aggressive decisions that helped indian entrepreneurs succeed

7/30/2019 Aggressive Decisions That Helped Indian Entrepreneurs Succeed

1/10

Aggressive Decisions that Helped Indian Entrepreneurs Succeed

Making a decision is one of the most powerful acts for inspiring confidence

in entrepreneurs. Yet many businessmen take it lightly. Some decide not

to decide, while others simply keep procrastinating. The business world

has proved always that a great decision at a great time defines the

success for the company. Though, many of the decisions dont prove to be

helpful, but there are many examples which show that a small yet

powerful decision changed the fortune of the company. Let us take a look

at some of them:

1. Narayana Murthy: Had a Dream, But No Money

The idea of Infosys was born on a morning in January 1981 when Narayana Murthy and six

software engineers sat in his apartment debating how they could create a company to write

software codes. Six months later, Infosys was registered as a private limited company which

is today among the most innovative companies according to Forbes.

Most Decisive Moment: Murthy was employed by Patni Computer Systems before he

started Infosys. After coming storming up on the idea, he took a decision which changed the

Indian IT space. Since, he was broke, he asked his wife Sudha to sell off her jewelry. Murthy

had a dream, and no money, so Sudha agreed and he got 10,000 from which was the initial
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/How-I-Practice-To-Be-A-Successful-CEO-nid-109905-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/How-I-Practice-To-Be-A-Successful-CEO-nid-109905-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/How-I-Practice-To-Be-A-Successful-CEO-nid-109905-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Aalto-Centre-Startup-Village-Sign-Pact-for-Tech-Collaboration-nid-129933-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Aalto-Centre-Startup-Village-Sign-Pact-for-Tech-Collaboration-nid-129933-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Aalto-Centre-Startup-Village-Sign-Pact-for-Tech-Collaboration-nid-129933-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Changing-Role-Of-CEO-nid-108768-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Changing-Role-Of-CEO-nid-108768-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/How-I-Practice-To-Be-A-Successful-CEO-nid-109905-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/How-I-Practice-To-Be-A-Successful-CEO-nid-109905-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/How-I-Practice-To-Be-A-Successful-CEO-nid-109905-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Aalto-Centre-Startup-Village-Sign-Pact-for-Tech-Collaboration-nid-129933-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Aalto-Centre-Startup-Village-Sign-Pact-for-Tech-Collaboration-nid-129933-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Aalto-Centre-Startup-Village-Sign-Pact-for-Tech-Collaboration-nid-129933-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Changing-Role-Of-CEO-nid-108768-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Changing-Role-Of-CEO-nid-108768-cid-100.html


2/10

capital for Infosys. The front room of Murthy's home became Infosys' first office, while co-

founder Raghavan's home was the registered office. It was then known as Infosys Consultants

Pvt Ltd.

2. Suhas Gopinath: "Why should I sell my baby?"

Gopinath started a software company at an age when most of the peopleare stuck on deciding which subjects to study in the next class. At atender age of 14, he got listed in the Limca Book of Records as theWorlds Youngest Chief Executive.Today Gopinath is 26 and is the CEO of Globals Inc. - A world-classbusiness with over 500 employees.

Most Decisive Moment: In 2005, Gopinath took a big decision whichdefined his entrepreneurial journey. An investment firm from Houston,

Texas offered him $100 million for a majority stake in Globals. Aftermonths of discussion, he refused saying, Why should I sell my baby?

The same year he was the youngest among the 175 recipients ofKarnataka's Rajyotsava Award.

