Category: Leaders

Pavan Allena with Metamorphosis Edu has stirred up a revolution within the education ecosystem in India by introducing entrepreneurship as a subject right from the school level. In the world (especially the business world) that is subjected to change at a neck-breaking speed, companies like Metamorphosis Edu definitely need of the hour. Reiterating the founder’s words – It is important to carve job creators out of our students.

A BORN LEADER

In order to materialize his dream Pavan, started visiting different schools in Hyderabad with the motive of interacting with students so as to define their curriculum. Pavan had this entrepreneurial knack inside him since his college days. With his firm determination and ceaseless efforts, he co-founded an IoT-based school bus tracking system called Fleetalytics at the age of 19. His association with Fleetalytics required him to deal with a lot of school children. It was then he realized that children have a lot of curiosity & passion for business concepts & entrepreneurs. The hidden entrepreneurial zeal in them inspired him to launch Metamorphosis. Though he faced some resistance getting it started, he and his team never gave up.

In order to realize his dream, he started visiting different schools in Hyderabad with the motive of interacting with students so as to define their curriculum. Gradually they tied up with colleges & recruitment firms to fill that void.

ACHIEVING MILESTONES

With Pavan spearheading, the impact of the company is getting bigger by the day. His relentless efforts helped the company impact over 25,000 school students across India. In order to provide young minds with the right platform to grow as global citizens, he also got business incubators launched in several schools – the firstever initiative of its kind in the world. And now, the company is venturing into the digital space with Metamorphosis School of Entrepreneurship which serves as the world’s biggest online platform for school students to go through certified entrepreneurial program. Moreover, under his leadership, it has entered into a partnership with the Telangana Government to impact college students of various districts like Mahabubnagar, Sircilla, & Khammam. Currently, it has 53 trainers associated & 26 members in its team. The rising entrepreneur aims at imparting entrepreneurial skills to one million students by the end of 2020 through its short and long-term courses.

A THOUGHTFUL ENTREPRENEUR

Pavan believes that since automation is affecting jobs, skills, and wages, it has become essential for the future generation to learn lucrative skills that will not only help them stand out in an era of automation but also make them irreplaceable by bots and machines. Thus he wants to prepare young minds to face all challenges that could affect their careers in the future.

GAINING RECOGNITION

Pavan has achieved significant milestones at a young age. Recognizing his hard work & phenomenal value creation in the education sectors, he has received 40 Under 40 Young Vibrant Entrepreneurs of South India by Edex-Indian Express. The young & dynamic entrepreneur has also been honored as ‘30 under 30 Top Entrepreneurs’ by Brainfeed. The company has received its first round of funding from Hyderabad Angels & Markset Networks.

Ever since Mr.Chakravarthy took over his family business in 2000,he has been working untiringly to buildup the brand.He has successfully established affiliations with numerous medical institutions in Tamil Nadumaking PHC, that has a leading pool of qualified radiologists, pathologists and technicians,a popular choice for clients.

AN ARRAY OF SERVICES

PHC has evolved into a comprehensive diagnostic centre that provides the entire spectrum of imaging and lab services under one roof, owing to his guidance. Equipped with the latest state-of-the-art laboratory and imaging modalities, it offers a comprehensive array of tests across a wide range of specializations including Biochemistry, Immunohistochemistry, Flow Cytometry, Hematology, Immunology and Serology. The differentiating aspects of PHC are its wide range of laboratory tests and its swift turn-around time for the delivery of reports. More than 2,000 patients get themselves tested daily through 45+ labs spread all over the state. The centre offers an assortment of exclusive customer loyalty programmes like ‘Health Buddy Cards’ and affordable health packages ranging from master health checks, premier executive health checks, women health checks, child/ senior citizen health checks as well as its exclusive premarital and preemployment check-ups. Even further, PHC facilitates online reporting systems, SMS notification for report collection and complaint management system (CMS) to record the patient’s invaluable feedback.

PRIORITIZING QUALITY

Under his exemplary leadership, PHC has transformed into one of the most reputed laboratories, having acquired the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) Certification. He has also brought international recognition to the Indian healthcare industry by receiving accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). He has also been efficiently spearheading the expansion process through timely planning and execution of new projects thereby ensuring accuracy, quality assurance, quality control and compliance to the standards laid down by the accreditation bodies like NABL and ISO.

