Jamsetji Tata

Jamshetji Tata is the founder of the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate which employs more than four lakh people and enjoys the revenue of over $83 billion. Tata is regarded as the legendary "Father of Indian Industry". He was so influential in the world of industry that Jawaharlal Nehru referred to Tata as a One-Man Planning Commission. He started out by setting up cotton mills in Bombay and then Nagpur. His dream was to set-up an iron and steel company, an institution of science, a world-class hotel, and a hydro-electric plant.

Dhiru Bhai Ambani

India’s largest private sector company. Created an equity cult in the Indian capital market. Reliance is the first Indian company to feature in Forbes 500 list. Dhirubhai Ambani was the most enterprising Indian entrepreneur.

His life journey is reminiscent of the rags to riches story. He is remembered as the one who rewrote Indian corporate history and built a truly global corporate group. Dhirubhai Ambani was named the Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). A poll conducted by The Times of India in 2000 voted him “greatest creator of wealth in the century”.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma

From being a small-town boy from Aligarh who bought second-hand tech magazines to the founder of one of India’s most trusted technology brands, Vijay Shekhar Sharma has come a long way. After passing out from college, he started his first company- ‘XS Communications’, a college-based startup that created Content Management Systems, which was being used by major publications including The Indian Express. While trying to set up (One97 Communications) Paytm, Vijay once ended up with a loan of Rs. 8 lakhs, which got him into a vicious cycle of unpayable debt. Vijay’s investors were not confident about the idea of a mobile-first consumer service that would cater to the masses, while India’s telecom infrastructure was improving in 2010. He personally put $2 Mn at stake to finally launch the brand. The rest, as they say, is history.

Question to Consider: 

1. Write a short note on two Incredible Indian Entrepreneurs and their journeys to success.