Later in November 2008, he was invited to represent the World Bank's ICTLeadership Roundtable for adopting ICT in Africa to increase employabilityand fostering ICT skills in students from these countries.
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Suhas-led-Globals-raises-funding-from-foreign-investors-nid-86298-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Suhas-led-Globals-raises-funding-from-foreign-investors-nid-86298-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Suhas-led-Globals-raises-funding-from-foreign-investors-nid-86298-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Suhas-led-Globals-raises-funding-from-foreign-investors-nid-86298-cid-100.html


3/10

3. Lakshmi Mittal: Whatever He Touches Becomes Steel

Mittal is a perfect example of rags-to-riches story. His father used to work

for several mills and later was hired by a Calcutta-based firm to manage

their business. Meanwhile, Lakshmi started doing his college and also

helped his father in business. After graduating he joined his fathers

company full-time.

Most Decisive Moment: Both enjoyed the success they got, but became

discouraged with the way Indian Government controlled the private

investments in large steel projects. So, the father and son duo decided to

leave India and begin a steel company outside India. In 1976, with $15

million investment money they gambled and bought an obsolete steel

company in Indonesia. Surprisingly this trade paid them off and they

never looked back from that point, buying up steel mills that were

operating at a loss, and turning them into profitable enterprises. This

earned Lakshmi Mittal the title Turnaround Specialist.
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Should-Angels-Move-When-VCs-Step-In-nid-101311-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Canaan-Partners-Closes-600-Million-For-Its-Ninth-Fund-nid-102637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Canaan-Partners-Closes-600-Million-For-Its-Ninth-Fund-nid-102637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Canaan-Partners-Closes-600-Million-For-Its-Ninth-Fund-nid-102637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Should-Angels-Move-When-VCs-Step-In-nid-101311-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Canaan-Partners-Closes-600-Million-For-Its-Ninth-Fund-nid-102637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Canaan-Partners-Closes-600-Million-For-Its-Ninth-Fund-nid-102637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Canaan-Partners-Closes-600-Million-For-Its-Ninth-Fund-nid-102637-cid-100.html


4/10

4. Sanjeev Bikhchandani: I wanted independence and it had tobe in a business.

Bikhchandani is the founder of Naukri.com which is Indias number one job

portal at a time when there is a serious scarcity of employable people in

almost every sector of business and industry. He is the best story of

grabbing an opportunity with lots of determination and hard work.

Most Decisive Moment: Bikhchandanis father was in government

service and he was brought up in government colonies. As it is standard

aspirations of parents in government, that one would do engineering or

become a doctor, Bikhchandanis elder brother went to IIT and then to IIM

for higher studies.

Bikhchandani took a decision not to go the conventional way and not to

join government service, after seeing his fathers weak financial position.

He told his father that since he wanted independence, he had to do a

business. It was his dream and he followed it.
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invest-Rs10-Crore-on-Policybazaarcom-nid-82560-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invest-Rs10-Crore-on-Policybazaarcom-nid-82560-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invests-in-Rs1Crore--in-Nogle-Technologies--nid-80843-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invests-in-Rs1Crore--in-Nogle-Technologies--nid-80843-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invest-Rs10-Crore-on-Policybazaarcom-nid-82560-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invest-Rs10-Crore-on-Policybazaarcom-nid-82560-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invests-in-Rs1Crore--in-Nogle-Technologies--nid-80843-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Info-Edge-invests-in-Rs1Crore--in-Nogle-Technologies--nid-80843-cid-100.html


5/10

5. Azim Premji: Power to Effect Change

Wipro (Western India Products) was run by Premjis father while he was

studying electrical engineering at Stanford University. He took over the

business which manufactured oil, at the age of 21. He expanded Wipro to

include bulbs, shampoo, baby care products and hydraulic cylinders.

