Indra Nooyi is an Indian-American business executive who became the Chairperson and fifth CEO in PepsiCo‘s history. She currently serves as the Board of Directors of Amazonand International cricket Council. She is an active Philanthropist as well. She and her husband has displayed collated efforts in philanthropy by donating amount to schools for education purposes in rural areas of the U.S. She was ranked 13th on the Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. In 2017, she was ranked the 2nd Most Powerful Women in the Forbes list. As of January 2021, she has an estimated net worth of $100 million.
Indra was born in Madras, India. She loved to play cricket. She used to play guitar in an all-girl rock band. She completed her studies in India. In 1978, she moved to the USA for higher studies.
In 1981, she married Raj K. Nooyi, who is the president at AmSoft Systems. The couple has two daughters. She was ranked 3rd in the World’s Powerful Moms’ list by Forbes.
Indra Nooyi- Education
Indra completed her elementary education from Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from Madras Christian College of the University of Madras in 1974.
She pursued Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. She further completed her Masters degree in Public and Private Management from Yale University- Yale School of Management in 1980.
Indra started her professional career as a Product Manger at the textile firm, Mettur Beardsell Limited. She worked there for one year (1976-1977). She further worked as a Product Manager for one year at Johnson & Johnson.
While attending Yale School of Management, she completed her summer internship with Booz Allen Hamilton. She then served as International Corporate Strategist at The Boston Consulting Group. She worked there for 6 years (1980-1986).
Post that, she sat at the position of Vice President & Directorof Corporate Strategy and Planning at Motorola. She served at the company for 4 years (1986-1990).
She started working at Asea Brown Boveri Private Limited from 1990 to 1994. She served there as the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Strategy Marketing. Since February 2019, she is serving at the Board of Directors of Amazon as the member of Audit Committee.
Indra joined PepsiCo in 1994 as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning. After serving for two years with this position, she was promoted as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development.
After four years, she was again promoted as the Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and served with this position for one year. She was then promoted to the position of President & Chief Financial Officer with a continuation of five years. Her hard work and strategic planning resulted into several promotions within the same company.
In October, 2006, she was declared the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo byreplacing Steven Reinemund. After spending about 24 growing years at PepsiCo., she officially left the company in January 2019. During her tenure, the sales of the company grew from to 80%.
Indra became the co-director of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center in 2019. The company is a public-private partnership with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
She is a resident of Connecticut and examines the state’s new economic development strategy. She is also the Co-Chairman of AdvanceCT, aConnecticut based nonprofit organization.
She was elected to the Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and sciences in 2008.
She was the elected Chairwoman of the U.S.; India Business Council (USIBC).
In 2009, she was named CEO of the year by Global Supply Chain Leaders Group.
In 2013, she was named one of “25 Greatest Global Living Legends” by NDTV and was awarded by President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
She has been conferred with the Honorary degree under several categories from different universities.
She was awarded the third-highest civilian honor, Padma Bhushan from the President of India in 2007.
FAQ’s
How did Indra Nooyi start out?
Beginning her career in India, Nooyi held product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and textile firm Mettur Beardsell. While attending Yale School of Management, Nooyi completed her summer internship with Booz Allen Hamilton.
What is the net worth of Indra Nooyi?
Indra Nooyi is an Indian-born American businesswoman who has a net worth of $100 million. Indra Nooyi was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India in October 1955.
Why Indra Nooyi is a good leader?
She treads with courage. Another great leadership lesson for Indra Nooyi is to have the courage to innovate. Great leaders are those who take decisions with conviction, even amidst scrutiny and criticism. When Indra Nooyi took the decision of making PepsiCo products healthier, the critics were harsh on her.
What made Indra Nooyi successful?
During her 12-year tenure as chief executive, Nooyi transformed PepsiCo into one of the most successful food and beverage companies worldwide. Her push for healthier snack and beverage choices, along with an eye for product packaging, led to an 80 percent sales growth in the 12 years she was CEO.
Why did Indra Nooyi retire?
Nooyi joked that her retirement was sole āa retirement from quarterly earningsā. āAs CEO, you were a prisoner of the quarterly earnings because you had to deliver. Everything you did was around the quarterly earnings,ā she said.
What is Indra Nooyi doing now?
Indra Nooyi stepped down from the post of CEO of PepsiCo in 2018. From starting her career as a product manager at Johnson & Johnson to becoming the CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi has come a long way and has paved the path for many successful women to follow in her footsteps. Currently, Nooyi is working in Amazon and is the second woman of color to be added to Amazon’s Board of Directors.
Conclusion
Indra Nooyi has come a long way and has paved the path for many successful women to follow in her footsteps. She was the CEO of PepsiCo for a period of 12 years that showcases her strong leadership quality and taught us how to lead with power and dignity. She excelled in her role which can be seen by the growth of PepsiCo into the most successful food and beverage company. She treads with courage. Another great leadership lesson for Indra Nooyi is to have the courage to innovate. Great leaders are those who take decisions with conviction, even amidst scrutiny and criticism.
StartupTalky is one of the strongest online entrepreneurial communities in India and engages with several professionals who are doing great in their lives and have achieved the impossible. To share their learnings and inspire as many people as possible, these ‘StartupTalkers’ will be featured in StartupTalky’s “Know the StartupTalker” series.
One such StartupTalker is Dhruvam Thaker. Dhruvam is the founder of ‘The SMART Taxi’. You will learn a lot from Dhruvam Thaker’s journey in his own words!
If you want to know more about the founder of Smart Taxi, Smart taxi Business Model, the smart taxi revenue, Startup Story, Challenges they faced etc., what better place to know about it than from Dhruvam Thaker, himself.
I was born in a middle-class family in a small town named Jamnagar (Gujarat). 3 months after my birth, we shifted to Ahmedabad, where I grew up. My childhood was engulfed in Indian music as my father was fond of singing and playing the harmonium.
According to my parents, I was very calm, patient, a good observer, and full of deep understanding. On the other hand, I was very shy in nature and apprehensive of interacting with others (excluding my family members). I loved playing with toys, mainly cars and trucks. I used to spend hours playing with them without craving for company. As I was growing, playing cricket interested me; it groomed me to converse and connect with people. The cricket fraternity in my society had a dearth of left-handed batsmen and since I followed this style, it gave me an advantage when it came to being selected for the local team.
Coming back to the present day, my father is a retired government bank employee, my mother is a homemaker, brother is a graphic designer and painter, and my sister is a commerce graduate. My siblings have hearing and speaking related disabilities. My wife is an architect and I have a kid who is 3 years old.
Talking about academics, I was good in studies and usually ranked amongst the top three in class till the 9th grade. My family enrolled me in a Gujarati medium school from kindergarten due to financial constraints. The school was close to my home and was a well known one. When it was time for me to start the 10th grade, our financial condition had improved significantly. So I shifted to a new school which was far from my place but better than the Gujarati medium school. I managed my travel to and from this school by cycling. My father has spared no expenses in giving me the best educational facilities.
