Tuned In To The Future
This story goes back to 1976, when an 18-year-old boy from Ludhiana dreamt of owing a factory. He borrowed Rs 20,000 from his father to set up a unit of cycle parts, travelled in trucks, trains and toiled hard for 20 hours a day to make a pitch to his traders. He tried his hand at every small and big business from time to time. From cycle parts, yarn business and portable generator set dealer to a trader of steel, brass, plastics and push button telephones, this first generation entrepreneur was always on the move trying to make an impact and excelling in whatever he did through the years.
Once when he was in deep financial crisis, he approached Brijmohan Lall Munjal, founder of Hero Group, for a cheque of Rs 5,000. Senior Munjal signed the invoice for the amount but gave him a strong advice, “Beta aadat mat dalna, (Son, don’t make a habit of it)” and this advice went straight to his heart and since that day, “I have never let my finances get the better of me,” says Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder-Chairman of Bharti Enterprises (net worth $10.6 billion as of 2017). Today these stories are important lessons for young entrepreneurs.
Another overwhelming success story in today’s day and age is of a Stanford-dropout. Born to a model-dietician mother and an electromechanical-engineer father, this entrepreneur-business magnate developed an interest in computing while he was in school and self-learned programming. A severely bullied child, he left home after secondary school for low-paid jobs to survive at the brink of poverty. He pursued his entrepreneurial aspirations in the areas of the Internet, renewable energy and outer space and borrowed $28,000 from his father to launch a software company called Zip2 in 1995. The founder of SpaceX, chief product architect of Tesla Motors, chairman of SolarCity, and co-founder of PayPal, Elon Musk, today is an investor, engineer and inventor with an estimate net worth of $20.6 billion.
Many young founders have been inspired from the leading business magnates of the world and their small scale businesses have turned into creative propositions, making a valuable difference to the society. Tata, Birla, Ambani, Zuckerberg, Musk and many such ingenious examples have inspired startup founders to lead and transform the current scenario of entrepreneurship.
To honour such indigenous talent, BW Businessworld’s Young Entrepreneur Summit & Awards (BWYEA) recognises young and dynamic minds with inspiring empire-building journeys in the country.
Applauding such initiatives, esteemed juror Bipin Preet Singh, Founder CEO of Mobikwik, an entrepreneur himself who supports this kind of recognition, says, “Entrepreneurs are those who create value and bring a lasting impact to society. Awards and recognitions like YEA help them establish better and empower them to scale up their business and achieve target growth.”
Nevertheless, as India gains the third highest count of start-ups in the world with an average of around 1,000 start-ups seeing the light of day every year, 72 per cent entrepreneurs with an average age of 35 and below reign the entrepreneurial market. India could soon be home to over 20,000 start-ups by 2020, helping create 2.5 lakh direct and indirect job opportunities.
This year, too, out of the 215 entries received, BWYEA has recognised 20 innovative companies for changing the game in various industries. It recognises entrepreneurs for their optimism, innovation and boldness. They have not just questioned conventional wisdom but have provided answers through their fiery and risky business undertakings.
The Knowledge Partner for BWYEA 2017, Grant Thornton, one of the world’s largest professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms, along with the jury panel shortlisted 32 entries after vigorous checks and balances and emerged with 20 winners.
In a day-long meet, the candidates shortlisted after initial rounds of vetting by Grand Thornton, presented their business models in a 10-minute presentation to the jury with the latter following up with a round of questions to understand and evaluate the businesses of these 32 startups.
The jury chaired by Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Enterprise included Karan Mohla, Executive Director, IDG Ventures India; Bipin Preet Singh, Founder CEO, Mobikwik; JPS Chawla, ICAS, Principal Chief Controller of Accounts, Central Board of Excise and Customs, Ministry of Finance; Roshini Sanah Jaiswal, Promoter and Chief Restructuring Officer, Jagatjit Industries; Sudhakar Rao, Director, Branding, ICFAI; Peesh Chopra, Managing Partner, Peesh Venture Capital; Mahendra Swarup, Founder Venture Gurukool and Anurag Batra, Chairman & Editor in Chief, BW Businessworld.
Discussing a few important leadership qualities that help these startups to scale up their business, Munjal deliberated that an entrepreneur must be able to not just foresee pitfalls, but also take risk and adapt quickly to the change. He should have the ability to move forward and lead by example — all these are qualities of a successful entrepreneur.
The interesting cohort of entrepreneurs from sectors such as beauty, fashion, healthcare, coworking spaces, e-commerce, data intelligence, travel, ayurveda appealed to everyone with their outstanding zeal and passion, even as they presented their enterprise as one of the most valued ventures in the world today.
We bring you the final list of the winners and their inspiring success stories along with their valuable tips on how to start up, improve and grow in your venture. Read on to know more.
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