Most Decisive Moment:Wipro was advancing at a great pace when IBMwas thrown out of India. Since, it was the only IT Company in India at that

time; a vacuum was created in technology space. Sensing a great

opportunity and integrating his engineering interest, Premji took a leap

from household products to computer hardware. Later Wipro also started

software development. Wipro grew from an oil company to a diversified

conglomerate. Today, Wipro is the largest outsourcing company in India

and its research and development unit is the world largest independent
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Asias-Biggest-Startup-Event-to-Kick-Start-in-Bangalore-This-Saturday-nid-117913-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Asias-Biggest-Startup-Event-to-Kick-Start-in-Bangalore-This-Saturday-nid-117913-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Azim-Premji-invests-15-Million-in-Khosla-Ventures-nid-83591-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Azim-Premji-invests-15-Million-in-Khosla-Ventures-nid-83591-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Asias-Biggest-Startup-Event-to-Kick-Start-in-Bangalore-This-Saturday-nid-117913-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Asias-Biggest-Startup-Event-to-Kick-Start-in-Bangalore-This-Saturday-nid-117913-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Azim-Premji-invests-15-Million-in-Khosla-Ventures-nid-83591-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Azim-Premji-invests-15-Million-in-Khosla-Ventures-nid-83591-cid-100.html


6/10

group. Wipro became the first Indian company to implement the Six

Sigma program.

6. C K Ranganathan: "I do not want any stake in the property or business"

The MD of CavinKare has shown the world that it is possible to beat the MNCs even in the

most difficult market of fast moving consumer goods. He started his business with only

15,000 which is now worth Rs 500 crore. He learnt his first entrepreneurial lessons from his

father, Chinni Krishnan, who started a small-scale pharmaceutical packaging unit.

Most Decisive Moment: After his fathers death, his brothers took charge of the family

business. He joined them after studies but left in nine months because his ideas clashed with

theirs. Confident of establishing a great business alone, he left his brothers saying, I do not

want any stake in the property or business. At that point he only had 15,000 savings and

knew only two things making shampoo and nurturing pets. It was difficult for him to ride

bicycle after getting used to cars but he was determined. He rented a home for 250 a month
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/SeaWell-Networks-raises-7-Million-in-Series-A-funding-nid-66002-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/SeaWell-Networks-raises-7-Million-in-Series-A-funding-nid-66002-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Unilever-to-set-up-VC-Fund-in-India-nid-85252-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Unilever-to-set-up-VC-Fund-in-India-nid-85252-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/SeaWell-Networks-raises-7-Million-in-Series-A-funding-nid-66002-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/SeaWell-Networks-raises-7-Million-in-Series-A-funding-nid-66002-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Unilever-to-set-up-VC-Fund-in-India-nid-85252-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Unilever-to-set-up-VC-Fund-in-India-nid-85252-cid-100.html


7/10

which also served as his office. He also took another place for factory at 300 per month and

bought a shampoo packing machine for 3000. This marked the birth of CavinKare.

7. Sachin and Binny Bansal: Writing Indian e-commerce Story

The Bansal friends started Flipkart in 2007 which is hailed today as Indias Amazon. Initially

the idea was to make comparison website but there were too less sites to compare, and so

they started Flipkart. Focusing initially on online sales of books, it later expanded to

electronic goods and a variety of other products. Flipkart offers multiple payment methods

like credit card, debit card, net banking, e-gift voucher, and Cash on Delivery.

Most Decisive Moment: Both the founders studied in IIT-Delhi before joining Amazon.

They were drawing big salary, but seeing shortcomings in Indian e-commerce market, they

took a major decision to quit their jobs and start their own company. They built a website and

started tying up with book distributors for the inventory. It took almost 4 months and a
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Acquires-ECommerce-Portal-Letsbuy-nid-105637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Acquires-ECommerce-Portal-Letsbuy-nid-105637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Acquires-ECommerce-Portal-Letsbuy-nid-105637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Bags-150-Million-In-Fourth-Round--Of-Funding-nid-104529-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Bags-150-Million-In-Fourth-Round--Of-Funding-nid-104529-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Acquires-ECommerce-Portal-Letsbuy-nid-105637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Acquires-ECommerce-Portal-Letsbuy-nid-105637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Acquires-ECommerce-Portal-Letsbuy-nid-105637-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Bags-150-Million-In-Fourth-Round--Of-Funding-nid-104529-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Flipkart-Bags-150-Million-In-Fourth-Round--Of-Funding-nid-104529-cid-100.html


8/10

million flyers to get their first book sold. And today is the situation that more than 6 books

are sold on their website every minute.

