Contemporary role models in indian business

Contemporary role model in india
Year 2020

1. Contemporary Role Models in
Indian Business
Eminent Role Models in Indian Business and their
Philosophies:
“If You Don’t Build Your Dream, Someone Else Will Hire
You to Help Them Build Theirs” – Dhirubhai Ambani
Some good business philosophies are being given as under:
(i) Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, better known as Dhirubhai
Ambani “Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s
monopoly”.
(ii) Aafreen Ansari – “Nothing or nobody else except you can stop you
from being an entrepreneur”
(iii) Sachin and Binny Bansal, Flipkart – “The core of any business is
to earn money. You have not done your job well until you find a
stranger who is willing to open his/her wallet to give you money for
the service/products that you are offering.”
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(iv) Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Rooms – “It is extremely important to build
something that a 100 people absolutely love using rather than make
something that a 1000 people would just, kind of, like.”
(v) Kunal Shah, FreeCharge – “If you fully accept the worst that can
ever happen in your journey, fear won’t ever be an obstacle in starting-
up.”

2. Women Entrepreneurs in India:
Some young women entrepreneurs who dared to follow
their dreams are:
1. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw:
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“I really believe that entrepreneurship is about being able to face
failure, manage failure and succeed after failing.”
Kiran Mazumdar is an Indian entrepreneur. She is the Chairman &
Managing Director of Biocon Limited a biotechnology company based
in Bangalore. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw was born on March 23, 1953 in
Bangalore, India.
Mazumdar-Shaw completed her schooling from the city’s Bishop
Cotton Girl’s High School (1968). She wanted to join medical school
but instead took up biology and completed her BSc Zoology Honors
course from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore University (1973). She
later did her post-graduation in Malting and Brewing from Ballarat
College, Melbourne University (1975).
She worked as a trainee brewer in Melbourne and as a trainee maltster
in Australia. She also worked for some time as a technical consultant
at Jupiter Breweries Limited, Calcutta and as a technical manager at
Standard Makings Corporation, Baroda between 1975 and 1977.
She started Biocon in 1978 and spearheaded its evolution from an
industrial enzyme manufacturing company to a fully integrated bio-
pharmaceutical company with a well-balanced business portfolio of
products and a research focus on diabetes, oncology and auto-immune
diseases. She also established two subsidiaries- Syngene in 1994.

3. Her pioneering work in the sector has earned her several awards,
including the prestigious Padma Shri in 1989 and the Padma Bhushan
in 2005 from the government of India. She was recently named among
TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She is on
the Forbes list of the world’s 100 most powerful women and the
Financial Times’ top 50 women in business list. She is also a member
of the board of governors of the prestigious Indian School of Business
and Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.
Her Values:
i. Belief in herself
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ii. Leadership
iii. Vision
iv. Go-getter spirit
v. Not afraid of failures
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Her Business Philosophy:
i. Ethics in business
ii. Precision in work
iii. Quality
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Her Behavioural Orientation:
i. Courageous

4. ii. Undeterred by set-backs
iii. Corporate citizenship
2. Ekta Kapoor:
Ekta Jeetendra Kapoor was born on 7th June 1975. She started her
career by taking rupees 50000/- from her father to start a business
venture, in which she was not successful. This did not dampen her
spirit and with encouragement from her father she is today an Indian
TV and film producer.
She is the Joint Managing Director and Creative Director of Balaji
Telefilms, her production company. She did her schooling at Bombay
Scottish School, Mahim and studied at Mithibai College Mumbai.
She has produced numerous soap opera, television series and movies.
Her most popular television series include Hum Paanch, Kyunki Saas
Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasauti Zindagi Ki, Kahin
To Hoga, Kahin Kissi Roz, Kusum, Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai, Kasam Se and
Bandini. She is currently producing Pavitra Rishta, Bade Achhe Lagte
Hain, Parichay, Kya Huaa Tera Vaada etc.
She branched out into Bollywood movie production in 2001 beginning
with Kyo Kii… Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta. Kucch To Hai and Krishna
Cottage based on supernatural themes followed in 2003 and 2004.
Kyaa Kool Hai Hum starring her brother Tusshar Kapoor proved to be
her breakout hit and went on to become one of the highest earners of
2005. She then went on to co-produce Shootout at Lokhandwala with
Sanjay Gupta which became a profitable venture at the box office.
Mission Istanbul and EMI – Liya Hai Toh Chukana Parega in
collaboration with Sunil Shetty followed.
The years 2010 and 2011 proved to be important for her with critical
and commercial success such as Love Sex aur Dhokha, Once Upon a

