5 Self-Made Entrepreneurs at the Pinnacle of Success on World Entrepreneurship Day

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Indian businesspeople are consistently inventing across several industries because to their talent and a supportive government. These are the motivational tales of five Indian businesspeople.

While many Indian parents want their kids to become physicians, attorneys, or engineers, entrepreneurship has become popular among Gen Z and millennials who don't want to fit into the standard 9-to-5 positions and want to start their own business. The Indian startup ecosystem has drawn significant attention during the past seven to eight years, in part because of the country's diverse array of entrepreneurial endeavors and its extensive network of angel investors. 

According to the Economic Survey Report for 2022–2023, there were 98,119 startups in India as of April 30, 2023, a staggering increase from the 452 companies there were in 2016. Additionally, the Indian startup ecosystem presently occupies a spot in the top five globally, receiving almost $20 billion in capital inflows. Indian businesspeople are consistently inventing across a range of industries, including e-commerce, fintech, social media, education, healthtech, and even space exploration, thanks to their skill and a supportive government. The transformation is still being driven by their enthusiasm and vision.

On this day of global entrepreneurship, we share with you the stories of five entrepreneurs that overcame all obstacles to reach the pinnacle of success.

1. Ritesh Agarwal, Founder of OYO

Travelers may find affordable housing thanks to Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of OYO, a global hospitality business with locations in more than 80 countries.  When Agarwal founded OYO Rooms, a low-cost hotel enterprise, in 2013, he was just 19 years old and had no prior aim of becoming an entrepreneur.  Agarwal had his own set of difficulties. He was forced to spend the night on a staircase after being kicked out of a rental home in Delhi for failing to pay the rent. He noticed a significant gap within the low-cost hotel industry after leaving college and traveling around India in search of affordable and high-quality hotels. 

2. Richa Kar, Founder of Zivame

Zivame was established in June 2011 by Richa Kar and her husband Kapil Karekar. In India, where women frequently feel uneasy buying lingerie from outlets run mostly by male workers, the brand is currently the country's top online lingerie retailer. After earning her engineering degree in 2002, Kar worked for companies like i-Flex and Intergraph to gather experience. Prior to working as a consultant for SAP, she also held positions with the Spencers retail company in India. Richa became aware of the urgent need for a specialized online lingerie store in India while working on a consultancy project with an international lingerie retailer. Her fearless and creative approach disregarded the national taboo against buying lingerie.  

Her fearless and creative approach disregarded the national taboo against buying lingerie.  Zivame changed the lingerie market by enabling women to love their bodies and find their perfect fits, generating online sales of $168.7 million in 2022.

3. Deepinder Goyal, Founder of Zomato

Zomato was founded by Deepinder Goyal in 2008, originally as 'Foodiebay' in Delhi, and then spreading to Kolkata and Mumbai. The original idea was to build a website that digitally recorded and showed menus from restaurants. Goyal took the initiative to compile and pin restaurant menus on his office bulletin board after observing his coworkers' troubles finding somewhere to eat close to their place of business. Then, he and Pankaj Chaddah, a colleague from Bain & Co, put this idea into practice. They hired a CEO for their business in 2008. The two decided to quit their full-time corporate careers and collaborate closely to improve their creation after over 18 months. There was no turning back after the site accumulated a list of 1,200 restaurants in Delhi.

Zomato's gourmet enjoyment has expanded to more than 22 countries and serves an audience of over 70 million people each month. As of March 2023, revenues had over Rs 7,000 crore, and the company was valued at almost $9.27 billion on the market.  Zomato's user-friendly mobile application, which enables seamless food ordering from a number of eateries and hassle-free payment choices, is what sets it apart from other food delivery services. Deepinder was steadfast in his pursuit despite his parents' advice to give up and go back to his regular job. His projected net worth as of March 2023 is Rs 2,000 crore.

4. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm

Paytm, a fintech company that offers a range of digital payment services like UPI, mobile wallets, QR codes, cards, bank accounts, loans, mutual funds, insurance, and more, was founded and is led by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. He founded Paytm in 2010 as a mobile recharge platform after having trouble making online bill payments. After that, he expanded the range of products and services Paytm offered to cater to the needs of the millions of Indians who didn't have access to traditional banking channels. One of India's largest digital payment networks, Paytm has over 450 million users and over 17 million companies.

Sharma, who is from a small hamlet near Delhi, is the first member of his family to pursue technical education and work overseas. According to Forbes, his current estimated net worth will be over $1.2 billion in 2022.

5. Falguni Nayar, Founder of Nykaa

Nykaa, a well-known online beauty retailer in India that offers more than 3,000 brands of cosmetics, haircare, skincare, wellness, and personal care products, was founded and is led by Falguni Nayar. Leaving her successful job as a banker at Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2012 at the age of 50, Nayar started Nykaa with the goal of enabling inexpensive access to high beauty and wellbeing. Nayar had a distinguished business career before starting Nykaa. Nayar began her career in 1985 with AF Ferguson & Co. and later worked as the managing director and head of investment banking at Kotak Mahindra Capital Company. She then made a foray into e-commerce by establishing Nykaa in 2012.

Currently, Nykaa has 15 million customers and is valued at more than $4.55 billion. With more than 70 million monthly users and 17 locations around the nation, Nykaa has established itself as a household name in the Indian beauty industry. Falguni Nayar is a self-made lady who ranks among the richest female entrepreneurs in India. According to Forbes, she has a net worth of $2.7 billion.