When it comes to digital India, role models from across business domains are inspiring the next generation of change-makers and entrepreneurs.
While traditionally considering role models, we may have looked towards titans of industries, international power icons or leaders within tech companies. Now, we have a plethora of homegrown examples to inspire the next generation of founders, entrepreneurs and leaders. Regardless of background, leadership is the single greatest equalizer that inspires millions around the country.
India is a growing startup hub, up almost 108% in capital investment last year. There are successful ventures across a variety of domains, such as media, technology, AI, agriculture, and hospitality, that shine light on the entrepreneurial nature of Indians. We simply need to find the right story that resonates with what we want to accomplish.
Through the power of online content, social media and digital interactions, Indian business leaders are sharing their message with hundreds of millions of Indians across platforms. They’re defining the meaning of leadership, in the current era of digitization and globalization. In fact, research from PwC consulting shows that Indian leaders are more confident about the future than ever before.
Depth of Insights and Learnings
Information has become increasingly democratized in the digital era, with more CEOs sharing their life’s work in the open forum. There is greater transparency in the sector, with leaders participating in discussions, interviews and offline forums. They’re also becoming largely recognized globally, as more managerial positions are being filled by Indian leaders.
The next generation of leaders are developing disruptive innovations across a range of industry segments. They’re also working through global shifts in technology, trade and talent, while managing local organic growth, according to insights from the Centre of Creative Leadership.
The depth of knowledge base available to any individual is staggering in the current digital age. There are entrepreneurs from around the country sharing their life stories and highlighting their failures in great detail.
Success Stories Across Domains
“May 2015 marked two high points of my life -OYO Rooms grew to become the largest budget hotel chain in India, and I graduated from the Thiel fellowship program. Building and scaling a disruptive start-up, while simultaneously pursuing the fellowship program, were two intertwined journeys that were also life-defining experiences for me.” – Ritesh Agarwal, Founder OYO Rooms.
There are grassroots innovators, unicorn founders and tech entrepreneurs that are revolutionizing the way that India is being seen. They’re producing realistic and data-driven success stories that can be analysed by anyone seeking inspiration in a domain.
Ritesh Agarwal’s journey from selling SIM cards to running a billion-dollar enterprise inspires every tech hopeful in India. Sachin Bansal’s successful exit from Flipkart shows all founders a thriving post-growth strategy.
Kunal Bahl’s Snapdeal turnaround, shows the power of lean thinking and controlling cost. Snapdeal’s revenue grew 87% while losses were cut by almost 70%, owing to the strategic leadership of the founder. Leading examples are present across almost every sector, while CEOs are increasingly sharing their journey.
Female Entrepreneurs Inspiring Millions
Female leaders have been inspiring millions of Indians with their success in the Indian business domain. Richa Kar, founder Zivame, has been one of the shining examples of strong leadership through competitive markets in the tech space.
“Soon after you start, you face a lot of situations where you think ‘I didn’t sign up for this’. But that is the beauty of being an entrepreneur as the journey itself teaches you so much about your own capabilities.” – Richa Kar, Founder Zivame.
Upasana Taku, co-founder Mobikwik, quit her successful corporate career to start one of the fastest growing technology companies in India. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Founder Biocon, initiated her entrepreneurial journey with only INR 10,000 in initial funding.
Naiyya Saggi, CEO & Founder BabyChakra, reaches more than 30 million parents online to help them make the right decision for their children. These stories, and many more, are inspiring the next generation of Indians to take their life’s journey in their own hands.
Same Goal, Different Approaches
While every Indian leader has a goal of profitability and growth, they take different paths to get there. This makes the space that much more exciting, as leaders take different strategic decisions to reach their mark. The next generation of role models learns from one another to create a profitable strategy that works for their business model.
Startups, such as RedBus, pivoted from a B2B to a B2C model to reach new grounds in the Indian transportation space. Unicorn founder, Byju Raveendran, revolutionized the way education is delivered through interactive video lessons.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder PayTM, introduced the first scale-driven online payment platform in the country. All these examples are perfect case studies for budding Indians to understand how to become successful using unique strategies. The coming generation can learn from the strategies, vision and success of these founders to create their own unique goals and approaches.
About the Author
Clearly Blue Team: This article was written by the content strategist team at Clearly Blue Digital, a content design studio based in Bangalore, India. Our content strategists, visual designers and video engineers are specialist story tellers for technology & healthcare products, services and brands. Clearly Blue’s content marketing and e-learning practices deliver custom solutions and services to leading brands including Intuit, IQVIA, Sequretek, Bristlecone, Simplilearn, Manipal ProLearn and others.
Indian Business Leaders are becoming the Next Role Models