5. Time in Mumbai, Shor in the City, Ragini MMS and The Dirty Picture.
Her upcoming productions include several films and TV soaps.
Her Values:
i. Complete belief in family traditions & family values
ii. Decisions based on instinct or sixth sense
iii. Persistence
iv. Hard work & diligence
Her Business Philosophy:
i. Expand after a humble beginning
ii. “There is no rest in business”
Her Behavioural Orientation:
i. Simplicity
ii. Honesty
iii. Innovation
3. Aishwarya Nair:
According to her she was inspired by her grandfather and fondly says
“And clearly, our grandfather is our inspiration. First, he set up a
successful textile business namely The Leela Palace, right from scratch
and then he began the hospitality venture when he was 64 years old.
There’s no stopping him,” Aishwarya says. A brand that is dedicated to
luxury, the sisters have added a breath of fresh air to the workplace.

6. With Aishwarya capitalizing on her talent in the bakery department,
she is constantly innovating by organizing pastry exhibitions and
gourmet pet food in the food and beverage division. She always had a
creative flair. And her family recognized it at the right time and
channeled it towards food and beverage. She picked up her skill for
baking at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, New York City, where she
worked soon after her specialized course in culinary arts management
at the Culinary Institute of America, New York. She is also responsible
for wine acquisition for the group, she hosts exclusive wine tastings in
all the seven operating properties in India. She is also working with
two international fine dining brands, Megu and Le Cirque, both of
which launched in The Leela Palace, New Delhi.
Values:
i. Zeal to learn
ii. Taking inspiration from family members
iii. Innovation as key to success
Business Philosophy:
i. Treating employees well
ii. Doing social good
iii. Carrying on ethical business
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Humility
ii. Simplicity
iii. Open minded

7. 4. Dr. Swati Piramal:
Swati A. Piramal is the Vice Chairperson of Piramal Life Sciences
Limited and Director of Piramal Healthcare Limited.
Dr. Piramal received one of India’s highest civilian honour’s, the
Padmashri award, by the President of India, Ms. Pratibha Patil on 4th
April, 2012 She has been nominated as one of the 25 Most Powerful
Business Women in India eight times and is now a member of the Hall
of Fame of the Most Powerful Women. She was the first woman in 90
years to head the Apex Chamber of Commerce ASSOCHAM in 2009-
10. She has contributed towards innovations in Public Health Services
and other projects.
She has been a part of public policy related to health care which led to
major policy changes that help reduce the spread of life-threatening
diseases. Dr. Swati Piramal also serves on Indian Government public
policy expert committees for trade, planning, environment, arts,
women’s entrepreneurship, national integration and regional
development. Dr. Piramal is a member of many Indian and foreign
business councils, and has received numerous Indian and
international awards.
Her Values:
i. Doing good for society
ii. Extending helping hand
iii. Courtesy & humility
Her Business Philosophy:
i. Innovation as mantra of success
ii. Ethical business