My academic history and inclinations compelled me to take up science in senior secondary school. It was my dream to become an engineer and another reason to pursue science stream. However, everything shattered when I failed in the final exams of the 12th grade. My parents were disappointed. I was stressed and gloomy; the feeling that the society’s assumption of me had changed engulfed my thoughts. It was difficult for my parents to see me this way. But they pinned their hopes on me and asked me to join a diploma course based on my 10th grade results. I agreed and secured an admit to Nirma University, one of the most reputed institutions of Gujarat. I was back!
The innate passion for automobiles and machines never left me and spurred me to opt for mechanical engineering. I performed exceptionally in each semester, and was awarded a silver medal for standing second in the entire university. I was actively involved in co-curricular activities but didnāt secure any awards. The consolation participation certificate was more than an award to me; I’ve always considered participation more important than focusing on the result since it brings valuable experience.
Staying idle was never a choice for me, so I started doing part-time jobs with short tenures. Each of those tenures taught me some life lessons which I recall, apply, and follow every day. Thanks to the campus placement drive, I had a job in my hand from a well known MNC in Bangalore, that too before completing my diploma! My mother was hesitant as it meant moving away from Gujarat. It was my father who ultimately convinced her and I landed in Bengaluru in 2008.
Planning ideas and executing them was a skill I was passionate about from my college days. Hence, I selected production planning as a function. Staying in Bengaluru was heaven for me; it was poles apart from Ahmedabad from a weather perspective. I had troubles communicating with the locals in the initial days.
However, I learnt Kannada, the native language of the people from Bengaluru and overcame this obstacle. My office colleagues helped me a lot in learning Kannada. In a span of 2.5 years, I was well versed in Kannada, and despite leaving Bengaluru in 2013, I still find it easy to communicate in Kannada which is evident from conversations with my ex-colleagues from Bengaluru.
During my professional journey, I always believed in one variable: change. I was constantly looking for opportunities where I could try my hands on something unexplored, something different. Many times, I was responsible for troubles that halted the entire production line! On the other hand, successful efforts have proven as head turner for the organization. My senior was a source of support and encouraged me to explore. Seeing my curiosity to learn, he enrolled me in activities related to process improvements, production re-engineering, 5s, Poka Yoke, Kaizen, ISO, etc. I was enjoying this since I was a catalyst for bringing changes in my organization.
In the year 2010, I got married to a girl who was my school friend, and she joined me in my Bengaluru journey. An architect by profession, she chose to focus on her career post marriage and got the opportunity to work with a reputed architecture company. In the year 2012, I first felt the need to do something of my own. But lack of courage dissuaded me from taking any step.
In 2013, I got an opportunity from a well-known tower infrastructure company for a position consonant with my past experience. The position was in Ahmedabad. I wanted to stay with my parents and did not waste any time in accepting the role.
I never fathomed the shift in my motives and aspirations the relocation to Ahmedabad brought. I joined the company and was aligned with its culture and pace after a few arduous days in the beginning. During those days, my inner voice kept nagging me to get serious about my own venture. I kept neglecting it, subduing it with other thoughts or by focusing on the job. I discussed it with my family but they asked me to focus on my full-time job and regular income rather than taking the risk of starting something from scratch. On the other hand, I was gearing up to go for it! Finally, my inner voice superseded my fear of failure and other self-created mindset barriers one day. I resigned from my job without informing anyone. When 15 days of the notice period remained, I apprised my wife and told my parents about it a week earlier.
A disaster was in the making because of me. I was bombarded with questions about future plans and goals and I did not have a clear answer and repeated the same line, “I want to have my own startup.” As usual, some of my friends, society members, and colleagues started making fun of my decision. But this time, the negative comments were only adding fuel to my fire. Despite heavy resistance from each direction, I began. Ā
What Does the SMART Taxi Do?
The SMART Taxi
The future is all about delivering a unique experience and not just delivering a service. We understand this very well! The SMART Taxiāa call based taxi serviceāis about creating the best in class cab riding experience, specially crafted for business class people and corporate companies.
We achieve this by providing well-maintained cabs loaded with state of the art features and driven by well trained, courteous professionals. We have observed an upward trend in demand of Indian consumers for the best quality services. There is a class of people ready to pay premium charges to avail such services, and they are our targeted audience. All our cabs welcome customers with a defined welcome speech followed by soothing music for a relaxing ambience. Moreover, we offer water bottles, cookies, snacks packet, and chocolates to our customers as part of their package.
Our cabbies (drivers) are trained and tested in terms of behavioral skills and driving skills to add value to the overall customer experience. With us, customers can customize the experience by making it richer and prestigious as per their needs. This is possible by the addition of WiFi connections, Amazon kindle, cold drinks, magazines, and many other features. We do constant market research for adding more and more features in our list as per the market trend for enhancing customer experience.
We offer cabs for hourly rental and outstation. Hourly rental is best suited for roaming within the city and starts with hiring cabs for 8 hours/80 KM. Outstation journeys are traveling outside cities for one or more days.
The SMART Taxi was launched in Ahmedabad with one cab on Sep 16, which I was driving. Today we are an aggregated company with 60+ best-performing cabs; this includes a mixed portfolio of Sedans (Dezire, Etios, Xcent, and Amaze) and MUV ( Innova, Eartiga, and others). We are present in 7 cities: Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jaipur, Pune, Indore, and Bhopal, and have a strategic time-bound plan in place to expand to other cities of India.
When And How Did You Come Up With SMART Taxi Idea?
It all started in 2012 when I was associated with an MNC and traveled in taxis. I was noticing every aspect of ride hailing and it wasn’t up to the standards for what the customers were paying. Poor car condition, rude behavior of the drivers, etc. were some of the factors persistent across all of my rides. On the contrary, traveling in flights and staying in hotels were fantastic experiences.
One day while traveling back from Bengaluru via flight, an idea struck me through a a single liner, “what if a taxi could offer hospitality like the airlines and the facilities of a good hotel?” I started analyzing the prospects and gathered the courage to launch this idea. It took me 4 years to finally go for it and that’s how we started The SMART Taxi.
How Did You Come Up With The Name And Logo Of Your Startup?
The SMART Taxi Logo
As the entire concept was articulated by a single line, “A cab offering hospitality like the airways and the features of a reputed hotel“, I was clear on the fact that our logo would have to capture all the elements. Secondly, it was all about a cab smart enough to understand customersā expectations.
To make a perfect combination of the above two key requirements, I along with my brother (who is a graphic designer) made around 22 rough sketches, with various design combinations, fonts, colors, and styles. We selected smart taxi as a name which turned out to be very common when we googled it. To distinguish it from the others, we put ‘smart’ in upper case to highlight it and added ‘The’ as a prefix to the name since it reflects supremacy and uniqueness.
Finally, it came down to the last and the most important word, ‘Taxi’. We wanted to keep the taxi flavor alive in the logo, and thus, selected yellow and black as the color combination with a badge on both the sides. We wanted our brand to exude the comfort and hospitality of the airways and applied bird wings vector on both the sides to reflect it.
We are a cab aggregation company mainly targeting B2B customers. We onboard cabs of individuals or fleet owners like the other companies. The only thing which differentiates us from them is our process. We do not keep any hatchbacks in our portfolio! Sedans and MUVs are the only two car segments we invite for the initial screening.