8. Deep Kalra: Focusing on the NRIs Exclusively

MakeMyTrip, a portal that Kalra founded in 2000, brought a behavioural change among

Indian travellers. An MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Kalra started MakeMyTrip

in a small office in Okhla, Delhi with the aim to empower Indian traveller with instant

booking and a lot of choices. Today it offers its customers many travel services and products

with international and domestic airline tickets, Indian railways tickets, domestic bus tickets,

international and domestic hotel reservations, car rentals, international and domestic holiday

packages, and much more.
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Makemytrip-and-SAIF-jointly-acquire-iXiGO-nid-88684-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Makemytrip-and-SAIF-jointly-acquire-iXiGO-nid-88684-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/MakeMyTrip-to-raise-62-Million-via-fresh-issue-nid-84135-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/MakeMyTrip-to-raise-62-Million-via-fresh-issue-nid-84135-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/MakeMyTrip-to-raise-62-Million-via-fresh-issue-nid-84135-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/MakeMyTrip-to-raise-62-Million-via-fresh-issue-nid-84135-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Makemytrip-and-SAIF-jointly-acquire-iXiGO-nid-88684-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Makemytrip-and-SAIF-jointly-acquire-iXiGO-nid-88684-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/MakeMyTrip-to-raise-62-Million-via-fresh-issue-nid-84135-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/MakeMyTrip-to-raise-62-Million-via-fresh-issue-nid-84135-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/MakeMyTrip-to-raise-62-Million-via-fresh-issue-nid-84135-cid-100.html


9/10

Most Decisive Moment: For five years, Kalra took a decision which paid the company well.

He decided to not market itself in India but only target the NRIs and the US-India travel

sector. He said, By focusing solely on the NRI market, we managed to conserve precious

marketing dollars while our competitors burned their fingers in a premature online market.

9. Patanjali Keswani:Looking a Year Out in Advance

Keswani, who studied in IIT-Delhi and IIM-Kolkata, realized the huge difference between 5-

star deluxe and guest house accommodation choices in India, while he was working with The

Taj Group of Hotels. He felt that there is a huge shortage of hotel rooms in India.

He purchased a land in Gurgaon with his savings believing that he could run a unique high-

class yet reasonably priced hotel. And in 2002, he launched the first Lemon Tree Hotel with

avision to run a small single hotel which was nationally familiar and a trusted Indian brand

in the hospitality space.

Most Decisive Moment: The major decision he took which wrote the success story ofLemon Tree Hotels was that he opted to design, build and operate all its hotels on its own.
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Diligent-Power-raises-fund-from-Warburg-Pincus-nid-83589-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Diligent-Power-raises-fund-from-Warburg-Pincus-nid-83589-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Private-EquityVenture-Capital-investment-go-up-by-2472-percent-nid-78670-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Private-EquityVenture-Capital-investment-go-up-by-2472-percent-nid-78670-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Private-EquityVenture-Capital-investment-go-up-by-2472-percent-nid-78670-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Diligent-Power-raises-fund-from-Warburg-Pincus-nid-83589-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Diligent-Power-raises-fund-from-Warburg-Pincus-nid-83589-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Private-EquityVenture-Capital-investment-go-up-by-2472-percent-nid-78670-cid-100.htmlhttp://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Private-EquityVenture-Capital-investment-go-up-by-2472-percent-nid-78670-cid-100.html


10/10

Whereas, the common approach in Hotel industry is to give management contracts to others

and run franchisees. This resulted in an efficient project construction and cost-effective

operating costs, a reliable customer experience, and better returns for the shareholders.

aggressive decisions that helped indian entrepreneurs succeed

Documents