8. Her Behavioural Orientation:
i. Hard working
ii. Persistence
iii. Enthusiasm
iv. Self confidence
5. Ameera Shah – Promoter and MD, Metropolis Healthcare:
In 2001, when Ameera Shah, then 21, returned from the US to work
for her father Sushil Shah’s standalone path lab in Mumbai, she faced
skepticism from people she wanted to partner with. Their concern was
“We have done 25 acquisitions or partnerships with pathologists, who
are usually doctors in their 50s or 60s”.
For them, partnering with a young girl from a non-medical
background was unthinkable, Shah recalls. In 2006, when Shah
wanted to raise private equity funding, a few investors asked her if she
intended to abandon the venture after getting married and having
children. Subsequently, marquee investors like ICICI Ventures,
Warburg Pincus, Carlyle and KKR reposed faith in her. Shah, a finance
graduate from the University of Texas, Austin, doesn’t face these
questions anymore. She has managed to establish Metropolis as a
global chain of 130 labs and 1,200 centres across six countries,
employing 4,000 people. In fact, Metropolis is one of the top three
path lab chains in India today.
Shah overcame gender stereotypes by building trust through a human
connect with stakeholders and persisting with her chosen path. This,
she says, is the learning that she imparts to young women
entrepreneurs whom she mentors in her spare time.

9. Values:
i. Hard work
ii. Persistence
iii. Extreme self-confidence
Business Philosophy:
i. Continue despite obstacle
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Sincere
ii. Good communication skills
iii. Dedication in work
6. Vandana Luthra:
Vandana Luthra is an entrepreneur who can be said to be
embodiments of her enterprise. She is slim and svelte. She carries
herself with the grace that only comes with enormous self confidence.
She’s the founder and mentor of the VLCC, India’s leading slimming,
beauty and fitness brand, and one with seven outlets in Abu Dhabi,
Dubai and Sharjah, and many more to open. There are VLCC
slimming, beauty and fitness centers in Muscat and Bahrain, and by
next year there will be a total of some 28 across the Middle East.
The largest number of VLCC centers, of course, is in Ms. Luthra’s
native India – 150 of them in 75 cities. She facilitates professional
development through her vocational training school, the VLCC
Institute of Beauty, Health & Management, which currently has 43
campuses in 35 cities.

10. Ms. Luthra says “The entrepreneur as an educator – That would be a
fair way to characterize me and Fitness and well-being are a matter of
education, and for that you need skilled trainers.” Her own training
after graduating from Delhi University was in nutrition and
cosmetology in Germany. Then Ms. Luthra took a series of specialized
courses and modules in beauty care, fitness, food and nutrition and
skin care in London, Munich and Paris. And then she returned to her
middle-class home in New Delhi, India’s capital, and started a
neighbourhood beauty parlour.
Values:
i. Good clean business
ii. Doing good to women in particular
iii. Belief in good heath
Business Philosophy:
i. Healthy life – Happy life
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Good communication
ii. Smart & sophisticated
iii. Good soft skills
7. Hamsa Vamanan and Priyanka Narasimhalu:
Paaduka is the entrepreneurial venture of two close friends, Hamsa
Vamanan and Priyanka Narasimhalu. It was the result of the passion
they shared for art. Both of them had learnt art and had hoped to
make it their profession. However, despite being good artists they

11. were not too successful at selling their paintings. Eventually, they
realized that a career in painting was not working for them.
According to Hamsa “It was a dull and gloomy phase that we went
through, we wanted to do something with art but were not sure of
what, since we had no artistic or business background. We did not
know anything about how to sell art or how to push it.” Then one day,
they realized that instead of paintings, they should put their creative
side to good use and decided to “Paint something that people can
afford to buy.” That was motivation enough for them. Both were
naturally drawn to footwear and thought of painting and embroidering
on footwear.
Once they had the idea there was no looking back. Launching a
Facebook page in 2011 they decided to market their products in their
college itself.
Soon, orders flooded in and the business was on its way. Their college
advised them to apply for the Tata NEN initiative, which helped them
tremendously. Not having a business background was their main
challenge. They had invested their pocket money into this venture.
Both Hamsa and Priyanka faced no problems from family where this
venture was concerned. Nor did they have any issues with being young
women who went into entrepreneurship.
Values:
i. Go-getter spirit
ii. Passion
iii. Achievers
Business Philosophy:

12. Creativity can help you reach heights
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Caring & loving human beings
ii. Concern for society
iii. Patience
8. Srijayapriya Balasundaram, Srinidhi Sridharan, Aparrna
Sivasubramanian and Akshaya Sivaraman – Friends who
Turned Business Partners:
Srijayapriya Balasundaram, Srinidhi Sridharan, Aparrna
Sivasubramanian and Akshaya Sivaraman are four friends who were
all interested in starting a business. They put their heads together and
came up with the idea of doing something ecofriendly.
The four girls were all students of MOP Vaishnav College for Women,
in Chennai. MOP has a bazaar every year where all entrepreneurs in
the college can put up a stall. The four of them decided to put up a stall
with ecofriendly jute and cotton bags made by a women’s self-help
group. They purchased hand woven bags, customized them and sold
them at this bazaar. The feedback was excellent and thus” Diva Bags”
was born.
The motivation for them to start the business was the continuation of
their friendship. The four girls are now in different parts of India but
each contributes to the business and is trying to make it grow in her
area of residence now. They run the business through web sales. The
bazaar was just a stepping stone for them. Orders now come in
through social media sites as well as corporate houses.

13. Starting this venture was not an easy task. All four were studying and
there were many challenges involved. They had to focus a lot on the
business and they have never compromised on either quality or price.”
Diva Bags:
Their advice to other young entrepreneurs is “Go out and start a
business. You can do it. Never give up. You will always find support
and help. As a woman, you should stand on your own feet.”
Values:
i. Team spirit
ii. Determination to achieve
iii. Dreaming big
Business Philosophy:
A team can make it happen, if strong determination is there
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Courageous
ii. Helpful
iii. Happy
iv. Hard working
Dalit Entrepreneurs in India:
Starting a company is a riveting roller coaster of emotions with
tremendous highs and at times, difficult lows, but one thing that

14. always helps an entrepreneur to sail through the ups and downs is to
connect with some motivational quotes by great minds such as-
Peter Drucker “The best way to predict the future is to create
it.”
Vince Lombardi “Winners never quit and quitters never
win.”
India has taken a huge leap with entrepreneurs tremendously on the
rise from every caste and creed. DCCI was set up in April 2005 and,
according to Prasad, one of the aims of the group is to remove
misconceptions about Dalits enterprise. The government has also
extended its support to felicitate entrepreneurs of dalit business
segment. Milind Kamble, founder of Indian Chambers of Commerce
industry and a head of a 101 crore construction empire was recently
awarded the Padman Bhushan Kalpana Saroj, head of Kamani Tubes
was also awarded.
Another objective of DICCI which is based in Pune is to tell Dalit
youths to become job givers and not job seekers.
1. Kalpana Saroj:
Kalpana Saroj is a female dalit, Indian entrepreneur, born in
Roperkheda village in Maharashtra. She is the Chief Executive Officer
of Kamani Tubes in Mumbai.
Described as the original “slumdog millionaire”, she bought the
distressed assets of Kamani Tubes Company and successfully steered
the company back to profits. Kalpana Saroj was married at the age of
12 and lived in a slum in Mumbai with her husband’s family. After
suffering physical abuse at the hands of her husband’s family
members, she was rescued by her father, left her husband and

15. returned to her village to live with her parents. She attempted suicide
after being ostracized by the villagers.
At the age of 16, she moved back to Mumbai to live with her uncle. She
started working in a garment factory to support her family. Using
government loans for lower caste people, she successfully started a
tailoring business and then a furniture store. She built up a successful
real estate business, and came to be known for her contacts and
entrepreneurial skills. She was on the board of Kamani Tubes when it
went into liquidation in 2001, and after taking over the company,
restructured it and brought it back to profit.
According to her own estimates, she has personal assets worth $ 112
million. Kalpana Saroj was awarded the Padma Shri for Trade and
Industry in 2013.
Values:
i. Determination to succeed
ii. Aim to provide motivation to others
iii. Helping attitude for society and community
Business Philosophy:
There is no stopping a determined entrepreneur
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Daring
ii. Courageous
iii. Fighter