MAKING HEALTHCARE AFFORDABLE

He nurtures the dream of making healthcare accessible and affordable to all. His vision, determination and futuristic approach have enabled the common man to access diagnostic services replete with brand new, cuttingedge technology that provide results of uncompromising quality in a transparent and customer-focused manner. PHC’s corporate ventures are aligned with the sole aim of improving affordability and access to healthcare. Primarily, he is looking forward to building a disease-free society through enriched diagnosis and timely prevention through health screenings. Under his leadership, Team PHC (a tech-enabled group) has been relentlessly working towards newer ways to transform lives.

It is never easy to drive the legacy of a heritage brand ahead. There are many additional responsibilities to care for than just maintaining business success. One has to fight against the hoots of nepotism and build in a new trust for one’s own capabilities and Mr. Saurabh Agarwal’s association with the Kamdhenu Group is a stellar example of how that is done. The spirited leader not only multiplied the growth on charts for the group but also led its diversification in the challenging yet thriving segment of paints. Today, he is a whole-time director of the group and looks closely at the development and promotion of its paints segment. Ambitious and energetic, Mr. Agarwal vows for growth with vision. Adding his dynamism to the company’s top management, he believes in the flawless functioning of the company’s manufacturing unit.

BEGINNING THE IMPECCABLE JOURNEY

Mr. Saurabh Agarwal was an inquisitive kid, which made him learn a few tricks of the trade from his family at a very young age. The bright-eyed young boy grew up to attain his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and started his professional journey as a technical executive in 1998.

He launched Kamdhenu Paints in the year 2008 and just within a few years made its presence felt in the highly competitive paints market with strong backing and support of Kamdhenu Limited, a leader in building materials space.

The company has deployed state-of-theart automatic machines, tinting machine technology to help customers make an informed choice. It benefits from the robust network, research and development expertise and technological efficiency that is the hallmark of Kamdhenu Group, which Mr. Agarwal leads from the front.

MONITORING THE FINESSE

Mr. Saurabh Agarwal keeps a tight vigil on every section of the work and contributes to every team with his strong technical and business knowledge. A troubleshooter within the company, he keeps monitoring the well-functioning and maximum output of all the production units. His zeal for innovation resulted in the introduction of Tinting machine technology in Kamdhenu Paints to enable the customers to make an informed choice.

Post the massive fire incident at its paint manufacturing unit at Chopanki in April2019, with the efforts of Mr. Agarwal, the plant resumed its partial operation within six months and is expected to restore complete operations in the next six months. In order to maintain the flawless supply of material to the dealer network, he immediately started outsourcing material from third party manufacturers by deputing own technical team to ensure the quality of products to ultimate consumer.

Adding to the economic viability of Kamdhenu’s products, Mr. Agarwal has been monitoring the company’s Research & Development (R&D) facility and enabling research and technological development.

BUILDING A FRESH LEGACY

Under his astute guidance, the company is targeting to become the top paint brand in India in the next five years. Apart from that, Mr. Agarwal is investing in the manufacturing of Low-VOC and High-SRI value products to lead the business with an eco-friendly edge. A genius leader, Mr. Agarwal made Kamdhenu paints a leading brand within a very short time period, adding great numbers to the group’s yearly books.

Scalable, sustainable, and clean, renewable energy is the need of the hour in today’s times as it not only can serve the growing needs of the modern population but in turn, can ease the stress on conventional resources and the environment. The sector, though booming, boasts of very few names who are dedicated to the concept for its ecological benefits and not just its business gains, One such person is Ms. Sindoor Mittal, Vice-Chairperson of Avaada Group, a popular and successful name in the Indian solar energy sector.

The Group stands on the pillars of integrity, respect, passion, accountability, commitment, and trust and is striving hard to achieve its goal of impacting 5 million lives by 2022 with solar energy. Ms. Mittal is an integral part of all the activities that Avaada undertakes to make this dream a reality. Her grit, passion, and unwavering belief in her own capabilities guide her to take on any challenge that the job comes with and she faces it all with great confidence.