All individual cab owners and fleet owners have to cross five steps of the selection process to get on board and drive for us. It includes every minute step: verifying the vehicle condition, testing the cabbies (driving skills, behavior with the customer, their capabilities to handle physically challenged, senior citizen and pregnant women), and taking telephonic interviews to test their understanding. Without clearing it, one cannot join us. Itās a clear process which we have been following from the day of inception with a zero compromise policy. To put it precisely, after completing all formalities, only 1-2 out of 5 cab applicants finally on board our venture.
Next, we keep an optimum number of cabs according to the city load and distribute sufficient amount of business amongst them to keep them motivated. We also monitor cab occupation ratio constantly and hunt for new cabs (from a database of cab owners collected from campaigns). We start inviting new applications only if there is a rising trend in demand. We have kept our on-boarding process short, crisp, and fast enough so that it takes only 3 hours to get a cab join us without skipping any part of the evaluation.
Being a bootstrapped startup, we take help of online platforms like Google form for cab registration application and WhatsApp for communication. Coming to the profit sharing strategy, we pay our partners according to the market rates deduced through thorough research. We apply our margin on the rates and charge the customer accordingly for providing a high-quality, safe, and unique cab riding experience. We form an agreement with validity from the cab owners and fleet owners about their understanding on the prices, service and payment terms, cancellation terms, penalties, etc. Moreover, we make sure that we pay inline with the agreed rates and time frame (which is paid within 30 days of trip completion) without a single miss, directly into their bank accounts.
To maintain transparency, we provide computer-generated statements every fortnight to all associated partners which specify the executed trip details, payable balance, and the payment made. On request, we also provide them a crisp summary of how much business they have done with us, how many rides we have assigned to them, how many they have accepted, and how many they have completed. Customers can book our cabs by calling on 8238883335. We have a centralized customer booking center, and from here we delegate the bookings to local cab partners or fleet owners associated with us.
Currently, the entire process happens over phone calls. Post finding a suitable vehicle, we communicate the cab details to the customers (at least 10 hours in advance). Likewise, we communicate the trip details to our cab partners. Both of these communications happen through WhatsApp.
What Other Options Do Your Customers Have? And How Are You Different From Them?
Features of The SMART Taxi
We compete with all the cab companies who operate in the corporate domain but mainly with Car Club, Avis, Orix, etc. We differentiate our service in terms of the features offered as well as the prices. Some of the features and customization options we deliver to our customers are not offered by the other players. In terms of price, we have positioned our self a bit lower compared to them, and this gives us the added advantage in capturing market share quickly.
Many people have a misconception about us that we are another platform like Ola or Uber which is not the case. I don’t blame them because both these companies are dominating the Indian market at the moment. However, there are fundamental differences between us. A few of them are:
Their core business is for traveling from point A to point B within the city, whereas we majorly operate outstation journeys.
They have hatchbacks, sedan and MUV as vehicle category to offer but we operate only with sedans and MUVs.
They provide app-based service whereas we are call based.
Their major business comes from individual customers whereas our clientele is the corporate segment.
They target the masses whereas we operate for a niche population.
How Did You Acquire Your Initial Customers?
We started with one cab which I was driving for the initial few months. Being the creator of the concept, it was easy for me to explain the audience and give them real information. We got our first customer through Just Dial. During the initial days, I was attending customer inquiry calls, responding to them, and driving them to their destinations.
Our core focus on customer experience means our customer isn’t hesitant to pay slightly higher than the market rate. From there on, referrals started floating in through word of mouth publicity. In parallel, I started hunting for the right cab partners who were willing to join me in this venture. From one we became three, then seven, then twelve, and our cab quantity also increased. This gave us the confidence to enter into the corporate segment (B2B).
What Is The Revenue Model and Who Are the Sources?
Coming to revenue generation, we pay our partners according to the market rates derived from deep research. We apply our margin over it and then charge the customers (who are mainly B2B) for providing the best in class, safe, and unique cab riding experiences. For the corporate segment, we mainly pitch to corporate companies (from small scale to large scale organization), hotels, tour operators, etc. to cater to their cab requirements.
We do it via direct walk-ins, referrals, social media platforms, or by sending promotional emails and messages. We are a bootstrapped startup. On the mentorship aspect, I would like to mention three names: the late Mr. Himanshu Chudasama, Mr. Gagan Gupta, and Dr. Anu Gupta for their kind support in guiding me through some of the toughest turns.
How Did You Meet Your Team (Co-founders), And What Is Their Background?
Our company is a proprietorship firm. As a team, there are two individuals (management graduates) who support me as business consultants in the core areas of our businessā strategic planning, marketing, accounting, cab onboarding and business expansion, customer help desk, and booking center. Our core strength is our ground team i.e. the fleet owners and cab owners associated with us. They are the people we have taken utmost care in selecting and they are delivering an experience as per our set standards, 24X7.
What Were The Challenges You Faced In Your Journey And How Did You Overcome Them?
Leaving a well-paid job after serving well-known organizations for eight years to start a venture was the first challenge. It was followed by social pressure from my family, society, friends, and relatives to take up a job again. The second challenge was to make cab partners agree to deliver a rich experience rather than a simple service. I have walked on streets and selected the few who were able to understand the concept. And then I trained them.
A Smarter Way to Travel
From a financial aspect, after launching the startup in 2016, it wasn’t easy being a married guy having a nine month old kid, two siblings with disabilities, and family to take care of. I was surrounded by several responsibilities and liabilities.
I remember the time when it was Diwali the next day and I had only Rs 400 in my wallet with nothing in the bank account. I literally had to drive 23 hours on that day to eke out the expenses; we managed to get sweets and crackers for my son and the family. After entering the corporate segment, a large payment we were to receive was delayed by 2 months. On the other side, to continue hassle-free ground operations, we had to pay our partners on time. It created a situation where we were left with zero balance in the account.
“Self-belief, patience, and persistence kept us going despite the obstacles”
Where Do You Want To See Your Startup (SMART Taxi) In The Coming Years?
Our vision is to become ‘India’s no. 1 cab company in customer satisfaction’ by 2025. Our further plans are tied to team building, marketing, product innovations, investment, expansion, and we’re diligently following it.
What Technology Stack/ Entrepreneurial Hacks/Online Tools/Services/Apps Do You Use In Your Startup?
We use Google Form for cab partner registration, conducting market surveys, and customer satisfaction surveys. We use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram for brand awareness and hiring. Moreover, we have a confirmed business account on WhatsApp which we use to communicate with customers and cab partners across the cities where we have a presence.
We use MailChimp for email campaigns. And for professional emails, we use office 365. We also let our customers share their residential locations via Whatsapp and forward the same to our cab partner along with other customer details and trip information to allow them to reach the customer’s place without making a single call . To track our cab partners’ location, we have experimented with a free app called Life36, which allows us to view real-time location of individuals. For accounting, keeping track of the trips, invoice generation, etc., we use a subscription-based mobile app call “Vyapar“.
What Do You Look For In A Candidate Who Aspires To Join Your Company?
Passion to do something new.
Ability to present the correct picture, rather than presenting a manipulative one.
Accepting mistakes and the ability to learn from it, and to develop a future course of preventive actions.
