Startup News Magazine

Twenty, Inspiring Entrepreneurs

Going beyond barriers, being brave at heart and having an idea that could change the world, is what India’s young generation is all about

1. Ram Chandra Agarwal, an exceptional being

Ram Chandra Agarwal an inspiriting personality started his retail journey in early 1994 in Kolkata, India. Agarwal has over 30 years of entrepreneurial and business understanding. Being one of the key pioneers in India’s value retailing, Ram introduced the concept in 2001. Starting with a small photocopy shop, Agarwal went on to revolutionize the retail sector of India as to first one to introduce the Hypermarket concept in India in the form of Vishal Megamart in Delhi. In 2008 Vishal retail suffered a massive loss of Rs 750 crores and the company became bankrupt. After this, one can be disheartened, but unlike others, Ram Chandra did not give up and came back stronger with V2 Retail Limited. V2 Retail Limited is one of the fastest-growing retail companies in India. Its outlet is in 32 cities in the country.

 

2. Two empowering sisters own Suta.

Two sisters created the brand “Suta” after quitting their lucrative careers. The name of the business is derived from the first two letters of both women’s names, Sujata and Tanya. They were raised in a typical Indian service class family. The family had to move too frequently because their father was a member of the Railway Police. In addition to earning MBAs in general management and finance, the sisters are engineers. Sujata worked for Essar Steel, while Tanya was hired by IBM. The girls were inspired to start the business by their passion for sarees, which began when they were young and were exposed to older women in the family wearing saree. In just four years, the business has expanded to become a large one with more than 1500 weavers and two of its own handloom operations in West Bengal. It began with a small capital of Rs 3 lac and just two weavers. In 2019 a massive 13 Crores in revenue were generated by Suta.

 

3. One more zealous woman proves age is just a number

Divya Rastogi is a motivation to many who keep on blaming others for not fulfilling their dream. If one has a strong will to pursue their aim, then no one stops oneself from giving it a shot. Divya proves that age is just a number for any new beginnings and commences her startup at 42. In 2004, she considered pursuing her interest in interior design. In 2020, with over 250 multinational offices under her belt, she will be a top interior designer in the office sector. Divya accepts turnkey interior design projects; her forte has been the Indian offices of large multinational magnets. Olympus, Kone, William Grants & Sons, Abbott, Panasonic, Corus, and Toyota are just a handful of the companies she has as clients.

 

4. Sreelakshmi developed her first website at the age of 6

24-year-old Sreelakshmi is not only the Young Indian Female Entrepreneurs but also the Youngest CEO and Youngest Web Designer in the world. Who started her journey when she was just three years old. When we were three, most of us didn’t even know what a computer was but this girl was something different who operated at the same age. At the age of 6, she developed her first website. At 11, she founded her company eDesign in 2009. Apart from eDesign, she has also established TinyLogo. Sreelakshmi’s company provides web design, SEO and other fields to many popular brands. Sreelakshmi Suresh is the recipient of multiple awards and other recognition. One of them includes the Ministry of Women and Child Development (India), by conferred her the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in 2008

 

5. Meet 15-year-old young entrepreneur

To do anything exceptional, all one needs is a strong will. This is proved by the 15-year-old Tilak Mehta, a young entrepreneur and media personality. Who Co-founded his courier company’ Papers and Parcels’ with his maternal uncle at age 13. It’s a digital courier company that provides one-day parcel services, collaborating with the Mumbai Dabbawalas. His sole motive behind this courier service was to ensure the same-day delivery of goods to more than thousands of people at a lower cost. This young entrepreneur’s company offers door-to-door pickup and delivery services starting from pen to all the essential stuff of paperwork. He was honoured with many awards and also appeared on TEDx Talks in March 2019. Currently, this young wonder is studying in class 10th at Gurukul Olympiad School, Mumbai. 

 

6. Self-made entrepreneur’s company serves its services across the world

Trishneet Arora is one of the young entrepreneurs of India who is also an ethical hacker and author. This 28-year-old is TAC Security Solutions’s CEO, which prevents and investigates cybercrimes. In his childhood, trishneet used to play with wires and by the age of 8, he dismantled his father’s computer and fixed it on its own. This encouraged him to move forward. At the age of 15, he hacks his father’s computer, and his journey begins. This self-made entrepreneur’s venture serves numerous companies in the world, such as National Payments Corporation of India, DHFL Pramerica, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HDFC etc. Trishneet has also been featured in the Forbes’ 30 under 2018 Asia list, thereby becoming the youngest Indian to come on this list. The young cybersecurity expert has also helped local police and India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) crackdown on cybercrime.