STREAM OF YOUTHFUL PASSION

Born to Ms. Shobha Thakkar and Mr. Parashar Thakkar, who own and run a very competitive construction business, Ms. Mittal developed a keen interest in entrepreneurship at a very young age. This bright management graduate from Stanford Graduate School started her first business at the age of 24, after quitting her job at a $500 million private equity fund company. The business taught her the right attitude to be a leader. She discovered in herself a relentless desire to make a change in the world and started working towards that.

Today, she sits beside her husband, Mr. Vineet Mittal, on the board of Avaada and is responsible for leadership development and capital raising along with managing the company’s CSR activities. She is known within the industry for her smart thinking and often participates in media discussions around the state of renewable energy in the country. Ms. Mittal has some intelligent ideas around supporting the growth of the sector in the country and she has been a keen advocate of the government going back to closed auctions of renewable energy projects. She also insists that India’s pensions funds and insurance companies should actively invest in renewable sector like their global peers.

NOT JUST INSPIRING BUT EMPOWERING

Ms. Sindoor Mittal is an inspiration to the dynamic team that she leads at Avaada but she believes that only inspiring someone is not enough to promote their growth. She, therefore, tries to empower her people. She is often seen mentoring the team to realize its true potential and prompts every member to work hard for achieving their goals. The vivacious leader has now developed a high performing team of dedicated and self-driven members who are now working with her to make Avaada the largest renewable energy company not just in India but globally.

Ms. Mittal reckons that only the empowered ones can reap the true benefits of any business and therefore she also takes an avid interest in the CSR activities of the company, which are directed towards changing the social fabric of the country by empowering every Indian. They do so by lighting up the country with clean, sustainable energy, and transforming the citizen’s lives by focusing on education, health, and the environment.

Mr. Tajwar earned his Bachelor of Science Business Administration majoring in Marketing, post which he completed Master of Science, majoring in Finance from Suffolk University, Massachusetts, the USA. Soon after completing his studies, Mr. Tajwar returned to Bangladesh to join his family-owned business, Multimode Group, in 2011. Since then, he has made his presence felt in various ways in terms of expansion of the business. He is also involved in various employee welfare initiatives to bring about a vibrant culture in the company.

Mr. Tajwar is an influential leader and also a member of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), the most prestigious organization for businessmen in Bangladesh. Additionally, he is an active member of the BCPA (Bangladesh Crop Protection Association).

A TECH-SAVVY ENTREPRENEUR

Mr. Tajwar has been playing a commendable role in the socio-economic growth of Bangladesh by fortifying the food and nutrition security of the country. To make the process of cultivation easier and more reliable for farmers, the tech-savvy leader utilizes the latest technologies to provide farmers with better seeds. He has set up a state-of-the-art biotechnology laboratory to facilitate smooth seed selection and hybridity tests.

GOING GLOBAL

Under Mr. Tajwar’s proactive leadership, Lal Teer has succeeded in achieving a global footprint. The company has been witnessing a significant boost in exports of high-quality seeds to South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Mr. Tajwar has also established a vegetable production center in Oman, which is an incredible task, as he found a way to produce crops even in the heart of the desert where it is infeasible to grow crops. He has also set up a seed production & processing center in Nepal.

A THOUGHTFUL LEADER

Mr. Tajwar has launched several projects keeping the welfare of the farmers in mind. To lend a helping hand to smallholder and landless farmers through increased food production, he has been continuously collaborating with interest groups and international partners from different stakeholder groups.

He had initiated a project titled, “Geodata based Information Services for Smallholder Farmers in Bangladesh (GEOBIS)” under Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) program, funded by the Government of the Netherlands. Through this project, improved drought-tolerant varieties and cultivation technologies were supplied to farmers through demonstrations and training.

He had also initiated Securing Water for Food (SWFF) program, another remarkable project funded by USAID, Government of the Netherlands, Government of Sweden, and Government of South Africa to scale up saline resilient vegetable varieties and climate-smart cropping methods in the southern saline coastal areas for food and nutrition security of the affected people.

