Infosys encourages its staff to have a healthy work-life balance. According to reports, the tech giant has launched an internal campaign where HR is monitoring how much time employees spend working in the office and reminding them to adhere to regular working hours, particularly when working remotely.
Employees whose registered working hours are over the usual threshold are even receiving customised emails from the corporation reminding them to follow regular schedules and take care of their health.
An employee whose average monthly working hours are above the statutory 9.15 hours per day, five days a week, receives health reminder letters from the company’s human resources department, according to a media report.
These emails give information about the employee’s remote work schedule and stress the value of preserving work-life balance.
The emails also contain information about the employee’s average number of hours worked per day, the number of days they worked remotely, and the overall number of hours they clocked in.
Putting a Check on Employees’ Health
The emails include a clear reminder to staff members to maintain a healthy work-life balance and take care of their health. According to the organisation, it is crucial for both long-term professional efficacy and personal well-being.
Employees at Infosys are also encouraged to take regular breaks, voice concerns if they feel overburdened, assign tasks when necessary, and unplug from work after hours in order to refuel.
One such email advised avoiding work-related interactions if feasible and taking some time to rest during downtime. According to reports, this new attempt to put employee health first was implemented following Infosys’ adoption of a mixed work style.
Employees must work from the office at least ten days a month as a result of the company’s November 20, 2023, return-to-office policy. Since then, HR departments have started keeping track of how much time workers spend working remotely.
Employees’ Health a Major Issue in the IT Sector
Poor sleep, irregular meals, and overworking are causing an epidemic of health problems among professionals, particularly heart-related disorders. This campaign comes at a time when these problems are becoming more prevalent.
With more than 323,000 employees, Infosys is now proactively addressing these risks. The HR department at Infosys recently sent out a note to the staff saying that, although the firm values their dedication, it also thinks that a good work-life balance is essential for their long-term career success and general well-being.
But Infosys’ new position goes against what co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy argued for only a year ago. Speaking at the centenary commemoration of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata, Murthy stated that if India wishes to become a global superpower, young Indians must put in more effort.
He pointed to the 800 million Indians who live below the poverty line and questioned, “If we are not in a position to work hard, then who will work hard?” In 1986, Murthy openly criticised India for switching to a five-day workweek, claiming he had never supported the change.
“I don’t believe in this concept of work-life balance,” he declared at the CNBC Global Leadership Summit in November of last year, adding that sacrifice and unrelenting effort will be necessary for true growth.
His remarks caused controversy and division among professional generations. Critics questioned if such expectations are healthy and sustainable in India’s fast-paced IT sector, even as many praised his accomplishments and work ethic.
Famous and popular entrepreneurs are remarkable individuals those have not only transformed industries but also inspired a global mindset shift. With diverse backgrounds and domains of expertise, they consistently lead the charts and serve as exceptional role models. These renowned business leaders have earned their status as the epitome of success and have become synonymous with achievement. What sets them apart is their unwavering self-belief, cultivated from an early age, and their relentless pursuit of success and recognition. Their stories are a testament to the power of hard work, dedication, and a resolute entrepreneurial spirit.
Join us as we delve into the captivating life journeys of famous entrepreneurs and their business unlocking valuable lessons from these iconic figures in the business world that can inspire and empower you on your own path to success.
What Makes an Entrepreneur Successful?
There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for becoming a successful entrepreneur. If you look at the path of any well-known founder, you’ll notice it all started with a simple idea. But turning that idea into something real takes years of hard work, focus, adaptability, and smart planning, with the right support along the way.
If you’re dreaming of building something of your own, start by thinking bigger than just a business, think about how your idea could make a difference or move the world forward. Once your idea is in place, it’s your commitment, strategy, and persistence that will carry it through. With time and dedication, you could be the next success story.
List of Top Famous and Successful Entrepreneurs in the World:
Valued at $192 Billion, Elon Reeve Musk, is one of the most famous entrepreneurs and the richest person in the world. He is professionally known as Elon Musk.
Elon Musk owns SpaceX the largest aerospace manufacturer, a clean energy and electric vehicle company, Tesla Inc., and The boring Company, a tunnel construction company. Elon Musk also co-founded Neuralink Corporation, a neurotechnology company, and owns an AI-based research laboratory, Open AI.
Musk has a diversified interest in business fields. He has founded high-tech companies like The Boring Company, SpaceX, and Neuralink Corporation. He owns the largest aerospace manufacturing company and the world's biggest infrastructure company providing tunnel construction services making him the best in the list of top 10 international entrepreneurs.
Elon Musk is a business tycoon, successful investor, industrial designer, and engineer. Musk also co-founded X.com which was merged with online bank Confinity.
"Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up." - Elon Musk
Books recommended by Elon Musk -
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom
Jeff Bezos
Name
Jeff Bezos
Date of Birth
January 12, 1964
Education
Princeton University (BSE)
Source of Wealth
Amazon, Self Made
Net Worth
$221.8 billion (2025)
Best Entrepreneur in the World - Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos, the ecommerce tycoon, was born on 12 January, 1964 in Mexico. This man is the founder and CEO of Amazon, the largest ecommerce company. His biological father is Ted Jorgensen but his mother, Jacklyn Gise divorced Ted and married another man, Mike Bezos.
Jeff was graduated from Princeton University with degrees in Electrical engineering and Computer Science. He worked at Fintel to build their system for international trade.
He later changed career to banking industry in 1988. But after 5 years, he decided to start his own company. In 1994, Jeff Bezos started Cadabra, an online bookstore. The name was later changed to Amazon as it starts with an "A", beginner of alphabet. Jeff got the initial capital of 300,000 from his parents to start the company.
The company later transitioned into an ecommerce platform for all the product. Bezos has seen many ups and downs in his career. In fact, his company was almost bankrupted in 2002 due to over spending of funding. However, Jeff Bezos took Amazon out of that storm. As of 2023, Jeff Bezos is the third richest person in the world with a net worth of over $139 Billion.
“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos
Books recommended by Jeff Bezos -
Built to Last by Jim Collins
Creation by Steve Grand
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
University of Pune, University of Warwick, Harvard University
Source of Wealth
Diversified
Net Worth
$6.4 billion (2025)
Best Entrepreneur in the World - Sanjiv Bajaj
Born on November 2, 1969, Sanjiv Bajaj is among one of the most successful Indian businessmen, investors, and philanthropists. He is the Chairman of Bajaj Finance Limited and the Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv Limited, the holding group company for all the financial services business of the Bajaj Group. The Bajaj Group is one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in India. Bajaj Finserv consisting of lending and insurance companies, has an annual revenue of over 410 crores USD for FY23.
Under his leadership, Bajaj Finserv has emerged as one of India’s leading diversified financial services companies with solutions across lending, insurance, and wealth advisory category. With a consumer-first, digital approach and a culture focused on excellence through innovative disruption, Sanjiv is known for pioneering digital consumer financing in India, which helped transform the entire landscape of the financial services space.
“We have always focussed on building long-term businesses built on excellence, sustainable profit.”
Born on October 28th, 1955, William Henry “Bill” Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. In 1975, Gates with Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft with a vision to be a successful and famous Entrepreneur of all time. They never knew their fortune and their hard work would enlist them in the world’s largest Personal Computer software company. In recent years Bill Gates has devoted more time to philanthropic activities. Bill Gates is one of the top 10 entrepreneurs in the world.
During his career journey at Microsoft, Bill Gates held the positions of chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Software Architect (CSA). Uptill May 2014 he had the highest individual shareholder. He has authored and co-authored several books. However, Bill Gates has been always ranked in the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people since 1987, and he was the wealthiest entrepreneur from 1995 to 2007, then again in 2009, and then from 2014 to 2017. Bill Gates is the most famous entrepreneur and holds the Guinness World record for inventing "World's First Microcomputer" in 1980.
"We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve."- Bill Gates
Popular Entrepreneurs in the World - Mark Zuckerberg
Born on May 14th, 1984, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is one of the famous businessman in the world. He is the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and co-founder of Facebook, now rebranded as Meta. Since his adulthood Mark was keen to take up his future as a smart, influential and famous entrepreneur. As of 2017, his net worth is estimated to be the US $128 billion, ranking him as the 5th richest person in the world.
Facebook was launched by Zuckerberg from Harvard’s dormitory rooms on February 4, 2004. He was aided by his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes. The group then introduced Facebook to other college campuses. Mark is among the most famous entrepreneurs in the world. Time magazine has named Zuckerberg among the 100 wealthiest and most influential people in the world as a part of its Person of the Year distinction since 2010. As of 2023, his net worth is estimated to be the $87.3 billion.
"Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission - to make the world more open and connected." - Mark Zuckerberg
Books recommended by Mark Zuckerberg -
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind By Yuval Noah Harari
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley
National institute of Engineering, Mysore (BE), IIT Kanpur (MTech)
Source of Wealth
Infosys, Self Made
Net Worth
$4.6 billion (2025)
Narayana Murthy
Born on the 20th, August 1946, Nagavara Ramarao is commonly referred to as Narayana Murthy and is an Indian IT industrialist and the co-founder of Infosys, a multinational corporation providing business consulting, engineering, technology, and outsourcing services. His varied distinctive knowledge has led him to be a famous entrepreneur with showering success on his way. He is one of the famous Indian businessmen.