Appreciating others for their contribution.
Openness.
Time management.
Value for commitment.
Brand loyalty.
What Are Your Strategies To Build An Awesome Work Culture In Your Company?
The SMART Taxi – Work Culture
I personally believe in creating a workplace which is safe and where everyone has the freedom to speak. Secondly, appreciation for doing something good is required so that people feel motivated. The appreciation may be small or big depending on impact, but it should be there. We are planning to introduce “thank you” cards which will be of a small piece of paper with “thank you” written on it. The motive behind this is to thank people for their workāboth direct and indirect. The person who is giving the card and the individual receiving it are assigned some points. The person with the maximum points will be rewarded.
What Did You Wish To Become When You Were 15?
When I was 15, I wished to become a renowned engineer who creates an innovation that changes history!
Any Quote/ Advice That You Would Like To Share With Budding Entrepreneurs?
There is no substitute for hard work.
Success comes after failures, and failures come after success. The only thing which keeps you going ahead is your passion for not giving up and your faith in yourself.
Conclusion
Everyone who knows Dhruvam Thaker knows what a hard working person he is and how inspirational his story is. A soft spoken individual with a desire to become India’s No.1 cab service. He is definitely someone to look out for in the startup world. If you are ever in need of a Cab be sure to keep The Smart Taxi in mind next time!
Peter Thiel is a German-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist, a person who makes investments in companies in exchange for an equity stake. He is the Co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund. He became Facebook’s first outside investor after acquiring 10% stake for $500,00 in August 2004. He was ranked 4th on the Forbes Midas List of 2014 with a net worth of $2.2 billion. He was named on the Forbes 400 list in 2020, with a net worth of $2.1billion. He is an active Philanthropist and conducts most of his philanthropic activities through the Thiel Foundation.
Peter Thiel- Biography
Name
Peter Andreas Thiel
Born
11 October, 1967
Birthplace
Fraqnkfurt, West Germany (now Germany)
Age
53 (2021)
Nationality
German- American
Citizenship
Germany (1967-1978); United States (1978-present); New Zealand (2011-present)
Peter was born in Frankfurt, Germany. His family shifted to United States, later to Southern Africa and finally settled in California in 1977. He is a brilliant chess player and holds the title of Life Master, a chess title awarded by the United States Chess Federation (USCF).
He married his long-time partner, Matt Danzeisen in October 2017. His wife works as a portfolio manager at Thiel Capital. The couple bear a daughter.
Peter Thiel- Education
Peter received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Stanford University in 1989. He further earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Stanford Law School in 1992.
Peter Thiel- Professional Life
After completing his education, he started working as a judicial law clerk for Judge James Larry Edmondson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has also worked for Sullivan & Cromwell, as a securities lawyer. He was also a speechwriter for former- U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennet. He was a derivative trader at Credit Suisse.
Peter Thiel- Startups
He co-founded his first startup named Thiel Capital Management in 1996. He is the Co-founder of PayPal and served as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 1999 to 2002. His CEO position ended owing to the sale of PayPal to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion.
He then co-founded a global macro-hedge fund called Clarium Capital. In 2004, he launched a big data-analysis company called Palantir Technologies. The following year, he established the Founders Fund, which was a venture capital fund.
In 2012, he sold his majority shares in Facebook for over $1 billion but retained his position on the board of directors. In 2010, he co-founded an internationally focused venture firm, Valar Ventures. In 2012, he co-founded Mithril Capital Management, where he serves as the investment committee chair. He served as a partner at Y Combinator from 2015 to 2017.
Apparently, Peter’s attention went towards the development of the internet and personal computer that had launched the dot-com boom. He raised $1 million to establish Thiel Capital Management and commenced his career as a venture capitalist.
When Max Levchin introduced him to his cryptographic based company, Confinity, which was cordially launched in 1998. With the launch of Confinity, they realized that they could develop a software to assist in making online payments.
They aimed at creating a type of digital wallet for the convenience and security reasons of the customer through data encryption on digital devices. Confinity executed the idea by launching PayPal in 1999. PayPal gradually evolved with new possibilities for handling money. Moreover, Peter is considered as the “Don of the PayPal Mafia”.
Peter Thiel- Co-founder Former CEO of PayPal
PayPal Logo
Peter served as the CEO of PayPal from 1999 to 2002. Under his leadership, PayPal grew through mergers like Elon Musk‘s online financial services companies like, X.com, and Pixo. These mergers helped PayPal to expand its market via wireless phone and gradually transformed it into a safer and more user-friendly tool.
Thus, PayPal enabled users to transfer money through a free online registration and email without the hassle of exchanging bank account information. The company went public on 15 February, 2002. Peter retained his CEO position at PayPal until the company was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in October 2002. At the time of acquisition, Peter had a 3.7% stake in the company which was worth $55 million.
Peter, the creator of PayPal, established a private foundation called Thiel Foundation, through which he governs the grant-making bodies Breakout Labs and Thiel Fellowship. He funds non-profit research into artificial intelligence, seasteading and life extension. He basically carries out all his philanthropic activities through Thiel foundation.
Peter Thiel- Honors & Awards
Peter received a TechCrunch Crunchie Award for Venture Capitalist of the Year in February 2013.
He received the Alumnus of the Year award from an organization called Students For Liberty in 2012.
He was awarded an honorary degree from Universidad Francisco Marroquin on 7 November, 2009.
He was honored as a Young Global leader by the World Economic Forum as one of the most distinguished leaders under the age of 40 (2007).
He won the Herman Lay Award for Entrepreneurship in 2006.
It’s an easy and quick way to send and request money online. You can transfer money (abroad) to family, online shops, friends, and auction sites like eBay.
Is PayPal safe?
Yes, PayPal is safe.
Is PayPal safe to link bank account?
Yes, PayPal provides 100% protection against unauthorized payments sent from your account.
Manan Shah is an Ethical Hacker, Author and Indian entrepreneur. He founded an online cyber security company, Avalance Global Solutions and serves as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It is an Information Technology externalizing venture entangled with securing government and enterprise digital setups. He was recognized among the top 100 Security Researcher by the Microsoft. He also has a personal blog where he shares his journey and experiences like the lessons learned, mistakes made and large gains. Moreover, he has authored several books based on cyber security, ethical hacking and web defense. As of 2020, he has a net worth of $ 2,000,000.
Manan was raised in Vadodara, Gujarat. At age 12, he was gifted a computer by his parents. He started taking interest in hacking after reading a newspaper article based on the subject. Today, he successfully runs his IT outsourcing venture and his personal blog (http://mananshah.in).
He is passionate about traveling, playing video games and conducting webinars. Moreover, he has been invited as a speaker at platforms including, TEDx and Infosec.
Manan Shah- Education
Manan dropped out of school and faced the chagrin of his parents for academic challenges. He hated going to school and doing homework. He did not believed in the formal education structure in school. His parents and teachers rebuked him for not being a meritorious student. However, he managed to pursue some courses related to computer security and programming despite lacking formal education.
In 2019, he pursued some certified courses based on technology. He holds a certificate in Cyber101x: cyberware, surveillance and security from University of Adelaide. He did a certified course in cyber security: managing risk in the information age from Harvard Business School Online. He received a certification from MIT Professional Education for studying cyber security: technology, application and policy.