 

7. Founder of Rockstah Media and Cybernetiv Digital: Farrhad Acidwalla

29-year-old Farrhad Acidwalla youngest entrepreneur in the world is an investor and three-time TEDx speaker. A firm believer began when he was only 13 with the structure of an online network with only 1200 bucks. And afterwards, with 500 bucks, he purchased an online area. By 17, he was going to meetings and syndicated programs on CNN. As the youngest, he chose to guest lecture at the IIT Kharagpur annual entrepreneurship summit. Also, he evaluated MBA students in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. To UG and PG students at international colleges. This young enthusiastic sets an example to many, if you are dedicated enough, nothing will stop you from pursuing what you want.

 

8. Suumit Shah launched his ‘Dukaan’ app in just 48 hours 

Suumit Shah, Founder and CEO of Dukaan App, launched it in just over 48 hours, and with no time, many merchants started selling online using the app. His vision behind the app is ‘simplicity’, its offers Desi Bharosa with world-class technology. A DIY (Do It Yourself) platform that enables merchants with zero programming skills to set up their e-commerce store using smartphones. Dukaan began monetizing in early May 2020 and earned its first revenue of over $44K in 30 days. In October, just four months after starting, Dukaan raised $6 million (Rs 44 crore). Dukaan app currently has more than 1,50,000 stores, with more than 5,00,000 products added to 40 different categories of business. 

 

9. Akhilendra Sahu: By 19, he is the youngest serial entrepreneur in the world

With zeal and determination, one can stand out from many individuals. This 21-year-old boy proves this, at the age of 19, Akhilendar is one of the youngest serial entrepreneurs in the world. His motto is simple; client satisfaction is the only goal. He is the founder and CEO of ASTNT Technologies Pvt Ltd an IT Company a parent organization of Technical Next, ASTNT Media, ASTNT Newswire, StartUp199 & Co-Founder of Scoop Beats Pvt Ltd., an Internet news media company. He helps Bollywood & Hollywood celebrities and public figures to grow their online presence through social media marketing. Akhilendra ranked among India’s top 10 young Indian entrepreneurs & top 10 young digital influencers.

 

10. Kavita Shukla’s FreshPaper used by Farmers and Families around the globe

Kavita Shukla, an inventor of FreshPaper and CEO of The FRESHGLOW Co. FreshPaper is a disposable, recyclable, and biodegradable sheet that naturally keeps food fresh for a longer period, thereby reducing food spoilage. FreshPaper landed Shukla on Forbes’ “30 under 30,” Fast Company’s “7 Entrepreneurs Changing the World,” and TIME’s “Five Most Innovative Women in Food.” An inspiration for social entrepreneurs and women in business, Shukla explains how simple ideas, low-tech and low-cost, have the power to change the world. She was the youngest woman ever to receive the INDEX Design to Improve Life Award, the world’s largest prize for design, presented by the Crown Princess of Denmark.

 

11. Myglamm, first Indian unicorn startup in the DTC beauty and personal care business

MyGlamm was founded by Priyanka Gill and Darpan Sanghvi in 2015. It is an Indian e-commerce company that sells cosmetics and personal care products. MyGlamm is a leading beauty and wellness brand in India. The company started with a small apartment in Mumbai, today it has grown to a team of over 200 people. It has been featured in numerous publications, including Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. For entrepreneurs, their customers’ positive response toward their product is the key to boosting their morale. For this, Darpan and Priyanka were constantly innovating their products and coming every year with something different. Their Passion brings out the best of them, which is proved in the success that MyGlamm has received in the last few years. In 2021 MyGlamm became the first Indian unicorn startup in the DTC beauty and personal care business.

 

12. Meet the youngest Indian Brother-Duo entrepreneurs 

Shravan Kumaran and Sanjay Kumaran, at the age of 14 and 12 respectively, built a mobile application called GoDimensions in 2012. This Brother-Duo is identified as the youngest Mobile Application Programmer in India and one of the youngest in the World. Shravan Kumaran is the Co-Founder & President, while the younger Sanjay serves as Co-Founder and CEO. Both brothers have been developing apps for both Android and other OS applications. Their father, Kumaran Surendran, who serves as Associate Vice President at Cognizant Technologies Solutions, has always been a huge pillar of support to them. Their main mission is that their app should be used by a majority of world population. These two brothers have already launched numerous apps which offer solutions to some of the most challenging social problems in India.

 

13. King Sidharth: Entrepreneur, Public Speaker, Web Designer And an Artist  

Sidharth started an online magazine called ‘FRiEnDz’ when he was only in his 10th standard. This magazine aims to help students with teenage issues and problems. King also organizes Createens – meets for students to learn bits and pieces about entrepreneurship and more. King has also authored the book Bhagavad Gita & The Law of attraction. He creates programs to help people up-skill and start non-traditional careers in the internet age. King has been part of 30+ talks at events like TEDxVBIT, TEDxTirupati, TechSparks, Startup Saturday Mumbai, WordCamps, Design Day, The UX Project, and Behance Design Review. 