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY

Besides setting the benchmark in Bangladesh’s seed industry, Mr. Tajwar is also contributing to farmer and women empowerment in Bangladesh. At the same time, he is taking stringent measures to help mitigate the imminent effects of climate change. Under his guidance, BPCL has been taking measures to minimize

Vijay is the son of industrialist and politician Mr. Murugesh Nirani, the man who groomed him to be a sound decision-maker, an astute businessperson, and a compassionate human being. A strong background in management and emerging business technologies has enabled him to be an active executor and a decision maker.

Vijay has a degree in accounting and business management from the Singapore-based James Cook University and in global family managed business, international trade and business from The SP Jain Institute of Management and Research. His core skill set includes project management, business development, business strategy, and planning and team management.

At the young age of 22 years, he executed and commissioned a 10000 TCD sugar unit, which earned him immense respect and many laurels in the sugar industry. At present, he presides on the board as the MD of three sugar units, namely Nirani Sugars Limited, Shri Sai Priya Sugars Limited, and MRN Cane Power (India) Limited. An inspiring entrepreneur, he is dynamic and is always striving to push the envelope.

MIDAS TOUCH

Vijay has taken the commendable step to integrate the sugar industry and work towards generating power from sugarcane waste via co-generation. This eco-progressive initiative not only helps meet the power needs of the organization but also export power to the grid.

From establishing the division, commencement and commissioning of project, negotiating the terms of supply, and getting into an agreement with the government, Vijay has been at the helm of affairs of this path-breaking venture. He is now working on capacity enhancement to meet greater demand for power.

Similarly, his strategic thinking has helped promote Turaco Spirits Private Limited as the global beverage brand. With the production facility already underway, Turaco Spirits Private Limited is also well on its way to glory and become another feather in the MRN Group and its young leaders cap.

Vijay is also the key strategist for operations aimed at expanding the market base for Ratna Cements, the company’s cement production unit which has its limestone quarries plentiful enough to keep feeding the cement manufacturing plants for the next four decades. He manages the finances and the marketing operations for Ratna Cements. Through Souhard Credit Society, the banking enterprise under the MRN Group, Vijay aims to expand banking facilities to more than 65 areas, thus envisioning taking the total number of branches to 100 in the next two years.

In the field of education, the conglomerate has initiated doing its bit by establishing two schools that are striving to provide students with the best possible education and facilities. World-class educational infrastructure, sports facilities, and excellent faculty make these institutions outstanding beacons of education.

As the Managing Director of such a diversified group, Vijay is contributing immensely to the rapid growth of the MRN Group of Companies. Owing to his sincere and dedicated efforts, the Group is consistently charting new trajectories of success. His stellar journey of sheer perseverance followed by massive success and glory is an inspiration to umpteen aspiring young businesspersons.

The dedication that Vineetha has shown, not only to the JSR Group of companies, but also the real estate industry is noteworthy. Her efforts have shown direct results in improving the real estate sector and infrastructure in Hyderabad. This has led to the development of a city as one of the fastest growing cities in the country. She understands that availability, quality, and standard of the housing and office facilities in a city are a measure of its infrastructural development. Keeping this in mind, she aims to make JSR a dedicated organisation that provides all the services required for Hyderabad’s infrastructural growth. Vineetha has therefore become an exemplary role model and an epitome of entrepreneurial leadership for creating accommodation and commercial spaces to meet the needs of a large population relocating to this beautiful city.

Vineetha’s capabilities have brought in more responsibilities for her. Besides managing the real estate business of the JSR Group, she is also the director at Jadapalli Broadcasting Private Limited and Jadapalli Ecopolytech India Private Limited.

Her outstanding performance as a leader has resulted in she being put at the forefront to run more companies under her astute command and make JSR Group grow by leaps and bounds.

CREATING A SAGA OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The JSR Group of Companies, under the leadership of Jadapalli Vineetha, has thrived manifold because of its focused efforts and effective execution of action plans. As a growth and success-oriented visionary, Vineetha leads with the goal of taking the company to greater heights.

With quantifiable results of her efforts and achievements, JSR Group of Companies is set to soar even higher. By winning laurels in real estate business, a primarily male-dominated field, Vineetha has not only been inspiring and showing way to other women, but also paving the way to gender parity in the real estate sector.