At age 16, Manan started his website rtwincustomize.net where he used to write OS based tweaks & tricks, tips, tutorials, which attracted many readers. This eventually encouraged him to write a book.
At age 16, he authored a book based on email hacking, which made him the youngest author to be published by Amazon. He further wrote more books after the establishment of his IT venture, Avalance Global Solutions. He is a first-generation entrepreneur who founded such a company that offers business services and consulting.
Before launching Avalance, at age 21, he helped in solving cybercrime cases for some biggest MNCs in the world including, Yahoo!, Twitter, Facebook, Nokia, Blackberry, PayPal, Skype, Apple, Google, Microsoft.
He spoke at several seminars including schools and colleges in India. He prefers to do a limited number of keynote speaking associations and business investments every year. He has also worked for government agencies and corporations to foolproof their system againstterrorists attacks. Moreover, he is now working on securing Digital India’s Smart City concept proposed by the Indian government.
Manan dealt a tough life while pursuing his formal education at school. He frequently failed in many subjects and had a curious liking towards computer science. He spent most of his time in watching online videos related to programming languages, hacking, cyber security etc.
Media often use him as an example of how one can raise a successful IT industry on the basis of their empirical knowledge without earning any university degrees. He worked on equipping himself with hacking tools and was determined to do something on his own.
He recently spent 7 sleepless nights with an aim to get a fix for the WanaCrypt Ransomware. He is diligently fascinated with technology insights. Also, while attending various seminars as a Speaker, he primarily discusses on the discovery of computer and network security vulnerabilities along with telecommunication and satellite systems.
Manan and his team have helped Gujarat and Rajasthan Police, MS University, Amul in more than 15 cases of fraud detection, social media, account recovery, forensics, e-mail hacking & encryption. He also fixed bugs reported in the systems of MIT and Harvard.
Manan founded the Vadodara based company, Avalance Global Solutions in October 2015. The company has its geographical presence in Mumbai, Vadodara, New York, and Dubai. He serves as the Founder, Director and CEO at his cyber security company.
His company is an innovative information security, trusted by Fortune 500 companies including the foremost enterprises and governments around the world. His venture regales to more than 100 customers worldwide across different verticals.
Manan Shah- Net Worth
The Net Worth of Manan Shah is speculated to be around $2 Million as of 2020.
Manan Shah- Honors & Awards
Awards won in the year 2020
Organization
Startup of the year
Globee awards
Startup of the year
Golden Bridge Awards
Startup of the year
One Planet Awards
Great workplace of the year
Pillar Awards
Milestone of the year
Sales and Service Awards
Hottest Young Entrepreneur
BW Businessworld
CTO of the year
IT World Awards USA
Outstanding Information Security Company
BW Business World & OsAs
Entrepreneur of the year
Entrepreneur Magazine
Company of the year
IT World Awards USA
Technology Provider of the year
Entrepreneur Magazine
National Youth Day Award
Bharat Seva Samvad
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Who is Manan Shah?
Manan Shah is an Ethical Hacker, Author and Indian entrepreneur. He is also the CEO of Avalance Global Solutions.
Who is the CEO of Avalance Global Solutions?
Manan Shah is the CEO of Avalance Global Solutions.
What is Manan Shah Net worth?
The Net Worth of Manan Shah is speculated to be around $2 Million as of 2020.
How old is Manan Shah?
As of 2021, Manan Shah is 28 years old. He was born on 19th August, 1993.
Verghese Kurien was appointed as the Founder-Chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), headquartered at Gujarat, India. NDDB is an institution of national importance established by an Act of Parliament of India. He established the dairy cooperative, Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited (KDCMPUL), popularly known as Amul, at Anand, Gujarat. He assiduously helped Amul throughout the process of producing milk powder through buffalo’s milk. This impressive factor led him to sit at the position of Chairman at NDDB. He is unanimously knowsn as the Father of the White Revolution.
Verghese came from a Syrian Anglican Christian family. He was born in Calicut, Madras Presidency, British India (now, Kozhikode, Kerala, India). Ā His father was employed as a civil surgeon at one of the government hospital of Tamil Nadu.
When Verghese was 22 years old, his father died. His uncle then shifted this family to his home in Trichur (now, Thrissur).
Verghese Kurien on success of Amul
Verghese Kurien- Education
Verghese completed his primary education from Diamond Jubilee Higher Secondary School, Gobichettipalayam, in Coimbatore (now, Erode district, Tamil Nadu).
At age 14, he joined Loyola College in Madras (now, Chennai). He pursued graduation from there and received his physics specialized degree in 1940.
He also pursued a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy in 1943. At that time this college came under University of Madras.
Verghese wanted to join Army and serve as an engineer. But, his mother wanted him to join Tata Steel Technical Institute, Jamshedpur. One of his uncle was among the Directors of Tata Steel and he eventually recommended his name. He soon graduated from the institute in 1946.
Verghese wanted to get rid of his uncle’s flattery and soon left to apply for a scholarship offered by the Indian government. He then chose to study dairy engineering. However, his uncle persuaded him to get admitted to the Imperial Institute of Animal Husbandry in Bangalore (now, National Dairy Research Institute). He spent nine months over there and then went to America.
In America he started studying at Michigan State University. He received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering (metallurgy) with a minor in nuclear physics in 1948.
He was assiduously trained in dairy technology from 1952-1953 on a government sponsorship to New Zealand to a fortification of cooperative dairying. He then went to Australia, where he innovated various ideas and learnt to set up Amul.
Verghese exercised various efforts for around thirty cooperative institutions including Amul, IRMA, NDDB that eventually thrived under his direction.
He was least interested in the dairy farming cooperative business, and was even not fond of milk or any of its products. However, he served his job as an Officer in Dairy Division in return for the Government scholarship.
However, he is the one who ruled the dairy farming cooperative business and brought immense employment opportunities for Indian citizens and farmers as well.
At a time, when India was not even considered in the field of milk production, Verghese flipped this image of India and soon he brought Operation Flood in India. India eventually became the largest producer of milk world wide.
Verghese Kurien- Success story
After returning from US in 1949, the Government of India designated him to a creamery at Anand to serve as an Officer at Dairy Division for five years.
Verghese initially found his job boring until he met Tribhuvandas Patel, who sought to raise farmers and ditch the rich cunning business persons who were snatching their part of money. Verghese was impressed by Patel, and he too joined in his fight against farmer’s exploitation.
Patel founded a cooperative Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited (KDCMPUL), Kurien supported him all the way from facing competitors to overcoming them.
The Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited (KDCMPUL) was formed in 1946 with the collated efforts of Verghese and Tribhuvandas Patel.
The cooperative KDCMPUL was soon named Amul Dairy, which eventually played a pivotal role in flourishing White Revolution in India. The turning point of Amul came when the process of producing milk powder through cow’s milk was discovered.
Verghese Kurien is the founder of amul company. The idea of Amul Dairy was so enchanting that many of its model was soon established in the neighboring districts of Gujarat.
