Section 36
Rags to Riches
They started with a bicycle, a small loan or a pushcart. Each story shows where they began, what they built, the steps in between and what you can copy.
- stories
- 20
- with documented numbers
- 20
- lessons
- 60
- Dhirubhai AmbaniReliance IndustriesStarted withWorked at a petrol pump in Aden as a teenager to support his familyBuiltReliance, which by 2002 had a turnover of $13.2 billion and was the only Indian private company in the Fortune 500Read the story →
- Karsanbhai PatelNirmaStarted withMade washing powder at home and sold it door to door at ₹3.50 a kgBuiltNirma, a group with annual turnover of over ₹7,100 crore and more than 8,000 employeesRead the story →
- Kalpana SarojKamani TubesStarted withMarried at 12, she later worked in a Mumbai tailoring workshop for a small monthly wageBuiltTook over the sick company Kamani Tubes in 2006 and turned it around; her net worth was estimated at over $100 million in 2015Read the story →
- Prem GanapathyDosa PlazaStarted withRobbed of his ₹200 on arrival in Mumbai, he washed dishes in a bakery for ₹150 a monthBuiltDosa Plaza, a dosa chain with 43 outlets across 11 states and abroad by 2012Read the story →
- P C MusthafaiD Fresh FoodStarted withSon of a coffee plantation labourer; left school after failing Class 6 and worked in the fieldsBuiltiD Fresh Food, a packaged fresh-food company with revenue of about ₹680 crore in FY25Read the story →
- The seven founders of Lijjat Papad (Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat and six others)Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat PapadStarted withSeven housewives rolled four packets of papad on a terrace with ₹80 borrowedBuiltA women's cooperative with about 45,000 members, 83 branches and 31 divisions in 16 statesRead the story →
- Mahashay Dharampal GulatiMDH (Mahashian Di Hatti)Started withReached Delhi after Partition with ₹1,500 and drove a tonga for a livingBuiltMDH, one of India's best-known spice brands; in 2017 he was India's highest-paid FMCG CEORead the story →
- M P RamachandranJyothy Laboratories (Ujala)Started withBorrowed ₹5,000 from his brother to set up a makeshift factory on family landBuiltJyothy Labs, a listed FMCG company with revenue of ₹1,769 crore in 2018-19Read the story →
- Ashok KhadeDAS Offshore EngineeringStarted withA cobbler's son who knew hunger; joined Mazagon Dock when money ran out for further studiesBuiltDAS Offshore, which builds offshore oil platforms for clients such as ONGC and had about 4,500 employees in 2011Read the story →
- Arunachalam MurugananthamJayashree IndustriesStarted withA school dropout who welded gates in a Coimbatore workshopBuiltA low-cost sanitary pad machine that had spread to 1,300 villages in 23 states by 2014Read the story →
- Chinu KalaRubans AccessoriesStarted withLeft home at 15 with ₹300 and sold knives door to door for ₹20-30 a dayBuiltRubans, a fashion jewellery brand reported at about ₹40 crore turnover in 2022Read the story →
- Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh OberoiThe Oberoi Group (EIH Ltd)Started withA front-desk clerk at Shimla's Cecil Hotel on ₹50 a monthBuiltThe Oberoi Group, whose holding company EIH runs Oberoi and Trident hotels in India and abroadRead the story →
- Savji DholakiaHari Krishna ExportsStarted withA school dropout at 13 who reached Surat in 1977 with ₹12.5 for the bus fareBuiltHari Krishna Exports, a diamond company with about 5,500 employees and ₹6,000 crore annual turnover in 2022Read the story →
- Arokiaswamy VelumaniThyrocare TechnologiesStarted withSon of a landless farmer; the family lived on ₹50 a week from two buffaloesBuiltThyrocare, a diagnostics company built from ₹2 lakh that was valued at about ₹3,300 crore at its 2016 listingRead the story →
- R G ChandramoganHatsun Agro Product (Arun Ice Creams)Started withWorked as an apprentice at a timber depot for ₹65 a month; started with ₹13,000BuiltHatsun Agro, India's largest private-sector dairy company, with revenue of about ₹8,700 crore in 2024-25Read the story →
- Chandra Shekhar GhoshBandhan BankStarted withHelped in his father's small sweet shop; started Bandhan with ₹2 lakh of savings and ₹2 lakh borrowedBuiltBandhan, a microfinance group that won a bank licence in 2014 and had 772 branches by early 2017Read the story →
- Bhavarlal JainJain Irrigation SystemsStarted withSold kerosene from a pushcart in Jalgaon with ₹7,000, three generations' savingsBuiltJain Irrigation, the world's second-largest micro-irrigation company, with revenue over $1 billion in 2016Read the story →
- Jayaram BananSagar RatnaStarted withRan away from home at 13 and washed dishes in a factory canteen in MumbaiBuiltSagar Ratna, a South Indian restaurant chain with 67 outlets and about ₹70 crore turnover in 2011Read the story →
- Kailash KatkarQuick Heal TechnologiesStarted withGrew up in a slum area, failed Class 9 and took a calculator-repair job for ₹350 a monthBuiltQuick Heal, an antivirus company with a market value of about ₹1,300 crore and 1,200 employees in 2017Read the story →
- Chandubhai ViraniBalaji WafersStarted withDid odd jobs at a Rajkot cinema, hanging posters and making sandwiches, after a failed first businessBuiltBalaji Wafers, a snacks company that crossed ₹5,000 crore in annual sales in 2022-23Read the story →