Under her exemplary leadership, the company has successfully launched a palatial and well-furnished officespace alongside subletting and managing several realty units for various individuals, corporate clients, and other owners. Further, the organisation has also partnered with leading real estate and infrastructure firms to start new ventures in Hyderabad .

Putting a spotlight on Vineetha’s professional excellence, the JSR Group has won an array of awards which have been conferred on the company and its leader for creating unparalleled industrial benchmarks. This has contributed to raising the level of efforts required by other entrepreneurs and real estate developers and agents in Hyderabad. All this can be duly credited to this leading lady of JSR Group of Companies. With a number of unique and premium residential and commercial real estate projects being launched and in process under her able leadership, she has been playing a key role in transforming the real estate sector in Hyderabad.

Veenitha has directed the company’s efforts towards embracing innovation in design, architecture, and marketing to address housing and property needs of individuals and corporates alike. Since she has come on board and taken the responsibilities of this expansive business on her shoulders, the company has grown year on year with a great success record.

For Mr. Yash Shah, nothing is more satisfying than catalyzing the growth of businesses; be it his own or someone else’s dream project. He is passionate about strengthening the business ecosystem in the country and has been working hard towards it. With his brainchild, The Address, the young turk is reimagining the way the country works. Started as a prime coworking space in the heart of Ahmedabad city, The Address is in the process of spreading its wings across several other cities, and Mr. Shah is confident it will grow to become the most preferred and functional working space for several national as well as international businesses.

A PERFECTIONIST IN EVERY SENSE

An alumnus of Drexel University and IIM Bangalore, Mr. Yash Shah is known among his peers for his curious intellect and an unwavering sincerity towards his projects. He was one of the brightest students and got his name listed on the Drexel’s Dean List for consecutive six terms. Not just academically, the versatile personality gained laurels in co-curricular activities as well. He remained an active member of Drexel’s intramural and club sports team for cricket along with the finance and investment group, and the Indian undergraduate student association dragons for excellence and innovation.

Mr. Yash Shah also volunteered with The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Habitat of Humanity Philadelphia during his college years, showing a different aspect of his personality, which is dedicated to ensuring the well-being of the whole society. He also indulged in activities like furniture-making and painting walls for various beneficiaries at the Habitat of Humanity. His dedication towards the goodwill of society highly impressed those around him and this is the one trait he still carries within him with pride.

NAVIGATING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL WISDOM

Mr. Shah’s professional journey started as an intern for finance and growth at Call Levels. During his three-month-long stay at the firm, Mr. Shah was entrusted with the responsibility of producing financial performance reports for management presentation and track the markets to write research commentaries for online publication. Following that, he joined FlySpaces in Singapore as a business development executive from where he gained deep insights into the sort of business he is heading today.

During his stay in Singapore, Mr. Shah did extensive research in the field of leasing and innovation in the real estate industry, which brought to him the idea of developing coworking spaces and contributing to the serviced office industry in India.

He further moved to True Value Group as a director, which specializes in niche and luxury segment of residential and commercial projects in Ahmedabad. In January 2018, Mr. Shah laid the foundation of The Address, the largest coworking and serviced office space in Ahmedabad. Within just a year, the place attracted several premium clients including TikTok and Housing.com. He managed to rule 30% of the market share in Ahmedabad in this very short time span and is currently working on expanding his business across several other cities.

MORE THAN A BUSINESS

Mr. Yash Shah believes that the beauty of this business model lies in its power to integrate and connect members into one community at the same time as providing

Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla is a name that created a revolution in the field of medicine by manufacturing vaccines at affordable prices at a time when India had to depend on foreign countries to protect its children from various life-threatening diseases such as Measles, Diphtheria, Whooping Cough, etc. Currently, he is the chairman of Poonawalla group which operates in a wide array of activities ranging from Horse Racing and Breeding, Biotech, Engineering and Hotels with the emphasis on the quality, innovation, dedication and customer support. The leading Indian biotech company, Serum Institute of India also comes under his business empire that manufactures pediatric vaccines.