Rise of Amul
Verghese Kurien- Founder of NDDB & IRMA
Verghese’ work in Amul was so renowed and exemplary, that the then Indian Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri established the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965 to expand the dairy cooperative program to every corner of the country. Verghese was designated as the Chairman of NDDC.
With an eye to adequately manage the cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) was established in 1973.
Verghese found the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA), based on the fact that effective rural development is feasible only through professional management.
Verghese Kurien- Books
The Man Who Made the Elephant by Dr. Verghese Kurien is his authorized audio-autobiography. Tom Alter voiced this audiobook, he narrates the surmounting story of the globally praised Dr. Verghese Kurien.
Kurien authored another book in 1997 named An Unfinished Dream published by Tata-McGraw-Hill.
He wrote another book in 2005, I Too Had a Dream published by APH Publishing Corp.
Verghese Kurien- Awards
Award
Awarding Organization
Ramon Magsaysay Award (1963)
Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
Padma Shri (1965)
Government of India
Padma Bhushan (1966)
Government of India
Krishi Ratna (1986)
Government of India
Wateler Peace Prize (1986)
Carnegie Foundation (Netherlands)
World Food Prize (1989)
World Food Prize Foundation
International Person of the Year (1993)
World Dairy Expo
Order of Agricultural Merit (1997)
Ministry of Agriculture, France
Padma Vibhushan (1999)
Government of India
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Who is known as the Father of the White Revolution?
Verghese Kurien is known as the Father of the White Revolution.
What is the White Revolution?
White Revolution was one of the biggest dairy development movements, by the Indian Government, in India in 1970. It was a step taken by the Indian Government to develop and help the dairy industry sustain itself economically by developing a co-operative, while providing employment to the poor farmers.
How much is Amul worth?
The net worth of Amul has surpassed INR 52,000 Crore.
Anisha Singh is known for co-founding Mydala, an e-commerce platform,with the assistance of Arjun Basu and Ashish Bhatnagar in 2009. Mydala is a merchant marketing platform that helps businesses get users with almost no upfront cost.
Anishawas born in a joint family in Delhi; her father is an ex-force member and runs a business, while her mother is a dentist. She studied in a boarding school. Anishadid her graduation and MBA from American University.
She recently founded She Capital, an early-stage fund investing in women-led or women-centric ventures with high growth potential.
Anisha Singh – Biography
Name
Anisha Singh
Birthplace
Delhi
Nationality
India
Organisation founded
Mydala, SHE Capital
Education
American University
Net worth
~$150 Million
Husband
Arjun Basu
Read this article to know the secret behind Anisha Singh’s success
Unlike many children, Anishanever had a childhood dream about what to do in life. No clue at all! She wasn’t even sure of what to do in life. It was one of her professors who believed that she could achieve a lot, introduced her to entrepreneurs, and said her to go for an MBA. This led her to intern at an amazing company in DC that was run by a woman named Julie Holdren. How Julie was spearheading a startup of 400 people inspired Anisha.
Anisha’s professional journey began as a Strategic Alliance Manager for a prominent software company in the United States. In 2004, Anisha started a company that provided digital content marketing solutions for the real estate and e-learning industry to US companies. Later, she moved to India and launched Mydala.
Anisha Singh, Founding Member, She Capital
She also worked for the Clinton Administration in helping women entrepreneurs raise funding for innovative women-led businesses. Anisha almost spent 12 years on the East coast, mostly in Washington DC, Boston, and New York.
Anisha Singh – Mydala
Anisha has a thing for unusual names as evident by her first venture’s name, Kinis. Mydala comes from a Sanskrit word ādalaā which means group, thus Mydala translates to ‘my group’; the idea was to provide deals to customers in a group setting.
Anisha Singh is the founder and CEO at Mydala. She was looking for ideas, and she once came across a Chinese get-together seeking discounts, and this trend was evolving in the United States as well. She thought to give this idea a try in the Indian market as no one had tested it yet. She then started a group buying deals site which she never knew had such tremendous potential in the Indian sector.
Anisha wants to see Mydala as the de-facto provider of coupons and loyalty programs. She plans to extend her network into a big platform where every Indian would first visit Mydala for anything to be searched, be it food, shopping, or anything. Mydala has made significant strides and now has a network in 196 cities with over 165,000 merchants and have over 38 million registered users.
She believes it is a good time for the online coupons and discount marketing industry with a huge scope for innovation. Recently, Mydala has stepped into product listings from categories such as eatables, personal care, and household items. She assures bringing many other changes in the and adds many new features.
Mydala founder Anisha says that a person can learn more about oneself as an entrepreneur than any other vocation. The challenging aspect was to get people to use the new service.
Anisha Singh founded She Capital with a belief to help the next generation of phenomenal female-led businesses scale to their maximum potential. Studies have proven that women-led startups generate more revenue for every dollar invested yet venture investment to women-led ventures continues to be marginal. Her goal is to change that by investing behind stellar entrepreneurs building great businesses.
Anisha Singh’s She Capital offers:
Mentorship to help your venture reach its full potential
The financial support you need for growth
Strong networking opportunities within your chosen industry
An opportunity to contribute to the future of economic growth in India
A brighter future for female entrepreneurs in India
Anisha Singh says “Sitting on the panel and giving talks isnāt the only way. I deeply felt I needed to really do something for women entrepreneurs in India, something that changes the numbers. I needed to do something on a larger scale”. She also said that there is a 170-year gender gap between and women. This difference is across the board.
Anisha Singh founded She Capital to empower and support women entrepreneurs financially. She Capital invests in startups founded by women and startups having women on board.
A Harward Business Review report, which cited analysis of Boston Consultancy Group, reported that if both men and women participated equally, the global GDP would rise by 6%. The report also stated that investments made in startups founded or co-founded by women receive half of the average investments to startups founded by men.
Anisha believes if you talk sensible, people will listen to you and things go as planned. She feels that an entrepreneur has a lot more opportunities in general.
Anisha is firm on her stance that being a woman entrepreneur is not tough. After several conversations with many aspiring womanpreneurs, she realized that women are held back by themselves. She thinks women, in general, hesitate to speak and tend to doubt and guess. Anisha wants women to encourage their colleagues of the same gender and achieve great heights.
Anishasays her two daughters as the greatest source of motivation and considers herself to be fortunate as she married her best friend. With the support of her parents and in-laws, she stays motivated.
Book Mentions
Anisha has been mentioned in a few books, and people interested to learn more about her journey should read them:
Super Women, Inspiring Stories of 20 Women Entrepreneurs – Prachi Garg
Dare to Be: 14 Fearless Women Who Gave Wings to Their Dreams – Rinku Paul
Anisha Singh – Recognition
Anisha is known for speaking her mind and is an advocate of women’s rights. She has delivered talks on a range of topicsāentrepreneurship, women leadership, the startup ecosystem in India, and moreāin various national and global events.
She has spoken in these events and many others:
Founders Forum, (London, June 2016)
India Unlimited Conference, Sweden (May 2016)
MIT India Conference (USA, Apr 2016)
Anisha has been a motivation for many women entrepreneurs and keeps motivating others while advocating innovation. Anisha focuses on constantly improving her business and reach out to the masses.
