Someone who has studied all their life in India knows how “learning” is still a remote concept in many of the schools within the country. Preeti Rani is one of the people who figured this out not while attending school, but while spending time in one.
Paramjeet Kaur Gulati is a fascinating blend between a hard task-master and a friendly professional. The persona she adapts on a particular day tilts to either side, depending on the situation that she’s facing at that time. For instance, she’s pretty hard on the naysayers and those who doubt her abilities because of her gender.
Her mother had set up Tharangini in 1977, a labor of love across three decades, helmed to perfection for Padmini to either carry forward or let go. Whilst being very sick at that time, Padmini’s mother said to her, “I’m satisfied with Thrangini and what it has achieved in three decades.
Padmaja Rao recalls how once a factory owner she used to work with suddenly began bad-mouthing her in front of clients. “I’d worked with him for a few years, and brought him a lot of business – five years’ worth of it in just one! Then I hear that he’s been talking rubbish about me behind my back.
The 2008 Great Recession would have pushed back many entrepreneurs, but for Ivy Manohara, it was an opportunity to go after her dream. She decided to use this to set up her business: Filmapia – a venture that provides consultancy on ideal Shoot Locations to Filmmakers.
More often than not, people place a lot of emphasis on the big moments in life. What they do forget, is that the big moments have millions of small, seemingly insignificant but important in hindsight instances behind them. If we talk about Geetha’s life, that small, and a bit embarrassing moment, came in the form of a botched-up batch of brownies. “I decided to tinker with the recipe and not follow it to the last T. It turned into a brick. That’s when I realised baking is not the same as cooking; it’s basically a science and everything has to be proportional.”
Dr. Vinita Sharma’s business has profited her on a linear high, but not without its roadblocks and the whirlwinds of a learning curve. Of having to learn new ropes of the trade at the drop of a hat to continue her consistent path to success.
Dr. Swetha Sandesh has a straightforward message for all those aspiring to become entrepreneurs: Enter the field only if you have the passion to do something, and not just to mint money. “It’s a very tough field, and sometimes you face a lot of resistance, even from family members. You think you’ll be your own boss and that’s it, but you end up doing everything.”
Dr. Shubha Dharmana’s entrepreneurial journey in India began partly because of her passion and partly because of her naivety. “I was visiting India for a holiday and I was offered a great opportunity to be one of the directors of a chain of clinics in India. I left my established practice in the United Kingdom and decided to move here. I was naive at that time. I found out that the offer did not stand anymore.”
Bharathi Kamath is a woman who wears many hats and embodies the phrase, “Why not?” in all that she takes up. More than an entrepreneur, Bharathi is an insatiably curious, fiercely independent, and doggedly gritty entrepreneur. She’s an unapologetically ambitious woman who has carved out a niche for herself in the entrepreneurial realm.
“If you have an innovative idea, drive it hard with compassion and commitment. Results will definitely follow.” Perhaps that’s exactly what Anushka Jaisinghani had told herself when she quit her Corporate HR role and began her journey as an Entrepreneur in 2010.
With the Growtherator programme, Aditya has grown his vision as an entrepreneur and people’s manager. Before he enrolled in the programme, his employees had a job with the very low scope of growth. “I’m not really good at the management end.