He started Infosys in 1981 and served as its CEO from 1981 till 2002 and as its chairman from 2002 to 2011. Fortune magazine has listed Murthy as one of the greatest and top Indian entrepreneurs of all time. Time magazine has described him as the Father of the Indian IT sector due to his contribution to outsourcing in India.
"It's very important to learn quick lessons from your failures, very important to recognize symptoms of failure pretty early, and it is very, very important to not to be attached too much to the idea - you have to know when to give up an idea." -Narayan Murthy
Books recommended by Narayana Murthy -
Winners Never Cheat Even in Difficult Times by Jon M Huntsman
What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (no degree), University of Chicago (no degree)
Source of Wealth
Oracle, Self Made
Net Worth
$206.2 billion (2025)
Larry Ellison
Born on August 17th, 1944, Lawrence Joseph Ellison, commonly known as Larry Ellison is an world famous and most successful American businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who has co-founded Oracle Corporation and thrives to become a famous entrepreneur by creating the best possible value of his software services to the most valued customer. Larry Ellison was the CEO of Oracle from its foundation until September 2014. At present he is the executive chairman and chief technology officer. Forbes magazine listed him as the seventh-wealthiest in the world and as the fifth-wealthiest person in America, with a fortune of $51.9 billion as of February 2017.
“When I do something, it is all about self-discovery. I want to learn and discover my own limits.” - Larry Ellison
Books recommended by Larry Ellison -
The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists by Mathew Josephson
Top Entrepreneurs in the World - Michael Saul Dell
Born on February 23rd, 1965, Michael Saul Dell is an American business magnate, investor, author, and philanthropist. Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world’s leading providers of information technology and infrastructure solutions. Michael wasn’t the only famous entrepreneur to ride the computer boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s from rags to riches.
Like Rod Canion of Compaq and Steve Jobs of Apple, Dell turned a fledgling start-up into a multibillion-dollar computer empire. But unlike the ill-fated Canion and Jobs, who lost control of their creations as they grew, Dell has managed to hold on to the reins of his maverick venture and achieve the unique distinction of being the computer industry’s longest-tenured CEO. As of February 2023, he is ranked the 24th richest person in the world by Wikipedia, with a net worth of $51.6 billion.
"There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don't like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don't spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities." - Michael Dell
Born on January 28th, 1940, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world from 2010 through 2013. Carlos Slim is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He secured his fortune from his large holdings in a significant number of Mexican companies through his empire, Grupo Carso.
He was ranked #7 on Forbes list of billionaires since 31 July 2016, with a net worth that is estimated at more than $50 billion. His empire includes education, entertainment, energy, healthcare, industrial manufacturing, transportation, retail, real estate, media, hospitality, high-technology, sports, and financial services. However, his great effort and a constant hunger to be a famous entrepreneur have bought him a great tenure of success. He is holding a net worth of $86 billion in 2023.
“Technology is going to transform people’s lives and society everywhere in the world. I spend most of my time studying new technologies. My main task is to understand what’s going on and try to see where we can fit in.” – Carlos Slim
Books recommended by Carlos Slim -
The Warren Buffett Way by Robert G Hagstorm
The Money Machine by Philip Coggan
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey Sachs
Sergey Brin
Name
Sergey Brin
Date of Birth
August 21, 1973
Education
University of Maryland, College Park (BS), Stanford University (MS)
Source of Wealth
Google, Self Made
Net Worth
$134.5 billion (2025)
Top Entrepreneurs in World - Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin is a computer scientist. Sergey Brin founded Google with Larry Page. The two became billionaires as Google developed into the world's most popular search engine and a media giant. In 2006, Google purchased the most popular website for user-submitted streaming videos, YouTube, for $1.65 billion in stock. In November 2016, Brin was ranked No. 13 on Forbes' "Billionaires" list, and No. 10 among U.S. billionaires who made the list. Sergey Brin stepped down as president of Alphabet, parent company of Google, in December 2019 but remains a controller shareholder and a board member. As of 2023, Sergey Brin has net worth of $102.1 billion.
Books recommended by Sergey Brin -
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Edward Hutchings
Top Entrepreneurs in World - Richard Charles Nicholas Branson
Born on 18th, July 1950, Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Virgin Group, which manages more than 400 companies. Richard Branson is very popular for his lifestyle and charity. His vision was well accomplished since he started his journey from an early age.