FAQs
Who is Anisha Singh?
Anisha Singh is known for co-founding Mydala, an e-commerce platform. Mydala is a merchant marketing platform that helps businesses get users with almost no upfront cost. She also founded She Capital, an early-stage fund investing in women-led or women-centric ventures with high growth potential.
What is She Capital?
Anisha Singh founded She Capital, an early-stage fund investing in women-led or women-centric ventures with high growth potential.
Who is CEO of MyDala?
Anisha Singh is the founder and CEO at Mydala
How much Funding was raised by Mydala till date?
MyDala has bagged Rs 28 crore of funding to date, of which Rs 27 crore came from Info Edge India Ltd, owner of Naukri.com and 99acres.com.
Sam Walton was an American businessman and entrepreneur. He is famous for establishing the retailers Walmartand Sam’s Club. Walmart is an American multi-national retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets. It eventually grew and became the world’s largest corporation by revenue and the biggest private employer. For a specific period of time, Sam was the richest man in America. He also received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. At the time of his death, he had a net worth of $8.6 billion.
Sam was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He lived with his parents near their farm. However, the family was unable to cope up with their financial needs through farming. Gibson Walton, Sam’s father, then decided to mortgage his farm and worked for his brother’s Mortgage Company which was an agent of Metropolitan Life Insurance.
The family later moved to Columbia, Missouri. He grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s. He used to do the household chores like milking the cow, bottling the surplus, and delivering it to customers to meet the financial ends of the family. After completing his household errands, he used to deliver Columbia Daily Tribune newspapers on paper route and sell magazine subscriptions.
Sam Walton – Education
Sam became the youngest Eagle Scout while studying in eighth grade in Shelbina, Missouri. He then studied at David H. Hickman High School in Columbia and was given the title of the ‘most versatile boy’.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from University of Missouri in 1940 and was voted as the “permanent president” of the class.
Sam Walton – Professional Life
Sam did various jobs to fulfill the financial requirements of his family during the Great Depression period. He waited tables in exchange for meals. He earned several honors and awards. He joined the Zeta Phi part of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He also received the QEBH, the national military honor Scabbard and Blade. Sam Walton also served as the president of Burall Bible Class and Stephens College.
He joined J. C. Penney as a management trainee in Des Moines, lowa. This job paid him $75 per month. He resigned after 18 months in 1942 to join the military force serving in World War II.
Sam’s military journey taught him to be a giver rather than a taker. He also realized his interest in retailing and business while serving in the military. He joined the military in the U. S Army Intelligence Corps and supervised security at aircraft plants and at prisoner of war camps. He eventually acquired the prestigious position of captain. Sam Walton then left the Army and to work on his retail store idea.
Sam Walton – Startup
At age 26, Sam started his first variety store with a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law and $5,000 that he saved while serving in the Army. He then purchased a store which was a franchise of Butler Brothers chain. He offered prices as good or better than the nearby stores and consistently stocked a variety of goods in his store.
He opened his second store called the Eagle department store. After seeing the growth in sales, the landlord started rolling out some contracts/clauses which Sam wasn’t comfortable with. Sam was forced to leave the rented store and got fixtures for $50,000 which he called “a fair price”.
He purchased a new location in Bentonville that eventually grew from $72,000 to $105,000 in the first year of sales and then to $175,000. The new store was named “Five and Dime”. Sam was encouraged to escort more locations and open more Ben Franklin franchises.
The company was first labeled Walmart on 2 July, 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. It was then called Wal-Mart Discount City store. Sam focused on marketing American-made products and worked on finding American manufacturers who could supply merchandise for the whole Walmart chain at reasonable prices to stand firmly before foreign competitors.
Sam’s model for Walmart Incorporation offered two advantages; the first one was ‘limited existing competition’. The second advantage was the gigantic store that discouraged businesspersons in the nearby areas from entering the market. He emphasized logistics, locating stores of regional warehouses, and distributing through Walmart-owned trucking service.
Sam Walton – Sam’s Club
Sam introduced Sam’s club, an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Incorporation. Sam’s Club was founded in 1983 and it was named after the founder. The company ranks second among warehouses clubsin sales volume with sales worth $57.839 billion. Sam’s Club operates 599 membership warehouse clubs in 44 states of the U.S.
At a time when having a conversation on lingerie was considered a taboo in India, Richa Kar, an Indian entrepreneur, developed an online lingerie shopping platform called “Zivame”. In 2017, Richa Kar resigned as the CEO of Zivame. However, she continues to be a member of the board. Read on for the success story of Richa Kar and Zivame.
Startups are all about solving a problem faced by the masses or enhancing an existing solution/mechanism. Richa Kar’s venture was inspired by a prevalent issueāwomen having to face embarrassment and unwanted attention for something as simple as buying lingerie from shops and stores. Lewd remarks from the opposite sex and harassment uncalled for leave women apprehensive about shopping for undergarments and other wear. Richa’s Zivame was conceived as a fix for this issue. Through her bold initiative, she was keen to ease the shopping experience for intimate clothing and succeeded at it. Zivame has now become a household name with girls and ladiesānot just for its mind-boggling range of clothing, but also for the quality and durability it guarantees.
Richa Kar is the co-founder of Zivame. Richa and her husband, Kapil Karekar, started Zivame in 2011. The couple was introduced to each other through a mutual friend. Kapil is a corporate veteran with over 10 years experience in companies like Yahoo!, ESPN, and InMobi.
Richa Kar – About
Richa Kar – Founder of Zivame
Zivame co-founder Richa Kar was born in Jamshedpur and comes from a conventional family. After completing her studies, Richa worked in the IT sector for a few years. Post that, she pursued a Master’s degree from the renowned Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NSIMS) in 2007. She worked for Spencers and SAP retail consulting after graduating from NMIMS. Richa’s association with Spencers and SAP allowed her to gain valuable retail experience that helped her in her startup journey. One of her clients at SAP was related to Victoria’s Secret. Interactions and the experience of working with that client made Richa realize the harrowing reality of lingerie shopping in India. Richa pondered over the idea of an online retail store for the same.
Richa Kar – Education
Richa Kar completed her graduation from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) in 2002. In 2007, she finished her post-graduation studies from SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS).
Richa Kar borrowed INR 30 lakhs from friends and family to finance her endeavor. She started out in a small office space on August 25th, 2011, and received her first order 5 hours later. As the business grew, the company sought funding and raised $9 million in two rounds from investors such as IDG Ventures, Kalaari Capital, and Unilazer Ventures. Within three years of its launch, Zivame had grown to a 200 member strong team.
Zivame is an online lingerie store featuring hundreds of styles tailored for the Indian population. It is a leader in this niche online shopping segment, offering more than 5,000 styles, 50 brands, and 100 sizes. Moreover, Zivame offers a wide range of products for women in different categories that includes, but is not restricted to, lingerie and activewear. Zivame has seen such a tremendous reception that it now has brick-and-mortar stores across the country. Zivame’s products come at affordable rates without any compromise in quality.