A chance meeting with a vet had piqued his interest in the vaccine business. He figured that he could produce cheaper vaccines and can meet the demand for vaccines in the country. Thus, with a fund of just Rs 5 lakh, he along with his brother Zavaray laid the foundation of the Serum Institute of India (SII) in 1966, which started producing antitetanus vaccines within two years. Gradually, the institute produced a number of vaccines such as DTP vaccine, Measles Vaccine M-Vac, an anti-snake-venom serum, etc, and became India’s largest manufacturer of vaccines in just one year. By 1998, their vaccines were being exported across the world and almost every second child in the world was vaccinated by a vaccine of Serum Institute of India.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

A quote by John Gardner can certainly articulate the idea behind the principles of Dr. Poonawalla, “Wealth is not new. Neither is charity. But the idea of using private wealth imaginatively, constructively, and systematically to attack the fundamental problems of mankind is new.”

Dr. Poonawalla takes immense pride in his philanthropic policies. He is very passionate about making the cheapest vaccines for the down-trodden people of the world. He has a strong philosophy: “No Compromise with Quality” and strives to attain the motto “Health for All with affordable Vaccines”. He also believes that getting money is not all a man’s business. To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life. He has followed this philosophy since beginning. He has worked with the United Nations. He exports his products to 100 different countries. Today, 80% of Serum’s sales are to UNICEF and the Pan-American Health Organization as well as immunization programs, e.g. groups of charity for children’s welfare in India, Germany and Africa, the majority of which are from developing markets.

This list of Dr. Poonawalla’s humanitarian work towards his society is unending. He not only made his immense contribution through his institute but also advanced to help the country in the sector of education and infrastructure. He opened schools, gave funds for the construction of roads, highways, parks and rehabilitation centre for leprosy and handicapped people. He is also an Executive Council Member of Poona District Leprosy Committee which is a charitable trust. He provided donations to organizations working towards a better future of the people as well. To improve the lives of people of Pune, he also participated in Confederation of Indian Industries’ Program of “Zero Load Shedding” by Captive Power Generation by Private Companies. In addition, Dr. Poonawalla also organizes free rubella immunization camps for the girls of slum areas in collaboration with Rotary International.

TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES

Dr. Poonawalla hails from a traditional Parsi family of Maharashtra. He married Mrs. Villoo Poonawalla in 1966. It was just a day after his marriage that the foundation stone of Serum Institute of India was laid. He remembers her as the major support system he had in establishing this empire. She was a gutsy woman and had a very positive aura. She encouraged him even when things weren’t looking up. When he was disturbed by the lack of support from Indian government, it was she who made him entrust his belief in his vision. She left his side and went to her heavenly abode in June 2001 and he misses her a lot.

EVEN ROLE MODELS HAVE ROLE MODELS

Bill Gates had been a true idol and source of inspiration for Poonawalla. Terming Gates a genuine philanthropist, Poonawalla says, “He is the only person I have known who is retired and is spending his full time for the cause of saving children and improving their general well-being. This is very rare. Actually this is the job of the health ministries of the 140 countries. But it is because of his initiative that the entire global fund has now swelled to help eradicate all these diseases including polio, measles and so many others.”

It was an ecstatic moment for Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla when Bill Gates visited the Serum Institute in 2012. Bill Gates called him a “Vaccine Hero”, a comment we all will agree that Poonawalla indeed is.

PRIDE OF PUNE

Dr. Poonawalla has been honored with illustrious awards including the national award Padma Shree by the India Government in 2005 for his contribution in the field of pharmacy. Other esteemed awards that illuminate his name are CHEMTECH “Lifetime Achievement Award”, Punyabhushan Award, and The Asian Award for the “Business Leader of the Year” among others.

He was also honored with the “Best Vaccine Executive of the Year award” in 2011 at World Vaccine Congress, Asia. For his exceptional philanthropic work he received “Sabin Corporate Philanthropy Award” from the hands of Dr. Seth Berkley, President and CEO, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (Associate Bill Gates Foundation) at the University Club in New York, USA, on 29th June 2005.

One of the technology industry’s most influential investors, Mr. Masayoshi Son is known for his enthusiastic nature, a hawk’s eye over investment opportunities, preferably in startups, and his long-term vision for his brand as well as the world of digital dominance.

