Designer of the Palace of Sultan of Brunei could not complete his B. Com, meet P.N.C. Menon !

In the times of difficulty, the easiest option is to give up and blame your luck, but, there are individuals who make the best out of the worst. As for young Menon, he lost his father when he was just 10 years old. He struggled to complete his primary education, but the family could not afford to get him through the college. As a result, he had to drop out while he was pursuing B. Com. Yet, his spirits did not die. He started doing interiors and designing jobs at small firms without taking any professional education. It was during this period that P.N.C Menon learnt some of the most important lessons of his life.

Turning Rs.50 into Rs.100 crore

One day, he met a gentleman who asked him to settle in Oman. Understanding the scope of opportunities, Menon decided to take the risk to explore the totally unknown country. With just Rs 50 in his pocket, Menon went to Oman. In 1970s, it was really difficult to get loan, but Menon took it as a challenge. He somehow managed to get a loan of Rs 3.5 lakhs to establish an interior decor firm. Slowly and steadily, he started getting customers. By working hard and by delivering optimum outputs, he created a positive image of his firm. Gradually, he was consulted for larger projects, palatial homes. Menon’s efforts started to pay off. Eventually, Menon went on to design the Palace of Sultan of Brunei. Later, in 1995, as new avenues opened up in the area of real estate, Menon started Sobha Developers (named after his wife) in South India. Around in 2008, Menon was consulted by Narayan Murthy to design the first campus of Infosys in Bangalore.The road of entrepreneurship is not smooth. During 2008-09, he again faced financial challenges. Menon managed to sail through that storm as well. Today, Sobha Developers generates Rs 5,850 crore, which is much beyond the sum of Rs 100 crore in 1995. He is ranked 745^th billionaire in World by Forbes Magazine.

Entrepreneurship does take a litmus test of your efforts and perseverance, but the result is worth it. The story of P.N.C.Menon, the self-made entrepreneur, makes one believe that if it is to be someone, then it is up to me.

 Author Credit: Mohita Adhvaryu

Want to get inspiration to startup? Read our success stories