BrightMinds 2025

From Rags to Riches: 5 Indian Entrepreneurs Who Built Empires from Scratch

Our Correspondent

Posted on 20 Jan 2025

13:20 PM

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Born in a small village in Gujarat, Dhirubai Ambani had limited formal education. He marked his entrepreneurial journey with just Rs 15,000 in hand by importing and selling polyester yarn, before starting Reliance Industries. He famously quoted, “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire to help you build theirs.” Today, Reliance is one of the largest conglomerates in India with interests in petrochemicals, retail, oil & gas, telecommunications and more.

Born in a small village in Gujarat, Dhirubai Ambani had limited formal education. He marked his entrepreneurial journey with just Rs 15,000 in hand by importing and selling polyester yarn, before starting Reliance Industries. He famously quoted, “If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire to help you build theirs.” Today, Reliance is one of the largest conglomerates in India with interests in petrochemicals, retail, oil & gas, telecommunications and more. Reliance

2/5

Coming from a background of traditional outlook, his early years were not marked by immediate success, but his keen interest in the food industry made IdlyGo an entrepreneurial success. Headquartered at Kolkata, IdlyGo’s first cycle vending field trial commenced on 3 February 2022 at Bankshall court in Dalhousie area in Kolkata. Initially a cloud kitchen startup, began their journey of delivering fresh, nutritious South Indian meals to common man at affordable prices. Each hub has a team of 20-50 vendors who transport the meals to their sales locations on IdlyGo vending cycles, ensuring a minimum carbon footprint in both the production and distribution of the Idlys.

Coming from a background of traditional outlook, his early years were not marked by immediate success, but his keen interest in the food industry made IdlyGo an entrepreneurial success. Headquartered at Kolkata, IdlyGo’s first cycle vending field trial commenced on 3 February 2022 at Bankshall court in Dalhousie area in Kolkata. Initially a cloud kitchen startup, began their journey of delivering fresh, nutritious South Indian meals to common man at affordable prices. Each hub has a team of 20-50 vendors who transport the meals to their sales locations on IdlyGo vending cycles, ensuring a minimum carbon footprint in both the production and distribution of the Idlys. Telegraph

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Born in a middle class family in Bangalore, she founded Biocon in 1978 with just a small investment in a rented garage. The company focused on producing enzymes and later expanded into biopharmaceuticals. One of the significant achievements in her journey was the development of affordable insulin for diabetic patients. Today, Biocon has turned into India's largest biopharmaceutical company, making Kiran India's most successful self-made women entrepreneurs.

Born in a middle class family in Bangalore, she founded Biocon in 1978 with just a small investment in a rented garage. The company focused on producing enzymes and later expanded into biopharmaceuticals. One of the significant achievements in her journey was the development of affordable insulin for diabetic patients. Today, Biocon has turned into India's largest biopharmaceutical company, making Kiran India's most successful self-made women entrepreneurs. Wikipedia

4/5

Srikant Bolla was born blind in a small village in Andhra Pradesh to a family of farmers. His determination to overcome adversity set the foundation for a remarkable journey ahead. With grit and resilience, he became the first blind student to be admitted to IIT Bombay and then began the journey of Bollant Industries- a company to manufacture eco-friendly packaging products using paper and recycled materials. Another notable contribution was the focus on employment for differently-abled individuals.

Srikant Bolla was born blind in a small village in Andhra Pradesh to a family of farmers. His determination to overcome adversity set the foundation for a remarkable journey ahead. With grit and resilience, he became the first blind student to be admitted to IIT Bombay and then began the journey of Bollant Industries- a company to manufacture eco-friendly packaging products using paper and recycled materials. Another notable contribution was the focus on employment for differently-abled individuals. The Global Indian

5/5

One of the most inspiring entrepreneurial stories in India, Karsanbhai built Nirma from a small-scale, homemade detergent brand into one of the leading consumer product companies with just a small investment of Rs 5000. He initially produced the detergent at home and sold it on his bicycle, taking a word-of-mouth approach to promote Nirma. Today, Nirma has grown into a multi-billion-dollar company and has a diverse range of products across multiple sectors including chemicals, soaps, detergents and cement production Nirma University

Last updated on 20 Jan 2025

13:22 PM

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