This indomitable spirit to achieve something big and lead the industry was developed in Mr. Son by his father who told him at a very young age that he is a genius and will one day be a big shot, number 1 in Japan. These words filled the young man with hope and will to make it happen despite all odds. Today, not just in Japan, he is one of the most successful and richest people in the world. His venture, SoftBank has investments in some of the leading global properties like Yahoo, Alibaba, Paytm, Uber, Flipkart, among many others.

He is known amongst the business circuit for his deep interest in new trends and taking quick steps to achieve greatness.

YOUNG BEGINNINGS

Mr. Masayoshi Son was born on the Kyushu island of Japan where he spent his early years and completed primary education. He moved to California at the age of 16 and finished high school in three weeks.

Further, he spent two years at Holy Names University in Oakland, and then transferred to the University of California where he majored in economics and studied computer science.

By the age of 19, when the world was still in the initial phases of technological developments, Mr. Son knew that computer technology would ignite the next commercial revolution.

His entrepreneurial skills also developed as a student at the university where he worked on his first business venture with some professors by making an electronic translator, which he later sold to Sharp Corporation for $1.7 million.

His next business was importing used video game machines from Japan, on credit, and installing them in dormitories and restaurants.

Son was keen on having a career as an entrepreneur and was so impressed by a book written by the CEO of McDonald’s Japan, Mr. Den Fujita, that he flew to Tokyo unannounced to meet him. He went there with a 50-year entrepreneurship plan, which impressed the latter so much that he shared some tips with him and also encouraged him to study English and Computer Science at the university.

STARTING UP SOFTBANK

Mr. Masayoshi Son set up SoftBank in 1981, at the age of 24. The company started as a software distributor and soon went into the publishing business in May 1982 with the launches of the Oh! PC and Oh! MZ magazines, about NEC and Sharp computers respectively.

However, Mr. Son’s keen inclination towards technology made his foray into the internet services in the early 90s. Between 1987 and 2001, Son made investments that would launch SoftBank to notoriety — including Yahoo Japan, Ziff Davis, and perhaps most importantly, a then-unknown internet company called Alibaba.

Mr. Son soon became a major player in the Japanese telecoms as well. The company added its internet service in 2004 and the mobile business in 2006.

Son has said he’s been driven by a disdain for monopolies. SoftBank aggressively pursued top telecom player NTT in Japan by increasing internet speeds and lowering prices.

ACQUIRING THE BEST

Mr. Masayoshi Son has seldom taken a wrong step in his career. He has invested in some of the best performing brands of today’s times and has also acquired a number of successful businesses.

In 2010, he acquired 13.7% in Ustream with the option to increase shares to 30% by July 2011 and took over the Sprint Corporation for $22.2 billion for a 78% ownership interest.

In 2013, the company bought a controlling stake in French company Aldebaran Robotics, which was rebranded SoftBank Robotics. In 2014, teams from both companies co-designed Pepper, a humanoid robot. In 2015, SoftBank increased its stake to 95% of Aldebaran Robotics.

On 8 June 2017, Alphabet Inc. announced the sale of Boston Dynamics (robotics companies whose products include BigDog) to SoftBank Group for an undisclosed sum.

In 2018, Softbank’s Vision Fund announced to invest $560 million in the German usedcar sales portal Auto1.

In the same year, in response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, Mr. Son criticized the nuclear industry and engaged in investing in a nationwide solar power network for Japan.

He is now investing in the biggest ever solar project, a 200GW development planned for Saudi Arabia as part of its Vision 2030.

AN ENVIABLE PERSONALITY

Not just an astute businessman, Mr. Masayoshi Son is a great family man and humanitarian too. Despite his packed schedule, Mr. Son is always available to take care of his wife, whom he had met in his university years and his two beautiful daughters.

Mr. Son is a role model for his kids who respect him for the dedication he shows towards his work and his philanthropic activities, the most famous of them being his pledge to donate 10 billion yen ($120 million) and his remaining salary until retirement to support victims of the 2011 Thoku earthquake and tsunami.

He has a very tight and dependable circle of friends and well-wishers whom he keeps close. It also includes his brother, Mr. Taizo, who is now also reportedly a billionaire in his own right from his own tech companies and investment. But he cites the early days of SoftBank as a life-changing period.

He continues to hustle hard for constantly growing his business despite the many ups and downs he faces on a regular basis, inspiring everyone.