Richard started with a magazine called Student at the age of sixteen. Although it was his first business venture which curated a wonderful entrepreneurship journey which made him a famous entrepreneur. In 1972, he set up a mail-order record business and he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores respectively. Branson’s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label.
Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for “services to entrepreneurship” in March 2000. He became one of the most prominent figures in British culture for his work in retail, music, transport, taste for adventure, and for vast humanitarian work. As of 2023, The Sunday Times estimates Richard Branson and his family's collective net worth to be an impressive £2.41 billion.
"There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you." - Richard Branson
Books recommended by Richard Branson -
Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard
Big World, Small Planet: Abundance within Planetary Boundaries by Johan Rockstrom, Mattias Klum
One Hundred & One Reasons To Get Out of Bed by Natasha Milne
Jack Ma Yun
Name
Jack Ma Yun
Date of Birth
10 September 1964
Education
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (2006), Hangzhou Normal University
Source of Wealth
Alibaba Group and Ant Group, Self Made
Net Worth
$26.3 billion (2025)
Top Entrepreneurs in the World - Jack Ma Yun
Jack Ma, once an English teacher, became one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. He started Alibaba, a huge online shopping company in China that changed the way people buy and sell things.
In 1999, Jack Ma began Alibaba from his small apartment in Hangzhou with 18 friends. At that time, online shopping in China was almost unheard of. Alibaba first helped Chinese factories connect with buyers from other countries.
But Jack Ma dreamed bigger.
He later created Taobao, an online marketplace for everyday people in China. Today, both Alibaba and Taobao are leaders in China’s e-commerce world, helping millions of people run their businesses online.
Jack Ma’s journey shows that even big dreams can come true—with hard work, strong belief, and never giving up.
Books recommended by Jack Ma -
Tao Te Ching: by Stephen Mitchell, Lao Tzu
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins, Jerry I Porras
Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations Paperback by Clay Shirky
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson
Business Cycles: by Joseph A. Schumpeter
Conclusion
The list above includes notable foreign entrepreneurs as well as successful entrepreneurs from India. These well-known individuals serve as a great source of inspiration, offering valuable insights into the path to success. Global entrepreneurs are driving innovation and creating impact across industries, inspiring a new generation of global entrepreneurs to think big and act boldly. Each of these popular and well known entrepreneurs has experienced both triumphs and challenges throughout their journey. As of 2025, these international entrepreneurs continue to work tirelessly for their companies, serving as a source of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs through their business ideas and stories. We hope that this compilation of renowned entrepreneurs and their stories has provided you with valuable lessons on navigating the entrepreneurial journey.
FAQs
Who are the most successful entrepreneurs in the world?
The list of entrepreneurs who are most successful and famous in the world are:
Jeff Bezos
Elon Musk
Sanjiv Bajaj
Bill Gates
Mark Zuckerberg
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson
Sergey Brin
Carlos Slim
Michael Saul Dell
Larry Ellison
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Jack Ma
What industries have these famous entrepreneurs made an impact on?
These entrepreneurs have made a significant impact across various industries, including technology, e-commerce, space exploration, social media, and telecommunications.
Which entrepreneurs are on the list of the rags to riches stories of Indian entrepreneurs?
Dhirubhai Ambani, Karsanbhai Patel, Kalpana Saroj, Patricia Narayan, Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Narayan Murthy are some of the entrepreneurs who can easily be included on the list of the rags to riches stories of Indian entrepreneurs.
What are the characteristics of entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurs are risk-takers, innovative thinkers, and self-motivated individuals. They possess resilience, adaptability, and persistence to overcome challenges, while being goal-oriented and passionate about their ventures.
What makes famous entrepreneurs stand out from others?
These entrepreneurs stand out for their exceptional vision, innovative ideas, ability to disrupt industries, and remarkable business achievements. They have built global empires and transformed the way we live and do business.
Can I learn from the experiences of these greatest entrepreneurs?
Absolutely! By studying the lives and journeys of these greatest entrepreneurs, you can gain valuable insights, learn from their successes and failures, and apply their strategies and principles to your own entrepreneurial endeavors.
Who is the most famous businessman?
The most famous businessman today is Elon Musk, known for Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter).
According to a media outlet, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has cut top staff’ variable pay for the January–March quarter. The top software exporter in the nation has reduced variable pay for some employees for the third consecutive quarter.
As per a TCS employee cited in the paper, variable pay accounts for 15–25% of the CTC (cost to the company) for top personnel. For more than a year, the business has been deducting the QVA. Employees received roughly 20% of their variable payout in the most recent quarter.
