companies in various industries, he was also associated with establishing new institutions to promote education in the country.

Vishal Gondal is a restless soul. He exudes an unquiet perhaps expected from serial entrepreneurs who are buzzing with ideas and want things done at the speed of light. Entrepreneurship is all about “failing fast and moving on to the next thing”, he says. But failure is not what the man, who founded India’s first and largest mobile gaming company, eventually selling it to Disney for $100 million, can be charged with.

A renowned industrialist, Mr.Venugopal N Dhoot is the chairman of Videocon Industries Ltd. and has been its Managing Director since 2005. He is one of the promoters of the Videocon group of companies and has been instrumental in the growth and promotion of the Videocon Group.
His biggest proud moment was when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called ‘Videocon’ the proud face of Global India. ‘India Today’ ranked him 36th in the ‘Top 50 Power List’ for the year 2009. In 2010, he was re-appointed as Videocon Group Managing Director for a period of five years.
Born on September 30, 1951 Dhoot holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Pune University. The foundation of Videocon Industries was laid by his father Nandlal Dhoot who was the founder of Videocon Corporation and Videocon Electronics. The company made a great transition when it received one of India’s first licenses to make colour televisions.

Founder Chairman of Jet Airways; Recipient of the first BM Munjal Award for Excellence in Learning & Development in the Private Sector category in 2006. Naresh Goyal is the founder Chairman of Jet Airways, India's largest domestic airline. Jet Airways presently operates over 320 flights daily to 48 destinations, of which five are international. Naresh Goel also figures in Forbes list of Indian billionaires. Naresh Goyal completed his graduation in Commerce in 1967 and joined the travel business with the GSA for Lebanese International Airlines. From 1967 to 1974 he learnt the intricacies of the travel business through his association with several foreign airlines.

Honored with Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in 2000. Ratan Tata was the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. Ratan Naval Tata is also the Chairman of the major Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices. He has taken Tata Group to new heights and under his leadership Group's revenues have grown manifold.

Adi Godrej is one of the icons of Indian Industry. He is the chairman of Godrej Group. .Adi Godrej was born in a business family. His father's name was Burjorji Godrej and his mother's name was Jai Godrej. More than a century age, the Godrej's were into manufacturing locks and vegetable-based soaps. The Godrej products were among the first indigenously manufactured products to displace entrenched foreign brands.

T.V. Sundaram Iyengar was a man of principles and a true visionary. During the 1930's, when riding an automobile was still a distant dream for many Indians, he had the vision to start the first ever rural bus service in Madurai. Business was not only a passion for Sundaram Iyengar, but also a service to the common man. His innovative and visionary ideas, hard work and determination formed the base for 'T.V Sundaram Iyengar and Sons Group of Companies', one of India's largest industrial conglomerates. The group started by Iyengar extended its services to motor industry, motor services and finances in the following years. No wonder, today he is regarded as one of the most successful industrialists of his time. T.V Sundaram Iyengar was also a forward thinker and a stringent follower of Gandhian philosophies. Know all about his life, feats and deeds in the write-up below.

Tulsi Tanti is the Chairman of Suzlon Energy Ltd, a company dealing in wind energy. He is one of those first time entrepreneurs who saw potential in an inchoate idea, ventured into it, and made it big. Today, he ranks among top 10 richest men of India. A commerce graduate and a diploma holder in mechanical engineering, Tulsi Tanti originally hails from Gujarat and is presently based in Pune, Maharashtra. Tulsi Tanti was earlier into textiles. He started his textile business in Gujarat. But he found that the prospects stunted due to infrastructural bottlenecks. The biggest of them all was the cost and unavailability of power, which formed a high proportion of operating expenses of textile industry.

In India's male dominated banking sphere, Chanda Kochhar carved a niche for herself. This was no easy task. In her career which extends to over three decades of experience, she remained strong willed and alert. Her determination to make it to the top only grew from year to year. Kochhar's career growth can be traced along with the expansion of the bank over the past several years. She never stuttered in her growth and was one of the few who kept up with the aggressive development run of ICICI bank. It was her sharp strategic planning which made the ICICI bank the 'Best Retail Bank in India' for five consecutive years. As per Forbes, It's no wonder then that she has been ranked 20th amongst the most powerful women in business and in the world. Read on to find out more about how Chanda Kochhar made it to the top of the corporate pile.

Raunaq Singh was one of the earliest entrepreneurs of independent India who made it big. He was the founder of Raunaq group. The Raunaq Group's major companies include Apollo Tyres Ltd, Bharat Gears Ltd, Bharat Steel Tubes Ltd, Raunaq International Ltd, Menarini Raunaq Pharma Ltd, and Raunaq Automotive Components Ltd. Raunaq Singh was born in 1922. After initial struggle he went on to become a powerful figure in corporate India. At one point of time in his life he could afford only one paisa a day for meals and when he retired his group was employing 9000 people on his payroll.