The Weekend Leader - We Report News & Stories that Matter
Getting Spoon Fed

Hyderabad based entrepreneur Narayana Peesapati has developed edible spoons that he says is a healthier and better alternative for the plastic ones. He tells Ajuli Tulsyan how he created the spoon that sells for around Rs 2 crore annually today

The Smart Investor

Hailing from a village, Palani G. Periasamy studied in Tamil medium till SSLC. P C Vinoj Kumar profiles the professor of Economics who went to the US in 1968, where he became wealthy and today heads a Rs 1,000 crore turnover group of companies

Runaway Success

At 13 he ran away from his home in Udipi, Karnataka, and went to Mumbai, where he washed dishes at a canteen for a salary of Rs 18. Bilal Handoo tells the story of how this boy later became the owner of a Rs 70 crore turnover restaurant chain

Titan of tours

He came to Chennai to become a superstar like Rajnikanth. Far from it he was forced to spend many hungry nights in the Egmore railway station which became his home. P C Vinoj Kumar met the man who now owns a Rs 100 crore turnover company 

Strong as bamboo

The search for a sofa-set took a young couple in Hyderabad on an adventurous trail to a village in Tripura, where a business idea was born. Ajuli Tulsyan has the inspiring story of bamboo house builders Prashant Lingam and Aruna Kappagantula

Student housing

Three young entrepreneurs Shubha Lal, Karan Kaushish and Nidhi Kumra, have launched a new venture that aims to disrupt the student housing market by providing premium facilities - plus comfort and safety that feels like home, says Gokul Bhagabati

 
The Comeback Entrepreneur

He has faced it all, penury during his younger days and a ten-crore loss when his business was picking up, but nothing could keep him down. G Singh met Sarat Kumar Sahoo, who rose from a tiny food stall to build a Rs 250 crore turnover company

A humble billionaire

He worked at a canteen in a cinema hall, where he also did odd jobs like sticking film posters, and door-keeping, all for a monthly salary of Rs 90. The founder of a Rs 1,800 cr turnover company tells his life story to Masuma Bharmal Jariwala

Taste of Odisha

Debasish Patnaik sensed a business opportunity when he saw that there were no restaurants in Odisha serving the State cuisine. In 2001 he started one which has now grown into a seven-outlet chain with around Rs six crore turnover, says G Singh

The Complete Man

With an investment of Rs 50,000 P. D. Shylendra opened his first textiles shop in Bengaluru and later opened a Raymond franchise store, which was a runaway success. Usha Prasad profiles the entrepreneur heading a Rs 22 crore turnover company 

Hair to Riches

What happens when your family’s financial situation hits rock-bottom? If you were Gaurav Rana, you would fight back. Gaurav made cow-dung cakes for his home kitchen, worked as a barber, and later launched a company of his own, says Bilal Handoo

Happily single

A first generation entrepreneur in Tiruppur, India’s textile hub, Raja M Shanmugam, has been supplying garments to a single client in Germany for 16 years, and grown along with his client to touch a turnover of Rs 80 crore, says P C Vinoj Kumar

 
Money tree

For Amar Singh, who was driving an auto for a living, an investment of Rs 1,200 in 60 amla saplings changed his life forever and made him an icon in his village. Partho Burman profiles the rural entrepreneur whose annual turnover is Rs 26 lakh

The thrifty scientist

For India’s top space scientist Mylswamy Annadurai, whose low-cost missions to the moon and Mars has won him many accolades, thriftiness comes naturally. P C Vinoj Kumar has the story of how young Annadurai outsmarted poverty with his ingenuity  

An Ideas Man

Abhishek Rungta started his website hosting venture, which is now a Rs 55 crore turnover company, hiring a stall in an IT exhibition spending Rs 3,000 from his pocket and another Rs 50 for printing leaflets about his services, says G Singh

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