Zivame at one point had 5 million visitors online every month out of which nearly 1 million were unique visitors. This number has grown multifold since then. Zivame’s consignments have reached all Indian states with the exception of Lakshadweep. With e-commerce becoming mainstream, Ziavme was quick to extract the maximum out of this domain by being amongst the early adopters. As time passed by, Richa Kar understood that jumping onto the e-commerce bandwagon was only the first step to success and becoming the leader in the lingerie category was more important.
For an unparalleled customer experience, a healthy inventory is essential and that in turn requires significant cash reserves. Zivame was right in scouting for funding early on. In its funding voyage, Richa met Vani Kola, the founder of Indo-US Venture Partners. Vani showed tremendous alacrity towards supporting Richa’s initiative. The first meeting between the two parties was a smooth sail with a strong relationship established by the end of the day.
Richa Kar is one of the most influential womenpreneurs in India today and is an inspiration for many. Kudos to you, Richa.
Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian businessperson who is serving as the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea Limited. He is the chancellor of the Birla Institute of technology & Science. He also serves as the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and Rhodes India Scholarship Committee for Oxford University. He is is an honorary fellow of London Business School and serves on its Asia Pacific Advisory Board. As of January 2021, he has an estimated net worth of $10 billion.
Kumar was born to a Marwari family in Kolkata and raised in Mumbai. He is a fourth-generation member of the Birla family. His father, Aditya Birla was the former chairman of the Aditya Birla Group. The Birla family is running the business since 1857.
Kumar Mangalam Birla- Education
Kumar attended his high school from Syndenham College of Commerce and Economics. He received his bachelor’s degree from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics of the University of Bombay.
He further pursued Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from London Business School, from where he has been conferred as the honorary fellow. He is also Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
Kumar Mangalam Birla- Professional Life
At age 28, Kumar sat at the position of the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, after the death of his father in 1995. He has been reaping the company through his exceptional guidance and experience. He is also serving as the Chairman of Vodafone Idea Limited, an Indian telecom operator.
His net worth reduced to $6 billion between the year 2017 and 2019, he reportedly lost $3.1 billion. The foremost reason for this loss is “financial distress” that Vodafone Idea Limited has experienced during the steep decline in the shares of flagship companies that produce chemicals, metals and cement.
Kumar is serving as the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group since 1995. The company is headquartered in Worli, Maharashtra, India. Under the leadership of Kumar, the company has experienced an increase in its annual turnover from $3.33 billion in 1995 to $48.3 billion in 2019.
The Birla family is inheriting the business since 1857, founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla. The Indian multinational conglomerate operates in 34 countries with more than 120,000 employees across diverse sectors including, agri, carbon black, cement, chemicals, finance, mining, metals, retail, pulp & fibre, telecommunications and textile.
| Subsidiaries of Aditya Birla Group |
|—|—|
| UltraTech cement |
| Grasim Industries |
| Vodafone Idea |
| Hindalco Industries |
| Aditya birla Fashion and Retail |
| Birla Sun Life Asset Management |
| Domsjo Fabriker |
Kumar is serving as the Chairman of Vodafone Idea Limited (VI), headquartered in Mumbai and Gandhinagar. It is an Indian telecom operator and a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group. As of 2020, Vodafone holds a 45% stake in VI and Aditya Birla Group holds a 26% stake.
As of November 2020, Vodafone Idea has a subscriber base of 289.9 million and thus became third largest mobile telecommunications network in India and sixth largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.
Kumar Mangalam Birla- Controversies
Kumar’s name was once dragged into an infamous political scandal called Indian coal allocation scam that trailed its origin to the illegal allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009. In 2013, the CBI accused him of influencing the coal security then in getting the block for Hindalco, when it was only allocated to public sector, Neyveli Lignite and Mahanadi Coalfields in 2005.
Eventually, Kumar met Parekh and he helped him out as the prompt decision of the screening committee inverted and Hindalco was affixed along with the two. However, there was a sharp fall in the shares of Birla’s companies. Hindalco lost 5% before recovering. The CBI filed closure report against Birla in 2014.
Chris Xu (formally known as YangTian Xu) is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Shein, one of the best fashion-oriented shopping portals today.Shein is a China-based online shopping platform that offers clothes, apparels, and accessories for women and kids. It serves customers from nearly 220 countries. Before founding Shein in 2008, Chris was part of the ‘online foreign trade marketing department’ at Nanjing Aodao.
Chris Xu is a Chinese born in the United States of America.
Chris Xu – Education
Chris Xu graduated from Washington University.
Chris Xu – Professional Life
Before establishing Shein, Chris worked in Nanjing Aodao, a trading premium company. Chris wanted to do something of his own and Shein was his shot at entrepreneurship. He initally worked on the development of Shein’s website. Gradually, Chris distanced himself from the technical side of things at Shein and began handling sales, revenue, and marketing. If Shein stands out amongst e-commerce lynchpins today, it is because of Chris Xu’s vision and leadership.
Chris Xu – Shein
About Shein
Shein is a Chinese company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Shein was initially known as SheInside. The company frequently appears in the list of the leading e-commerce platforms. It offers a massive range of products at pocket-friendly prices, attracting customers from all over the world in the process.
Chris Xu is the brains behind this global B2C e-commerce platform which offers a humongous product catalog comprising clothing, jewelry, shoes, apparels, and other accessories. Shein is known for its delivery prowess and for providing a seamless shopping experience.
Chris developed a fashion blogger program, a free trial center, and a bonus points program to popularize and strengthen Shein’s reach. He crafted deals that quickly caught the attention of buyers.
Moreover, Chrish Xu recruited designers from various parts of the world to conjure a vibrant product catalog. And Shein continues to partner with upcoming designers who offer design ideas and drafts. If their designs are chosen, thedesigners receive 30% commission from the design’s sales and a long-term collaboration contract. The team at Shein refers to this approach as C2B business model, a setup wherein the designers beome a part of Shein’s community. They are then known as ‘Sheinside designers’.
Chris Xu – Shein Growth
After its launch in the year 2008, Shein has grown by leaps and bounds. It has achieved 50% YOY growth. And in just four years since its inception, Shein recorded over USD 50 million in revenue. Shein has hired fashion designers from different countries as part of its growth strategy. Chris Xu believes that partnering with designers will give Shein an edge over its competitors. He wants to cultivate a long-term relationship with them.
Shein’s website and mobile application host a wide range of products. From accessories to clothes, items are available at such reasonable prices that people speculated Shein to be a scam. There was a time when several individuals tweeted about the low prices of products on Shein and doubted the authenticity of the company. However, not every tweet was meant to be tweeted in a negative light. Some people were genuinely curious about Shein’s business model.
The Corporate Social Responsibility page on Shein’s website asserts that the company focused on those initiatives which enabled ethical and eco-friendly products. The outcome was excellent products at dirt-cheap prices. Shein ensures its operations meet the highest industry standards. Ā
Chris Xu- Shein Funding
Investors have shown serious interest in Shein. The table below lists the various rounds of funding that have been conducted to date.
Owing to the border tensions and security issues,the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps. And Shein among those apps.
Before the ban, Shein was one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in India. As long as the Indian government upholds the band, Shein’s foothold on the Indian market, one of the largest consumer bases in the world, will continue to weaken.
Sarika Anand
Yash Gupta
