Kalpana Saroj is a prominent Indian businesswoman and social activist who has made significant contributions to the country’s economy and society. She is best known for her inspiring journey from being a child bride and domestic abuse survivor to becoming a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Born into a lower-middle-class family in a small village in Maharashtra, Kalpana faced multiple challenges in her early life. She was married off at the age of 12 and suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband and in-laws.
However, she refused to be a victim and fought for her rights. She left her husband and started working at a garment factory to support herself financially. Over the years, Kalpana’s hard work and determination paid off, and she went on to establish her own business empire. She is the founder of Kamani Tubes, a leading manufacturer of PVC pipes, and has also invested in real estate, hospitality, and education sectors.
In addition to her business ventures, Kalpana is actively involved in various social causes, such as women’s empowerment, education, and healthcare. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her achievements, including the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors.
Based on her own calculations, Kalpana Saroj possesses personal assets valued at approximately $112 million. Kalpana’s life serves as a tremendous source of inspiration for women worldwide, transcending national boundaries.
Awards:
In 2013, Kalpana Saroj received the prestigious Padma Shri for her contributions to Trade and Industry.
The Government of India appointed her as a board member of Bhartiya Mahila Bank, an institution focused on empowering women through banking services.
She currently holds a position on the board of governors at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
Kunal Shah is a well-known entrepreneur and the CEO of CRED, a fintech startup based in India. With years of experience in the industry, Shah has become a prominent figure in the country’s startup ecosystem.
His success story has inspired many aspiring entrepreneurs and investors alike. Shah started his career in the payment industry with FreeCharge, a mobile wallet company he founded in 2010. He later sold the company to Snapdeal, an Indian e-commerce company, for $400 million in 2015.
After leaving Snapdeal, Shah founded CRED in 2018 with the aim of helping Indian consumers improve their credit scores. The company has since gained a significant following, with over 6 million users as of 2021.
Kunal Shah was born in Mumbai, India in 1983. He grew up in a middle-class family. Shah was always interested in technology and entrepreneurship, and he started his first business at the age of 19. After completing his high school education, Shah pursued a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wilson College in Mumbai.
Shah’s interest in technology and entrepreneurship led him to start his first company, FreeCharge, in 2010. FreeCharge was a mobile recharge and utility bill payments platform that grew rapidly and was eventually acquired by Snapdeal in 2015. After the acquisition, Shah served as the CEO of FreeCharge for a few years before leaving to start CRED.
In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Shah is also an active angel investor and has invested in several startups, including Unacademy, Razorpay, and Innov8. He was also the Chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India on digital payments from 2016 to 2017.
FreeCharge:
In 2010, Kunal Shah founded co-founded FreeCharge with Sandeep Tandon, an online platform that allowed users to recharge their mobile phones, DTH, and data cards. The platform became popular quickly and attracted investors such as Sequoia Capital and Sofina.
In 2015, Snapdeal, an e-commerce platform, acquired FreeCharge for $400 million. Kunal Shah continued to work with FreeCharge as the CEO until 2016, after which he stepped down to pursue other ventures.
CRED:
In 2018, Kunal Shah founded CRED, a platform that rewards users for paying their credit card bills on time. The platform gained popularity quickly, attracting more than 1.5 million users within a year of its launch. Cred offered different products:
Cred RentPay
Cred Cash
Cred Pay
Cred Store
Cred Travel Store
In 2021, CRED has raised over $200 million in funding from top investors, including Sequoia Capital, and DST Global. The company has also expanded its services to include rewards programs and personal loans.
With his extensive knowledge and experience in the industry, Shah has become a respected voice in the Indian startup community, and his insights are often sought after by investors and entrepreneurs alike.
The platform has also expanded its services to include CRED Pay, a feature that allows users to pay their rent and other bills using their credit cards.
Kunal Shah Net Worth:
According to DNA, Kunal Shah’s net worth was Rs 15,000 crore as of 2021.
Kunal Shah’s vision for CRED is to create a platform that offers a range of financial services and rewards to its users. He believes that by building a platform that rewards responsible credit behavior, he can help improve the financial health of millions of Indians.
As the CEO of CRED, he has led the company to achieve remarkable success and growth. CRED has gained significant traction in a short period of time and has become one of India’s most valuable fintech startups, attracting millions of users and raising substantial funding from prominent investors.
Nirmit Parikh is the founder and CEO of Apna, a professional networking platform for blue and grey-collar workers in India. With a mission to empower and uplift the workforce in the country, Parikh has created a platform that connects job seekers with employers and helps them build their professional networks.
Prior to founding Apna, Parikh worked at Apple, where he gained valuable experience in product management and marketing. He also co-founded Cruxbot, an AI-powered news summarization platform, which was later acquired by Intel. Parikh’s experience in the tech industry, coupled with his passion for social impact, led him to create Apna in 2019.
He has been a guardian angel for many unemployed Indians, through the Apna app he has served more than 1 Crore+ people Thus bringing India back to work & bringing a smile to people’s faces. With Parikh at the helm, Apna has the potential to revolutionize the job market in India and improve the lives of millions of workers.
Since its launch, Apna has gained significant traction, with over 10 million users and $70 million in funding from investors such as Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed India. The platform has also expanded its services beyond job listings, offering upskilling courses and financial services to its users.