Junior-level employees’ pay either has no variable component at all or the percentage and associated sum are very low. Senior employees’ variable pay was already reduced by the corporation for the quarters of July–September and October–December in 2024. Only 20–40% of their quarterly variable allowances (QVA) were then paid to certain employees.
Pay-out Based on the Attendance
Last year, TCS modified its variable pay policy to tie it to how frequently workers visit the office. Starting in April 2024, the new rule establishes varying compensation levels according to attendance.
Variable compensation will not be available to employees who visit the office less than 60% of the time. 50% of their variable pay will be paid to those whose attendance falls between 60% and 75%. 75% will be given to workers that show up between 75% and 85% of the time.
The rule then stated that full variable pay would only be paid to employees who attended work more than 85% of the time. TCS said last month that it would postpone staff pay increases that were supposed to start in April 2025 due to concerns about tariffs and the state of the world economy.
Milind Lakkad, Chief Human Resources Officer, stated during the business’s post-Q4 earnings news conference in Mumbai last month that the company will make a decision regarding wage raises during the year due to the unpredictable environment. Depending on the business, it could happen at any time.
Reason Behind the Decision
With a total workforce of about 6.8 lakh, TCS added 625 workers between January and March and 6,433 during the whole year beginning in April 2024. The company’s and the industry’s performance, particularly the first quarter’s decline brought on by the impact of tariffs that slowed anticipated business demand, is consistent with the lower QVA.
The IT powerhouse announced a lower-than-expected fourth quarter, with net profit dropping 1.68% year-over-year (YoY) and 1.26% sequentially to INR 12,224 crore. The quarter ended in March. At INR 64,479 crore, operating revenue increased 0.8% from quarter to quarter and 5.3% year over year.
A significant portion of corporate demand slowed in important industries like media, manufacturing, communications, life sciences & healthcare, and consumers.
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India is a land of diversity. This variance extends to language, culture, food, attire, and whatnot. From Jal-jeera, the popular drink of north India, to kokum sherbet, the specialty of Maharashtra, the Indian food culture is earmarked with different beverages as one traverses across the Indian geography. The entry of global beverage brands in the Indian market, complemented by the fact that traditional Indian drinks are not as easily available as packaged ones, has severely affected the popularity of these specialties.
To ensure traditional Indian drinks don’t fall into oblivion, Paper Boat, a Gurugram-based startup is going above and beyond. It has now established itself as a well-known brand with a vision to preserve ethnic recipes through innovation. The Paper Boat company is also catering to local and personalized tastes.
Paper Boat – Company Highlights
Startup Name
Paper Boat
Headquarters
Gurugram
Founders
Neeraj Kakkar, James Nuttall, Suhas Misra, and Neeraj Biyani
Hector Beverages was founded in 2009 by Neeraj Kakkar. The Paper Boat company was launched by Hector Beverages in 2013. Before launching it, Hector Beverages launched ‘Frissia‘, a protein drink, followed by the energy drink ‘Tzinga‘ in 2011.
With the launch of Paper Boat juice company, in 2013, Hector Beverages shifted its focus to the traditional Indian drinks segment. Paper Boat is India’s fastest-growing consumer brand today, selling 11 different traditional-nostalgic Indian foods and beverages such as Aam Panna, jaljeera, chikki, and much more.
Paper Boat, the juice company has distributorsall over India with48 SKUs. The single-serving flexible packages use Doypack, and interestingly, NASA uses the same for sending beverages with astronauts. In August 2019, the company collaborated with Tetra Pak and introduced holographic packaging for two of its juice variants: Alphonso Aamras and pomegranate juice. This new packaging is both appealing and easy to hold.
Paper Boat also offers seasonal drinks like thandai, serbet-e-khaas, rose tamarind, and panakam. The company has carved a niche and is targeting Indians in other countries.
Paper Boat – Target Market Size
In 2024, the India Packaged Juice Market size is projected to reach a valuation of USD 1,309.22 million. Growing at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2024 to 2033, it is expected to reach USD 2,211.90 million by 2033.
Paper Boat – Founders And Team
Neeraj Kakkar, James Nuttall, Suhas Misra, and Neeraj Biyani form the founding team of Paper Boat.
Founders of Paper Boat (Neeraj Kakkar, Neeraj Biyani, James Nutall and Suhas Misra)
Neeraj Kakkaris the CEO of Hector Beverages. Before Hector Beverages, Neeraj had an impressive stint with Coca-Cola for around 8 years. He is a graduate of Wharton Business School. Neeraj was a bright student and was a Palmer scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s business program.