 

14. ‘Make new mistakes but never repeat the same’: Deepak Ravindran

Persistence is the key to success that’s what believed, Deepak Ravindran. At 17, he started his entrepreneurial journey and dropped out of college to pursue this further. Today at 35, Ravindran is one of the successful innovators in India. Innoz, Quest, Lookup and Pirate Fund are the ventures of Deepak. After his 2nd venture didn’t work out ‘Ravindran: a firm believer’ didn’t give up and came up with another venture called ‘Lookup’. At 27, he started ‘Lookup’, a messaging app like Whatsapp, for local businesses and their cons­u­mers. In eight months, it has garne­red 3,00,000 users. He has received numerous awards, including being named one of the outstanding innovators under 35 for 2011 by the MIT Technology Review. Asia Society announced Ravindran as one of Asia’s 21 emerging leaders under 40 for 2013.

 

15. 17 year old boy owns a software development company in Dubai 

At the age of 9, many of us don’t even know what to do, but this young talented boy Aadithyan was something else; he developed his first mobile application. At 13, he founded his software company ‘Trinet Solutions. Before founding his company, he designs logos and website interfaces as a hobby. Gradually, he started coding and developing games and developed his first app called ‘Ashirwad’–a web browser similar to Google Chrome. Besides operating his own IT Company, Rajesh is also a successful YouTuber. He manages his channel, ‘A Craze,’ where he publishes vlogs on technology, coding, gaming, and web designing. Currently, he is designing a class management app for his school teachers.

 

16. ‘KreditBee’ an instant platform that provide loans to the small business 

It is tedious to get a loan for a small business in a short span of time. But Kreditbee comes with a great solution as it provides instant personal loans to its clients. KreditBee, a non-banking finance company is an online platform which gives loans ranging from Rs.1000 to Rs.3 lakhs with no lengthy procedure. The idea behind the KreditBee came when Mr Madhusudan went to the bank for the loan but the lengthy process got him to think of starting the platform which provides loans to small businesses as instant as possible. With KreditBee, Within 15 minutes, one can get the cash immediately in their bank account. It came into existence in 2016 by Madhusudan Ekambaram and Ranganath NK. 

 

17. Got over 350 calls in 45 days, motivated to start his entrepreneur journey

Maytree School of entrepreneurship was started in 2019 by Rohit Kashyap. He was only 18 when he started this initiative. He was winning Olympiads left and right and even ranked under 1000 in the ICAI Commerce Wizard; at the time, he got 350 calls in 45 days from young talent who didn’t have a way to start, which motivated him further to start something which helped other young talents. The beautiful thought of Rohit behind this school is to help other kids achieve their desired goals at a young age and help young minds, which he lacked at his time as Rohit didn’t have enough resources but still, he stands out and today, he is one of the youngest and successful entrepreneurs in India. The Maytree School of Entrepreneurship is a virtual entrepreneurship school that uses the best faculty to plant the seeds of innovation in young, creative minds. Besides running the school, Kashyap is also a Quora influencer with millions of followers.

 

18. Meet the ‘Tech Girl’ of the Youtube community

Divya Gandotra Tandon is a zestful entrepreneur, celebrity manager, social media manager and an influential figure who is just 20. She is not only the founder and director of Scoop Beats Private Limited but also the COO of ASTNT Technologies Pvt Ltd. Divya has worked for more than 500 individual stars, influencers, and companies. She is also known as the ‘Tech Girl’ of the Youtube community. 

 

19. Advait Thakur, Founder of Apex Infosys India

A 19-year boy Advait Thakur is a Computer programmer, Young Entrepreneur, AI Researcher and all-around tech extraordinaire. He’s Apex Infosys India’s founder and is its Chief Executive Officer. This 19-year-old Indian tech prodigy started using computers at age six. By 9 he had launched his first website. Not only this but it has been working with Google’s AI and Cloud Platform for a couple of years now. Apex Infosys India’s products, services and partnerships deliver smarter home access, ensuring greener, smarter and cheaper energy. 

 

20. Akshay Ruparelia doorsteps.co.uk 

An Indian-origin young boy Akshay Ruparelia, has become one of Britain’s youngest millionaires. Akshat’s online estate agency business, doorsteps.co.uk, got valued at 12 million pounds in just over a year of being established. With 12 employees, the company has managed to achieve a 12 million pound valuation within a year of running.