Nirmit was born and raised in India. He grew up in a middle-class family in a small town in Gujarat. His parents were both teachers and instilled in him a love of learning from a young age.
Parikh attended the Nirma Institute of Technology in Ahmedabad. After completing his undergraduate studies, Parikh went on to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University in California. While at Stanford, he was exposed to the world of entrepreneurship and startups, which sparked his interest in creating something of his own.
Throughout his education, Parikh developed a strong foundation in computer science and technology, which would prove to be invaluable in his future endeavors. His academic achievements and passion for innovation laid the groundwork for his future success as a tech entrepreneur.
Founding of Apna:
He noticed that there were not enough job opportunities for manual labor jobs in India. He wanted to make it easier for people to find those types of jobs, so he created a new website for job searching. He left his job at Apple and moved back to India to start this company just before Covid-19.
Apna is a professional networking platform for blue and grey-collar workers. The idea for Apna came to Parikh while he was visiting his family in India and noticed the lack of professional networking opportunities for workers in the informal sector.
Apna launched in December 2019 and quickly gained traction, with over a million users signing up within the first year. The platform has been successful in connecting workers with job opportunities, as well as providing them with access to upskilling and training resources.
Within two years, the company became very successful and worth a lot of money. The company became worth over $1 billion, which is called a unicorn after it received $100 million in funding from a group led by Tiger Global in its Series C funding round.
Parikh’s vision for Apna has been to empower workers in the informal sector by providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed. Through his leadership, Apna has become a leading player in the professional networking space, with the potential to transform the way blue and grey-collar workers connect and find work opportunities.
Sridhar Vembu is a prominent Indian entrepreneur who has made a significant impact in the technology industry. He is the founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation, a software development company that provides an array of business applications. Vembu’s journey to success is a testament to his perseverance and passion for technology.
Born in 1968 in Tamil Nadu, India, Vembu showed an early interest in computers and programming. He pursued his education in the field of engineering, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1989.
Image Credit: Wikipedia
He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University. After completing his studies, Vembu worked as a research scientist at Qualcomm for a few years before founding AdventNet Inc. in 1996, which later became Zoho Corporation.
Under Vembu’s leadership, Zoho has grown into a global company with over 50 million users across the world. The company offers a range of cloud-based applications for businesses, including CRM, HR, finance, and marketing solutions.
Vembu’s vision for Zoho is to provide affordable and accessible software solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, empowering them to compete with larger corporations. His dedication to creating innovative and user-friendly products has earned him recognition in the tech industry, and he continues to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs with his story.
In 2022-2023, Zoho Corporation, Vembu’s company, generated a profit of more than Rs 2,700 crore. Despite holding over 80 percent of the company’s stake and being the 55th richest person in India, Vembu opted for philanthropy and charity rather than indulging in luxury. His office is located in the Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu.
In 2005, Vembu established the Zoho School, an ed-tech company that provides skill and upskill training. The majority of Zoho’s employees are graduates of this school, which has successfully trained individuals without technical education to become software engineers. Initially founded with just 2 teachers and 6 students, the Zoho School now boasts over 800 students and 90 percent of whom are from Tamil Nadu. Students receive a stipend of Rs 10,000.
Early Life and Education:
Childhood:
Sridhar Vembu was born in a small village called Thiruvaiyaru in Tamil Nadu, India. He grew up in a family of farmers and was the second youngest of seven siblings. Despite growing up in a rural area with limited resources, Vembu was exposed to technology at a young age.
Education:
Vembu attended the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, where he earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in electrical engineering in 1989. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University in 1992.
After completing his master’s degree, Vembu pursued a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Princeton University. However, he dropped out of the program after two years to start his own software company.
During his time at Princeton, Vembu became interested in the Internet and its potential to connect people and businesses around the world. He saw an opportunity to use technology to solve real-world problems and create value for customers. This vision would eventually lead him to found Zoho Corporation, a software company that provides business applications and IT solutions to more than 50 million users worldwide.
Sridhar Vembu’s career began when he graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, with a degree in electrical engineering. His first job was with Qualcomm, where he worked on wireless technology.
Entrepreneurial Spirit:
Sridhar Vembu’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident even during his early career. In 1996, he co-founded AdventNet, a software company that provided network management solutions. AdventNet’s products were successful, and the company grew rapidly, eventually becoming Zoho Corporation.
Sridhar Vembu’s experience at AdventNet inspired him to start another company. In 2005, he founded Zoho Corporation, which provides a suite of online productivity and business applications. Zoho’s products are used by millions of users worldwide and have won numerous awards.
Sridhar Vembu’s entrepreneurial spirit has been a driving force throughout his career. He has always been passionate about creating products that solve real-world problems and improve people’s lives. This passion has led him to create successful companies that have had a significant impact on the tech industry.
Sridhar Vembu Net Worth:
According to Forbes, Vembu’s net worth exceeds Rs 25,000 crore. Dr. Vembu owns most of the company. They didn’t borrow money from investors and didn’t sell shares in the company, which allowed them to focus on coming up with new ideas, being innovative, and growing from within. Sridhar Vembu is very determined to keep it that way.
Awards:
Vembu received an award in 2019 for being a Young “Entrepreneur of the Year Award”.
On the 72nd Republic Day, he received the prestigious Padma Shri Award.
In 2022 he has also been awarded CNN-News18 Indian of the Year.
