Top 5 Indian Businessmen Who Made It from Minimum Funds to a Multi-crore Turnover Empire

India's aspiring businessmen are never short of ideas, but they frequently lack the capital needed to launch their own enterprises. One of the main obstacles to entrepreneurship is access to capital. According to research, only 4% of microbusinesses and entrepreneurs have access to a formal source of funding. Additionally, bank credit to business owners has been in decline. To launch their business, most first-time business owners rely on their own money or loans from family and friends. Few businessmen find their way to overcome this challenge with their never give up attitude and courage. Here are five motivating tales of such company owners who launched their ventures with an investment of Rs. 20,000 or less and went on to become multi-crore corporations:

1. Rajesh Kewat

Rajesh Kewat’s life story has inspired thousands of young people around the country. From his early roots with a small salary of Rs. 2000 to the launch of his business empire with a minimum investment of  Rs. 1000, he has set his own benchmark. He currently owns the FastInfo group of companies, a multi-crore turnover conglomerate with operations in the legal, educational, and digital solutions sectors.

His entrepreneurial journey symbolises the indomitable human spirit and resilience.

His life was filled with challenges, and each brand of his is an outcome of the pain points he had faced. Even to get to his soul mate, he had to risk his life and sacrifice all possessions and assets he was able to make over the years. There were times when he didn’t even have any money to buy food for basic survival. Rajesh was born in Dinhata, Cooch Behar, in the state of West Bengal. He belonged to a financially mediocre family. His father used to work in a Petrol Pump as an Assistant Manager in Assam. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree & Master’s Degree in Computer Science.

An MCA and a technocrat, Rajesh promotes the use of technology to improve people's lives and provide solutions to their problems. The philanthropic entrepreneur, who has won numerous honours, including Businessman of the Year and Indian Greatest Brands & Leaders, is proactive in improving society through various FastInfo Group initiatives.

2. Sagar Jagdish Daryani and Binod Kumar Homagai

Sagar Jagdish Daryani and Binod Kumar Homagai, the creators of Wow! Momo first got to know one another while they were undergraduates at St. Xavier's College. They launched the business in 2008 at the age of 21 with an initial investment of Rs. 30,000.

The eatery brand is known for its momos, MoBurgs (momo-filled burgers), and momo-based sweets. In 2021, Wow Momo Foods, valued at Rs. 1,225 crores, became India's most valuable national QSR brand. The company currently has no plans to franchise because it has completely expanded its footprint through company-operated outlets.

3. Zubair Rahman

In Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, in 2014, electrical engineer Zubair Rahman worked as a CCTV operator. The 21-year-old wanted to launch his own company, though. He received a request one day to install CCTVs in an e-commerce company's workplace.

In his conversation with the manager, he learned how the business obtained and resold goods online to generate revenue. Zubair was drawn to e-commerce since it required him to make little production investments.

This gave him inspiration, and with just Rs. 10,000 he launched The Fashion Factory, an online retailer, from his house. He started listing combo packs on Flipkart and Amazon after obtaining textiles from Tirupur.

Individual apparel items were less expensive when sold in combo bundles than purchased separately. Zubair made less money on each transaction, but because of the attention his reduced unit costs garnered, his number of orders swiftly increased.

According to Zubair's successful strategy, The Fashion Factory currently receives 200–300 orders daily. Along with that, he agreed to sell just to Amazon. The Fashion Factory generates 6.5 crore rupees in income annually and plans to reach 12 crores in 2019.

4. Nitin Kapoor

When they made the decision to work together and launch their own business, Nitin and Amit Kapoor were both employed by a private bank and eBay, respectively. They were aware of the huge amounts of waste produced by the clothing sector. They also observed how the industry squandered water and other scarce resources.

This motivated them to put down Rs. 10,000 investment and launch a business using the "Just in Time" (JIT) inventory management strategy. Indian Beautiful Art, the company they worked for, ensured that clothing was only produced once a buyer placed an order. Nitin ensured that the order was handled within 48 hours, from printing to shipping the product, and that no natural resources were used in the process.

For export to other nations, such as the US and the UK, they sourced goods from manufacturers in Khambhat, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Meerut, Kolkata, Khurja, Moradabad, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Lucknow.

Indian Beautiful Art is currently one of the biggest international internet sellers of Indian goods. It reports a Rs. 30 crores annual turnover.

5. RS Shanbhag

RS Shanbhag was an engineer from a tiny village before he started his own business. In 1991, he utilised the Rs 10,000 he had in his pocket to launch a little systems integration business.

Valuepoint Systems was started by Shanbhag in order to give rural residents work so they wouldn't have to move or travel in search of better pastures.

Although he began in Bengaluru, he soon expanded into rural areas, hiring graduates and instructing them in various technologies and services. Valuepoint would establish a facility in a village and hire staff who would then complete specific projects.

But as soon as the business began to ride the IT wave, it started providing the IT infrastructure that big businesses needed. Valuepoint now provides IT infrastructure services to 73 Fortune 500 businesses and is a market leader in South Asia (from a recent listing). This year, the company anticipates a revenue of Rs 600 crore.

The bottom line

Businessmen can emerge from lowly backgrounds if they are prepared to work hard, dedicate themselves to their ideas, and take the risks required to carry their ideas through to completion. Don't let a lack of resources or prior experience stop you from pursuing your objectives; instead, draw motivation from the enormous accomplishments that have come before you.