- Date : 04/01/2019
- Read: 4 mins
Ten young entrepreneurs whose success stories can inspire you to achieve your goals
With the Indian economy opening up, the market became more dynamic than it used to be in the years before liberalisation. The market is today far more accommodating of a variety of businesses and professions – and the Internet has only added new dimensions for young Indian entrepreneurs to explore and excel in.
Let’s look at 10 young Indians who, with their talent and skill, are redefining the meaning of career goals:
Ritesh Agarwal
His mother insists that he take a break from his business and complete his education. You can’t blame her; after all, Agarwal dropped out of college over five years ago. But he wasn’t sitting idle; during this period he established the largest chain of hotel rooms in the country, OYO Rooms, putting the OYO brand in over 1,25,000 rooms and 10,000 hotels across 160 cities (and counting) in India. The company is now setting footprints in China, England, Malaysia, Nepal, and Indonesia.
Related: Every aspiring entrepreneur must know about these financial tips
Sreelakshmi Suresh
At the age of 20, Sreelakshmi Suresh is famous for being the youngest CEO and web designer in the world. She developed the official website of her school when she was just 8 years old. She was conferred with the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2008. Today her company eDesign Technologies has more than 300 clients.
Pratik Patel
Patel left his engineering job to establish Niftymillionaire, which manages a Nifty index fund worth more than Rs 200 crore in the stock market. In his short professional life, he saw massive ups and downs but has come up with a unique product within the advisory services domain. His firm aims to give the right direction to casual investors and make them professional traders through financial advisory services.
Related: 7 Entrepreneur and Celebrity mothers share their secrets to success
Deepinder Goyal
In Zomato we have a platform that allows restaurants and foodies to connect. Goyal noticed the tendency of his colleagues to collect paper menus of nearby restaurants and came up with the idea of Zomato, which is now making inroads abroad in markets such as Singapore and Malaysia, and several European countries.
Amish Tripathi
Some dismiss Amish’s books as pop mythology but the popularity of his titles is unquestionable, especially the Shiva Trilogy that made him a household name. He took familiar Hindu mythological characters and gave their stories a touch of fantasy. To become a published author this IIM graduate had to quit his job in the financial services industry.
Related: Entrepreneurship comes with an indefinite set of challenges, regardless of your gender
Larsing Ming Sawyan
Entrepreneur Sawyan’s dream is to make football a viable professional option for the youngsters of his region. The owner of Shillong Lajong, one of the top football clubs in India, Sawyan’s efforts in running the Lajong Youth Development Program has given us some very exciting homegrown footballing talents.
Anahita Dhondy
SodaBottleOpenerWala has become a bit of a cult food joint. One of the chefs at the heart of this beloved Parsi chain, Dhondy joined as a chef-cum-manager at the age of 22 and went on to become its partner at the age of 28. She has won the Young Chef Award, the Times Food Award, and even been acclaimed as ‘Indian of the Year’ in the hospitality sector.
Related: How does India’s youth invest its money?
Lakshmi Sharath
She is a popular Indian travel blogger whose love for travelling, food, and storytelling is reflected in her blog, making it a delightful read for travel enthusiasts. After enjoying a successful corporate stint, Sharath started to travel and document her experiences in what became one of the most popular Indian travel blogs.
Rahul Sharma
In a market filled with Chinese, Korean, and American cellphone brands, homegrown Micromax has had a presence for quite some time now. Sharma founded this brand with battery backup as its USP while taking on the might of Industry giants such as Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, LG etc. and made a unique identity as the co-founder of an Indian mobile phone brand.
Related: How money-savvy are the millennials?
Abhiraj Bhal
UrbanClap was co-founded by Abhiraj Bhal as a platform where one can look for various services such as beauty and spa at home, appliance repair, plumbers, carpenters, cleaners, home painting etc. IIT-educated Bhal showed how a simple household requirement can be turned into a smart and rewarding business opportunity.
