Arise, Awake

Arise, Awake will inspire you to move forward with your entrepreneurial dreams by sharing the inspirational stories of six Indian entrepreneurs and the lessons they learned on the path to success.

One day, in a dorm room in India, a few college students found themselves discussing what they’d do with their lives. Sourabh Bansal excitedly wrote 50 billion rupees on the wall. He exclaimed that was the amount his business would be worth someday.

As luck would have it, Bansal’s dad was the owner of a factory. They manufactured a substance called quicklime that was part of concrete blocks. Looking for business opportunities while helping at the factory, Bansal one day saw a large order for a special type of block. After some research, he found that this particular product was larger and lighter than standard concrete bricks. The only problem was that it was really expensive. That’s where he got his idea.

Bansal knew that if he could find a way to lower the cost of the blocks he’d be well on his way to 50 billion rupees. After starting his company, experimenting, and receiving a 100 million rupee investment, he finally discovered a way. His process cut costs by 60 percent and the company grew consistently.

After just six years the company, now called Magicrete Building Solutions, was making 1.5 billion rupees per year. Bansal was well on his way to his goal because of his willingness to accept an opportunity when it came his way. You never know where luck may come from, so keep your eyes and ears open!

Have you ever heard of lassi? It’s a special Indian drink with yogurt, spices, salt, and water. In 2009 a new kind of flavored lassi popped up. Prabhkiran Singh felt inspiration strike when he tried his first flavored lassi, and started his first business selling them. Singh was a student at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay at the time. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. But he did know that he wanted to work for himself. Khadke Glassi, which sold more modern versions of lassi, was his first go at being his own boss. The business saw some success and even opened a second location. It was all going well until the company went from selling 50 glasses a day to just five only because of the weather. Khadke Glassi closed in September 2010, just a few months after it began. Little did Singh know how much this failure would impart critical lessons for his next venture. Still in the process of closing his first company, Singh noticed a friend of his working on a website he called Bewakoof. Deciding to partner with…