6 entrepreneurs who have impacted your life without you knowing it
Some products have not only been of functional use to us, but have also been a part of some cherished memories. While we celebrate all the entrepreneurs of today, we have probably never even tried to learn the names of these.
Himalaya — M Manal
M Manal started The Himalaya Drug Company in 1930 after identifying the business potential of using plants in medicine. Over the last 87 years, Himalaya's pharmaceutical and lifestyle ayurvedic products have found their way into countless Indian households. Today the company, which has rejected several multi-billion acquisition bids in the past decade, sells its products in 92 countries across the world.
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Prestige — TT Krishnamachari
TT Krishnamachari, born in Chennai to a well-off Brahmin family, founded the business conglomerate TTK Group in 1928. Among the several subsidiaries of TTK, the most recognisable one is kitchen appliances maker Prestige which made over Rs 1,00 crores in revenue in 2014. All of us have seen a Prestige branded pressure cooker, stove, or pan in our kitchens at some time and it's Mr Krishnamachari we have to thank for them.
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Bata — Tomas Bata
Every Indian child who went to school in the last half-century knows the name Bata courtesy of their trademark black shoes. Few of them, however, know that the person they have to thank for creating the brand is Tomas Bata — a man born in 1876 in theerstwhile Austro-Hungarian Empire (modern-day Czech Republic). Today, his namesake company has a market cap of over Rs 7,3800 crore in India alone and sells its hallmark shoes, clothing, and accessories in over 70 countries.
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Boroline — Gourmohan Dutta
When India was under British rule, Boroline, an Indian-made antiseptic perfumed cream, became a national icon of economic self-sufficiency. Launched in Kolkata in 1929 by a Bengali merchant called Gourmohan Dutta, Boroline was a runaway success and certain generations of Indians would certainly remember seeing the iconic green tube in their homes. Boroline continues to do well in its home market even today with its parent company, GD Pharma, posting a Rs 150 crore revenue in 2015-2016.
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Bajaj — Jamnalal Bajaj
The Bajaj Chetak scooter was an iconic sight, and sound, on Indian roads from the early 1970s to the turn of the century. Its manufacturer, Bajaj Auto Ltd., which currently has a market cap of over Rs 80,000 crore, is part of the umbrella Bajaj Group of companies created by Jamnalal Bajaj in 1926. Jamnalal was born to a poor Marwari family in 1889 but was later adopted by a wealthy Rajasthani couple. Besides being a renown businessman, he was also a social worker, political leader, and freedom fighter.
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Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle — Anant Pai
Anant Pai, who was orphaned at the age of two and pursued science in his higher education, is the man responsible for creating two comic book series that nearly every Indian today can remember reading in their childhood. The first one, Amar Chitra Katha, recounted folk tales, historical biographies and Hindu mythology and has sold over 86 million copies. Meanwhile, Tinkle, 'Uncle Pai's' second creation, is a children's anthology of short stories and jokes which is currently in its 669th issue as on June 2017.