The people listed above prove that entrepreneurs are the economic pioneers of a country; discovering needs and inventing solutions to create a diverse market.
With the Indian economy opening up, the market became more dynamic than it used to be in the years before liberalisation. The market is today far more accommodating of a variety of businesses and professions – and the Internet has only added new dimensions for young Indian entrepreneurs to explore and excel in.
Let’s look at 10 young Indians who, with their talent and skill, are redefining the meaning of career goals:
Ritesh Agarwal
His mother insists that he take a break from his business and complete his education. You can’t blame her; after all, Agarwal dropped out of college over five years ago. But he wasn’t sitting idle; during this period he established the largest chain of hotel rooms in the country, OYO Rooms, putting the OYO brand in over 1,25,000 rooms and 10,000 hotels across 160 cities (and counting) in India. The company is now setting footprints in China, England, Malaysia, Nepal, and Indonesia.
Related: Every aspiring entrepreneur must know about these financial tips
Sreelakshmi Suresh
At the age of 20, Sreelakshmi Suresh is famous for being the youngest CEO and web designer in the world. She developed the official website of her school when she was just 8 years old. She was conferred with the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2008. Today her company eDesign Technologies has more than 300 clients.
Pratik Patel
Patel left his engineering job to establish Niftymillionaire, which manages a Nifty index fund worth more than Rs 200 crore in the stock market. In his short professional life, he saw massive ups and downs but has come up with a unique product within the advisory services domain. His firm aims to give the right direction to casual investors and make them professional traders through financial advisory services.
Related: 7 Entrepreneur and Celebrity mothers share their secrets to success
Deepinder Goyal
In Zomato we have a platform that allows restaurants and foodies to connect. Goyal noticed the tendency of his colleagues to collect paper menus of nearby restaurants and came up with the idea of Zomato, which is now making inroads abroad in markets such as Singapore and Malaysia, and several European countries.
Amish Tripathi
Some dismiss Amish’s books as pop mythology but the popularity of his titles is unquestionable, especially the Shiva Trilogy that made him a household name. He took familiar Hindu mythological characters and gave their stories a touch of fantasy. To become a published author this IIM graduate had to quit his job in the financial services industry.
Related: Entrepreneurship comes with an indefinite set of challenges, regardless of your gender
Larsing Ming Sawyan
Entrepreneur Sawyan’s dream is to make football a viable professional option for the youngsters of his region. The owner of Shillong Lajong, one of the top football clubs in India, Sawyan’s efforts in running the Lajong Youth Development Program has given us some very exciting homegrown footballing talents.
Anahita Dhondy
SodaBottleOpenerWala has become a bit of a cult food joint. One of the chefs at the heart of this beloved Parsi chain, Dhondy joined as a chef-cum-manager at the age of 22 and went on to become its partner at the age of 28. She has won the Young Chef Award, the Times Food Award, and even been acclaimed as ‘Indian of the Year’ in the hospitality sector.
Related: How does India’s youth invest its money?
Lakshmi Sharath
She is a popular Indian travel blogger whose love for travelling, food, and storytelling is reflected in her blog, making it a delightful read for travel enthusiasts. After enjoying a successful corporate stint, Sharath started to travel and document her experiences in what became one of the most popular Indian travel blogs.
Rahul Sharma
In a market filled with Chinese, Korean, and American cellphone brands, homegrown Micromax has had a presence for quite some time now. Sharma founded this brand with battery backup as its USP while taking on the might of Industry giants such as Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, LG etc. and made a unique identity as the co-founder of an Indian mobile phone brand.
Related: How money-savvy are the millennials?
Abhiraj Bhal
UrbanClap was co-founded by Abhiraj Bhal as a platform where one can look for various services such as beauty and spa at home, appliance repair, plumbers, carpenters, cleaners, home painting etc. IIT-educated Bhal showed how a simple household requirement can be turned into a smart and rewarding business opportunity.
The people listed above prove that entrepreneurs are the economic pioneers of a country; discovering needs and inventing solutions to create a diverse market.