Neeraj Biyani is the co-founder and COO. Heis an SRCC and MDI alumnus; Neeraj considers N. R. Narayana Murthy as his inspiration. Neeraj worked with Agro Tech Foods Limited and Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. before joining Hector Beverages.
James Nutall is the co-founder of Paper Boat and was the CFO. James is also a Wharton alumnus. After pursuing his chemical engineering from Brigham University, he worked with Dow Chemicals for six years. James exited the company in 2015.
Suhas Misra is the co-founder and Director at Hector Beverages. Suhas did his MBA from IIM Calcutta (class of 2003) and joined Coca-Cola from campus. He moved to Nokia in 2005 before starting ChannelPlay, India’s first integrated sales process outsourcing company (www.channelplay.in), in 2006.
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The idea for Paper Boat blossomed during an office lunch between the co-founders in the early years. As they were mulling over potential business ideas, the flask of Aam Panna that Suhas Misra’s mother would pack him every day ignited a thought. Commercial production of ethnic Indian drinks, hitherto unavailable in the market, struck well with all.
Hector Beverages, the parent company of Paper Boat, established its first production plant in Manesar in 2009. However, the Manesar plant couldn’t keep up with increasing demand. The plant also didn’t have the facilities for the manufacture of coconut water and sugarcane juice, drinks that the company was looking forward to launch. This led to the setting up of a second, much larger manufacturing unit in Mysore, Karnataka in 2014. While the Manesar plant has a production capacity of 80 bottles/minute, the Mysore plant is capable of 380 bottles/minute.
Paper Boat – Name, Tagline, And Logo
PaperBoat Logo
The name Paper Boat was coined by design and brand consultancy Elephant Design. Two other names suggested by Elephant Design were Good Ol’ and Lost and Found. In the end, Paper Boat was chosen as it evoked childhood memories of kids drinking nimbu-pani, sherbet, etc.
Sources at Elephant Design revealed that the name ‘Paper Boat’ was inspired by a well-known Jagjit Singh gazal, ‘Who Kagaj Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti Wo Barish Ka Pani’ by Sudarshan Faakir.
Paper Boat’s tagline is‘drinks and memories’.
Paper Boat – Products
Paper Boat company offers more than 11 types of ethnic drinks and juices: Jal jeera, aam Panna, aam ras, Alphonso aam, Jamun Kala khatta, chilli guava, nimbu pani, kokum, neer more, kanji, sugarcane juice, lychee ras, apple, and orange. It also has a range of milk-based beverages like buttermilk, badam milk, and thandai. The brand also launched coconut water in 2018. Apart from these, Paper Boat produces two seasonal drinks associated with Indian festivals—Panakam (available during Ram Navami) and Sherbet-e-Khas (available during Eid).
In 2017, the brand expanded its offering by launching its drinks in 1 liter Tetra Prisma Aseptic cartons, replacing the 500 ml packs. This move widened the brand’s reach to include the multi-serve category.
Hector Beverages entered the traditional Indian food sector in 2016. Besides the Paper Boat drinks, Hector Beverages’ products include traditional delicacies like peanut chikki, banana chips, aam papad, bakarwadi, namak para, gur para, and shakar para. For producing chikki, the company procures groundnuts directly from a farmers’ collective near Rajkot at the fair-trade minimum price. Paper Boat chikki is a fair-trade product, a certification to attest that everyone involved in the making of a product is fairly employed and paid.
Hector Beverages uses a priority customer feedback analytics platform to survey customers on a large scale through WhatsApp. Most of the recipe modifications are made after conclusions are derived from the survey.
“Our intellectual property is the recipe. A small decimal change in pressure or temperature can alter the taste of our product and the unique differentiation can be lost”, said Neeraj Biyani,Co-founder and COO.
Paper Boat – Funding And Investors
Paper Boat has raised a total of $153.4 Million in funding 15 rounds. Its latest funding of $48.5 million was raised on August 25, 2022, from a Series C funding round.
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
August 2022
Series C
$48.5 million
GIC
July 2020
Series C
$3.8 million
Sofina
February 2020
Debt Financing
$1.3 million
Trifecta Capital Advisors
November 2019
Venture Round
$2.7 million
A91 Partners, Advent International
March 2019
Venture Round
$1.5 million
A91 Partners
November 2016
Venture Round
$3 million
–
July 2015
Series C
$28.7 million
Hillhouse Capital Group, Sofina
May 2013
Series B
$8 million
Sequoia Capital India
May 2011
Series A
$2.5 million
–
The company boasts of Narayana Murthy as one of its investors. Paper Boat issued 10 million compulsorily convertible debentures to A91 Partners on a preferential basis at INR 10.