16. 2. Harsh Bhasker – Kota Tutorials:
He does not have a rag to riches story. He Hails from Jatav caste and
had an option to join family leather shoe making business. But
Rebellious by streak, he wanted to do something on his own. He was
good in studies and therefore he got admission in IIT Roorke.
This young man completed engineering and joined HCL in Noida as a
software developer, job was too routine and mind-numbing, so, Year
later, he got together seven colleagues to start a software firm out of
Katwaria Sarai near IIT Delhi campus which closed due to technology
meltdown. He Returned to Agra to start a franchisee of Kota – based
Career Point in engineering and medical coaching. Three years later,
launched his own coaching centre and named it Kota tutorials as
people already knew it as Kota Institute. Currently he Owns two
structures, 11 air conditioned classrooms with a capacity to teach 2000
students, two hostels to accommodate 250 students.
Building this new brand coaching centre was not easy, as students he
admitted were from under privileged backgrounds.
Now Kota tutorials is now in 12 cities, including Aligarh, Dehradhun,
Bhatinda through franchisees and the revenues are estimated around
10 crores.
Values:
i. Persistence
ii. Grit determination
iii. Firebrand
Business Philosophy:
A good business plan would always work

17. Behavioural Orientation:
i. Rebellious
ii. Brilliant
iii. Team spirit
3. Balu:
Balu Hails from lower middle class family and his Family was against
him starting a business but he was determined. In 1995, with a meagre
capital of Rs 18,000 he could not even purchase a wire-drawing
machine, However, Two years later, he assembled his first machine
using parts of herald car from the grey market, stripped the car of its
gear box and assembled the machine.
He decided to set up his own unit but money and discrimination came
into picture, required finance, but bank rejected because he was a
dalit. He received two lakhs through a family friend which he repaid it
in 2001. In 2004; SBI initiative for entrepreneurs yielded Balu a loan
of Rs 20 lakhs which he repaid in three years. He diversified into
manufacturing organic pesticides and agrochemicals-
Values:
i. Determined
ii. Go – Getter
iii. Dynamic
Business Philosophy:
Fight against discrimination & all odds, will yield positive results

18. Behavioural Orientation:
i. Good communication
ii. Helping nature
iii. Desire to contribute to community & society
iv. Patience
4. Pravin Meshram – Bharat Electricals:
He comes from a lower middle class family in Nagpur. From a very
young age, he wanted to do his own business rather than work under
someone. He earned a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from
Nagpur University in 1998 and joined his father’s small electrical
repairing shop where he mastered electrical repairs and equipment
installation and formed networks. He had a Hand to mouth existence.
He even Booked advertisements for publications, dispatched plastic
boxes for nearby factories and after the last failure, went to work as an
electrician for a salary of Rs 2000. In the year 2006, he happened to
visit his friend’s transformer factory, where he worked there for six
months and understood the manufacturing process. Late in the year
2007, he borrowed two lakh from his father and one lakh from his
friend to set up a small transformer manufacturing unit.
His First transformer was rejected by MSEB. After two months it got
approved, first transformer supplied was 25Kv.Within a year Bharat
Electricals crossed one crore in turnover. Today he has one acre plot
which has the capacity to manufacture 3000 transformers of 25 –
1000 KV capacity, About 80 per cent transformers are supplied to
MSEB and the remaining to the SEB’s in Chhattisgarh and MP.
He has two intermediate goals:

19. i. Foreign travel for his parents
ii. Rs 100 crore turnover for Bharat Electricals
He Wants new recruits from backward classes and is willing to train
them. He is in talks with a Chinese company to partner him in this
new upcoming project
Values:
i. Willingness to do something for his community
ii. Go – Getter spirit
iii. Determination
Business Philosophy:
Hard work pays sooner or later
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Helpful
ii. Empathising nature
iii. Desire to contribute to community & society
iv. Perseverance
5. Rajesh Saraiya:
Rajesh saraiya is considered as the India’s first dalit billionaire. He
was born in a middle class family in Dehradun. He is an Aeronautical
engineer by profession. He runs a multinational company by the name
Steelmont Pvt. Ltd. from Ukraine.

