Right things come to people who do it right!
The true success stories of businesses all over the world don’t only need the idea but the courage to start up!
Let’s see some of the most successful Indian startups that were started with a teeny investment and their recent mindblowing revenue.
FLIPKART
Capital seed: Rs. 4 lakhs
Start year: 2007
Founder: Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal
Current Revenue: RS. 43,615 crore
2007, was a great year for Sachin and Binny, former employees at Amazon. The two lads while chilling a bit at their 2BHK flat at Bangalore got an idea of selling books online.
For this, they decided to pitch in INR 4,00,000 out of their own hands and thus started a website. And that is how Flipkart was started.
This was a great hit and it went on to become the best e-commerce platform in the whole Indian peninsula selling more diversified products like stationery, electronics, fashion, etc., the company was initially running through venture capital funding.
Just 2 years into the market, it had raised US$ 1 million from Accel India and by 2010 it had grown to US$ 20 million from TIGER global. With its enormous growth and future strategies, it had become very successful.
13 years after its launch, its revenue is valued at US$ 20 billion now where Walmart had acquired an 81% stake in Flipkart.
KARBONN MOBILES ( JAINA GROUP)
Capital seed: Rs. 5 Lakh
Start year: 1991
Founder: Pardeep Jain
Current Revenue: Rs. 650 crores
After graduation, Pardeep had decided to take up a distribution business standing up against his father who wanted him to go for a government job. He managed to set up an office in his dad’s garage with the 5 lakhs which he had borrowed from his parents, friends, and relatives. First, he started selling unbranded juicers and later added eagle flasks and other similar products.
The turnover for the first year was Rs 1.25 crore. By 1996 they had started to sell products of reputed companies which also included mobile phones such as NOKIA and SAMSUNG. By 2005, they had attained national distributorship for players like LG, HTC, and MOTOROLA.
With the keen analysis of the trends and gripping market pulse, Jaina groups joined hands with United Telecom Ltd., Bangalore creating their brand of cell phones, KARBONN for which Pardeep had invested from his savings.
They are now selling about 20 lakh mobile phones per month and are expanding their manufacturing unit. Their current revenue is 650 crores. US$ 94 million.
MAXX MOBILES
Capital seed: 10 lakhs
Start Year: 2002
Founder: Ajay Agarwal
Current Revenue: 1500 crores
Ajay opted out of education in his 11th std after having failed due to his poor performance in academics. He instead took up his family business and joined as an accountant at his fathers’ company. His new ideas and insights helped his father to expand their business to various verticals like musical instruments, garments, mobile phone accessories, etc.,
With all the learnings, experience, and savings of 10 lakh, he had gained from his father’s company he registered a proprietorship firm with the name Maxx Mobiles and Phone Accessories in the year 2002. It involved in selling imported batteries with its name tag.
With its success, Ajay promoted the firm as a private company in 2004 named Maxx mobiles. It took off so well, as many manufacturing units were added, producing headsets, batteries in large numbers, etc.,
In 2008 the firm was no more a mobile accessories company but a mobile phone dealing company. They had launched 33 different mobile phones in the market and had started to advertise in IPL leading to Star holdings, Singapore funding 100 crore rupees to Maxx mobiles.
NITIN FIRE PROTECTION
Capital seed: rs.500
Start year: 1984
Founder: Nithin shah
Current revenue: 100 cr.
Having been inspired by his father’s firefighting equipment manufacturing company since childhood, Nithin shah decided to start a new venture on his own after his diploma. Borrowing Rs. 500 from his friend to invest in his dream, he also found a job at a garage for living.
Maintaining the good contacts he had built before his father’s death, one person from the atomic energy department started sending him firefighting equipment for maintenance and repair.
This worked out well and he started to hire an additional worker for help. Though the process required heavy equipments, he had managed without them through his own built DIY techniques producing excellent service.
This, in turn, proved well when he had got the opportunity to work for ONGC. He was now able to earn more and thus started a formal company of the name Nitin fire protection.
The manufacturing unit was set at several places in due course of time serving most of the top clients in the industry. As the company grew rapidly, he expanded the equipment and service units with new innovative technology.
Gaining supremacy across the landscape over years, Nitin Fire Protection is a public listed company with multiple units across the country and acquisitions worldwide now.
INDIAMART
Capital seed: Rs.40,000
Start year: 1996
Founder: Dinesh Agarwal and Brijesh Agrawal
Current revenue: Rs. 403.5 Cr.
When the genius cousins Dinesh and Brijesh had thought of a remarkable idea about an e-commerce platform in 1996, India had only 15000 internet users. By 1999, they were the first to open an e-commerce shopping site which started to deliver Diwali sweets but later realized B2C was not their cup of tea and so started concentrating on the B2B market.
Indiamart is a business online platform connecting buyers and suppliers, focusing on SMEs, large enterprises, individual business, etc., for 10 years there was no notable revenue generated. They had gone through numerous slumps and struggles.
But through continuous efforts and perseverance, the application has now achieved more than 1 million downloads and has 5.78 crore registered buyers all over the world with a revenue of about 403.5 crores.
PARANJAPE SCHEMES (CONSTRUCTIONS)
Capital seed: Rs.30,000
Start year: 1982
Founder: Shashank Paranjape
Current revenue: Rs. 1500 cr.
Quitting CA preparations Paranjape started “ Paranjape chemicals “ with a 15 lakh loan from a public bank. Little did he know he would lose everything to a friend who had cheated on him. Dejected Paranjape was just left with chemicals costing rs. 30000.
He did not lose hope but sold the remaining chemicals in a very wise way and made a turnover of Rs. 1.5 lakhs the same year. He continued with the chemicals business but was not so happy with the returns. He then bought a plot of land for which he paid through the advance payment of those who wanted to buy the flats.
That’s how Paranjape chemicals turned into the Paranjape construction business. The secret of this success is that Paranjape would reinvest the money earned into his business again. Now the turnover is more than Rs. 1,500 crore, earning a net profit of over Rs. 200 crores and a target of achieving a turnover of over Rs. 2,000 crores.
REDBUS
Capital seed: Rs. 500000
Start year: 2006
Founder: Phanindra Sama, Sudhakar Pasupunuri and Charan Padmaraju
Current revenue: Rs. 600 cr.
The current trend of the online bookings had taken shape when Phanindra and Sudhakar, the budding entrepreneurs from BITS PILANI were not able to go home during holidays as they were not able to book tickets. Within 1 year they received $ 1 million from Seedfund.
They started to tie up with 500 operators, 5000 routes, and 15 Indian states. Later it went to launch its software and application. With artificial intelligence, the app provides a virtual bus stop feature and much more. Redbus aggregates 228,000 seats per day and the revenue is more than Rs. 600 crores today.
Why wait? “Chinna kallu, Bedha laabam” is true.
Get started with your idea!
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