Paper Boat – Marketing Strategies
As a brand relying on age-old recipes and memories, Paper Boat’s marketing strategy revolves around nostalgia, childhood, and innocence. The company’s beverages are drinks that consumers grew up drinking and carry a strong association with.
Their television advertising campaign comprises a series of simple, evocative ads that reflect childhood nostalgia. Paper Boat’s debut campaign was penned and narrated by the renowned poet and lyricist Gulzar; the latter campaign was written by lyricist Swanand Kirkire.
Apart from its television ads, the brand has also released a range of short films celebrating childhood memories and nostalgia as part of the Paper Boat marketing strategy. ‘Ride Down the River of Memories’, ‘Waiting for Ma’, ‘My Struggles with the Treasure Chest’, and ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ (We shall Overcome) are all short films aimed at bringing out the child in us. The videos used animation, narration, and strong characterization to tell a moving tale.
As an extension of its marketing campaign, Paper Boat has also ventured into book publishing. It has published reprints of the classics ‘Three Men in a Boat’ and ‘Jungle Book’; these were given away with the beverages in gift boxes and sales offers.
In 2017, the brand published Half Pants Full Pants by Anand Suspi, a collection of real-life tales about growing up in Shimoga.
Limited distribution is one of the biggest challenges for Paper Boat. In terms of design restrictions, the team faced issues when it came to the colors. Paper Boat’s personality is in sync with the colors on the pack. On a doypack, the colors react differently. But the substrate on Tetra Pak is different. This was an obstacle.
Paper Boat – Competitors
PaperBoat’s major competitors are Dabur India, PepsiCo, Coca Cola, B Natural, and Nourishco.
While Dabur India has entered the functional drink market with aam panna, beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have also ventured into the non-carbonated drinks space. B Natural, an ITC-owned brand, is posing competition for Paper Boat through a wide variety of Indian beverages made without the use of any concentrate. Noursihco, a joint venture between Tata Global Beverages Pvt. Ltd. and Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd., is giving serious challenge to Paper Boat.
The company has partnered with Indo Nissin Foods Japanese giant Indo Nissin Foods to expand into suburban and rural areas. This collaboration aims to boost Paper Boat’s distribution and brand presence in tier-II cities and beyond. Paper Boat is also partnering with large e-commerce and grocery delivery companies to make sure its products are available to everyone at all times.
Tata Global Beverages wanted to acquire Paper Boat in February 2018, but the deal didn’t progress.
Paper Boat – Growth
In 2017, Paper Boat reported sales of $9.5 million (INR 69 crore) in 2016-17. Paper Boat’s total revenue grew by 70% to $16.25 million (INR 118 crore) in 2017-18. In the financial year 2019, Hector Beverages posted a revenue of $26.1 million (INR 189.56 crore), a 62% increase from $16.1 million (INR 116.94 crore) in FY18. In FY19, the company also managed to marginally cut down its losses by 1.92% to $8.2 million (INR 59.88 crore) from $8.4 million (INR 61.03 crore) in FY18.
Hector Beverages, the maker of Paper Boat has reported a 20% increase in the financial year 2020. The company’s revenue grew from $26.8 million (INR 195 Cr) in the financial year 2019 to $32.3 million (INR 235 Cr) in the financial year 2020.
Hector Beverages’ valuation was $120.8 million (INR 876 crore) in March 2019. Paper Boat has two factories that produce up to 10 million pouches per month.
As per November 2018 stats, the company distributes its products in over 50,000 outlets and exports them to over 10 countries. The company is moving to America, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, U.A.E, and Malaysia since Indian origin individuals reside in these countries in huge numbers.
In India, significant business for Paper Boat comes from six cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.
Financials
Paper Boat Financials
FY23
FY24
Operating Revenue
INR 504 crore
INR 584.9 crore
Total Expenses
INR 599.1 crore
INR 642.3 crore
Profit/Loss
Loss of INR 90.56 crore
Loss of INR 47.14 crore
Paper Boat Financials
In 2024, Paper Boat’s revenue from operations increased by 16.1%. The company reported revenue of INR 585 crore in FY24 which is a hike up from INR 504 crore in FY23. Paper Boat’s total expenditure also rose by a marginal 7.2% to INR 642.3 crore in FY24, a slight increase from the previous year, which was INR 599.1 crore in FY23. The company on the other hand did manage to lower its losses significantly, from INR 90.56 crore in FY23 to INR 47.14 crore in FY 24. Which is an impressive 47.9% decline from the previous financial year.
Paper Boat Short Film
FAQs
Is paper boat an Indian company?
Paper Boat is India’s fastest-growing consumer brand, selling different traditional Indian beverages and foods.
