While the celebrations have already gained pace today, we, at Techgraph, wish our readers a very happy Engineer’s Day. And to extend the revelry, we aim to delve into the lives of 10 exceptional Indian engineers who made it big.
They are not just engineers but also visionaries, entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and more.
Through their skills, ambitions, and perseverance, these amazing figureheads have revolutionized the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India.
So, here is the list of five Indian engineers turned business tycoons.
Sachin and Binny Bansal
In October 2007, in a two-BHK apartment in Koramangala, Bengaluru, India’s first-ever e-commerce website, Flipkart was brought to life. And the brains behind it were Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal.
The Bansal duo are IIT-Delhi grads and have worked with Amazon prior to conceptualizing Flipkart. Their success story is a unique one and is replete with ups and downs.
From delivering books on their own scooters to building a multi-billion dollar company, the Bansals have seen it all. Valued at a whopping $ 20 billion, the firm is currently owned by Walmart which has 77 percent of its share.
Despite the losses, the criticism, and the eventual acquisition, the Flipkart story still inspires thousands of young engineers and entrepreneurs. Sachin and Binny Bansal have truly shown what an innovative idea coupled with hard work can yield.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
A child prodigy was born in a small town near Aligarh, UP in the year 1978. Later on, this wonder kid cleared his 12th board exam at the mere age of 14, developed a technique to read two books at the same time, founded and sold companies while studying in college, and finally gave birth to India’s first-ever virtual payment wallet, PayTM. This Aligarh-born genius is none other than Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
With India’s push towards the digital economy since late 2016, the popularity of PayTM has increased manifold. With catchy taglines such as ‘PayTM Karo, this payment interface has changed the dynamics of the Indian payment ecosystem.
Since PayTM provides a better alternative to cash, more and more people are on the PayTM radar these days.
It was because of Sharma’s vision, India had successfully embraced virtual cash and wallets that push the envelope of the digital economy. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is not just an engineer, he is a visionary.
Ritesh Aggarwal
A college dropout who sold SIM cards for money and spent countless nights on Delhi’s footpath went on to become the youngest billionaire in the world. We are talking about Ritesh Aggarwal, the founder, and CEO of OYO Rooms.
Aggarwal hails from a small town in Odisha and dropped from college once the idea of OYO Rooms clicked in his mind, following which he began creating a vast network of hotels, raised funds, and gave OYO Rooms its current shape.
While most of us are clueless about our careers at the age of 18, Aggarwal was clear about what he wanted.
Today, OYO Rooms is not only the largest hotel chain in India but also one of the most-valued internet companies. Although Ritesh is not an engineer – by choice, though – he heads ivy league engineers and management grads.
Rahul Sharma
Although we all are acquainted with the success stories encircling the mobile phone brand Micromax, very little light is shed on its co-founder Rahul Sharma.
Well, many of us might know him as Asin’s husband, however, this engineer turned entrepreneur had a few stories of his own too. Sharma has always been intuitive about his work and draws inspiration from real-life events.
For instance, the idea of manufacturing mobile phones came to his mind when he saw a payphone in a remote village in West Bengal that drew power from a truck’s battery. And since that day he vowed to provide mobile phones that last longer.
Similar stories encircle Micromax’s dual SIM venture. Despite the enormous competition from other mobile manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorolla, et al, Micromax has managed to create its own customer base.
N R Narayanmurthy and Nandan Nielkani
These names do not need any introduction. While Narayanmurthy is hailed as the father of the Indian IT sector, Nilekani had served Infosys as CEO, conceptualized the Aadhar card, and even fought the election.
Both engineers have a proven track record of innovation and leadership, through which they had weaved the success story of Infosys.