20. In a conference held in the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and
Industries, Mr. JJ. Irani-Director in Tata sons sated with pride on
seeing his tremendous progress that “dalits are second to none as far
as the intelligence and entrepreneurship is concerned. We only have to
give them an opportunity”.
Values:
i. Sincerity
ii. Courage
iii. Determination
Business Philosophy:
“Dalits are second to none as far as the intelligence and
entrepreneurship is concerned. We only have to give them an
opportunity”.
Behavioural Orientation:
i. Helpful
ii. Happy
iii. Hard working
iv. Friendly
v. Confident
Role Models in the Startup Domain:
A brief background of these persons is being given as under,
their values and business philosophies have been
summarised after the brief background:

21. 1. Deep Kalra:
Deep Kalra is the Founder & CEO of MakeMyTrip, India’s leading
online travel portal. An IIM-A alumnus, Deep launched MakeMyTrip
in 2000 and has traversed the extremes of the Indian online space.
Deep has strongly accentuated on the fact that entrepreneurs should
not start-up focusing on exits.
2. Dorai Thodla:
Dorai Thodla is a founder of iMorph, Inc. iMorph builds tools and
provides services for gathering technology intelligence, market
intelligence and industry intelligence. He has been an active mentor
and guides many startups in getting their act right.
3. Kishore Biyani:
Kishore Biyani is the CEO of Future Group, and the MD of Pantaloon
Retail. Biyani’s Future Group has over 17 million square feet of retail
space in 90 cities and 60 rural locations. He managed to raise $170
million by taking venture capital arm Future Ventures public in March
2011. Kishore is also the co-author of the book “It happened in India”.
It is the story of Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central and the Great Indian
Consumer, co-authored with Dipayan Baishya. Surely a role model for
many across India!
4. Mahesh Murthy:
Mahesh Murthy is a founding partner at Seed-fund, and has over 26
years of marketing and communications experience, of which 15 years
are in online marketing. After dropping out of college, Mahesh sold
vacuum cleaners from door to door, worked with Grey in India and
Ogilvy in Hong Kong, where he won notoriety and awards as a creative
director on HP, The Economist, Pepsi and MTV – For whom he wrote
and directed a spot voted “Asia’s best commercial of the decade”.

22. 5. Naveen Tewari:
Naveen Tewari is the Founder of InMobi, the world’s largest
independent mobile advertising network. This is no small feat and
Naveen feels that a lot depends on the entrepreneur’s mindset. One of
the most successful entrepreneurs of the new age, Naveen has inspired
many to dream big and achieve things entrepreneurs usually thought
to be out of their reach.
6. Phanindra Sama:
Phanindra Sama is the Founder & CEO of redBus(dot)in, the leading
online bus ticketing portal. Phanindra Sama is be better known as
“Phani” in the startups space and has been able to build a vastly
successful company. It is under his leadership that redBus achieved
the feat of selling 10 million bus tickets.
7. Sachin and Binny Bansal:
The Bansals are the poster boys of the Indian startup ecosystem, with
their e-commerce firm Flipkart pegged to be the Amazon of India.
Although mired in a few controversies off late, Flipkart remains the
biggest e-Commerce venture in India. YourStory visited the Flipkart’s
Bangalore office during the firm’s early days and caught up with this
duo then. From then till today, their growth has been phenomenal
coupled with multiple rounds of funding which has kept them head
and shoulders above the rest. No surprise that the Bansal brothers are
the role models for many.
8. Sanjeev Bikhchandani:
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, an IIM-A – Alumnus, is the Founder of
Naukri(dot)com, India’s leading online job portal. An early catcher of
the Internet market in India, Sanjeev sees high potential in the
consumer internet and mobile. He is another widely respected

23. entrepreneur, who has built a company with sheer grit and
determination.