Who is the founder of Paper Boat?
Neeraj Kakkar, James Nuttall, Suhas Misra, and Neeraj Biyani are founders of Paper Boat.
Why is paper boat called paper boat?
Paper Boat” is reminiscent of playing with paper boats as a childhood memory. It’s a nostalgic feeling. The company’s name revolves around this nostalgia.
What is special about paper boat?
The company’s aim is to preserve traditional recipes of India using innovation to make ethnic Indian drinks. Paper Boat does not use artificial coloring or preservatives in its products.
Rohan Murty (37 years) is a junior fellow of at the Harvard society of fellows and founder of Murty Classical Library of India. He is also specialized in automation using Artificial intelligence sources.
Read more to know about Rohan Murty.
Rohan Murty
Rohan Murty- Biography
Name
Rohan Murty
Born On
1983
Nationality
Indian
Occupation
Founder Murty Classical Library of India and Junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows
As everyone is aware of, Rohan Murty is born to Narayana Murty, founder of Infosys, Sudha Murthy. He is the Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Soroco, a digital transformation company, engaged in specialized automation using Artificial intelligence. A total worth US$500 million (as on December 2019)
But he went into headlines when he began his ambitious project to establish “Murty Classical Library of India”, which is a continuation of the Clay Sanskrit Library Project headed by Sheldon Pollock.
Rohan Murty got married to Aparna Krishnan last year.
Rohan Murty Marraige
Rohan Murty- Education and career
Rohan had his schooling at Bangalore till 12th standard, and then he moved to US to pursue a degree in computer science from Cornell University. Interestingly he had his PhD in 2011 and the thesis was on “Opportunistic Wireless Networks“.
He is the founder of the Murty Classical Library of India, which is a continuation of the Clay Sanskrit Library Project headed by Sheldon Pollock a Padmashree Awardee as the chief editor.
Rohan Murty- Challenges
Rohan has a point when he makes it simple by saying,
When western classics can find a place in our curriculum, then why don’t our classics.
He argues, Indian literature and culture is so rich that many scholars even having no connection to India have told great of it. They have researched over the years, and translated them for the world.
His Father and in particular his mother is an avid reader, and even she has a personal library. So obviously he hails from reading environment but certain observations drove him to take his passion to an altogether different dimension.
He saw at Harvard that there was not enough contents from India to be included in their curriculum under foreign language segment when Indian literature and culture is far richer than any others.
Thus came the idea of Murty Classical Library of India. Here Indian classics are translated and published by Harvard University Press.
The Murty Classical Library of India aims to siphon out three to five new volumes of Indian classics every January. So far it has able to translate about 23 to 25 volumes.
These books are available on platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon and cost are Rs.300 to 400 . Some of examples are..
Sindhi poetry, Shah Jo Risalo.
Kannada poet Raghavanka’s 800-year-old work,
The Life of Harishchandra
The Story of Manu
The Epic of Ram, Volume 1,2,3,4
The History of Akbar, Volume 1,2,3,4
Therigatha: Poems of the First Buddhist Women
And many more.
Interestingly some of Indian classics have been placed in foreign universities and there have been demand to publish them in their languages.
In 2016 a petition was framed demanding removal of Pollock Sheldon as the chief editor. The petition revolves around the book The battle of Sanskrit in which The author Rajiv Malhotra blames Pollock being not Dharmic and choosing political methodology in writing the books.
But Rohan rejected the petition and stood his ground to retain Pollock stating that, best possible scholars will be deployed for Sanskrit language.
Rohan Murty- Facts
Rohan Murty does not lets anyone borrow books from his personal library.
The couple, who met through common friends and have known each other for almost 3 years.
Rohan Murty doesnt take his father’s title. He misses the ‘h’ in his title Murty.
Rohan is not a’the scion’ to Infosys. Infosys keeps family members of the founding team away from executive positions.
One can say he is the proverbial ‘Superman of Indian Geeks’. Rohan was named as a Computing Innovations Fellow at MIT before moving to Harvard University for his doctoral studies.
Apart from MIT’s he was part of two more prestigious fellowship programmes — Siebel Scholars Fellowship and Microsoft Research fellowship.
Some of Rohan’s favorite classic quotes are:
“In god we trust, everybody else brings data to the table”
“Progress is often equal to the difference between mind and mindset”
“The softest pillow is a clear conscience”
Rohan Murty, a young person who decided to not walk in his father’s footstep. Even when his father has already paved a golden road for him. Instead he decided to pave his own path and and work in a non-profit manner. He is truly a philanthropist and a patriot who is contributing to save our rich culture.
