5 Inspiring and Emerging Entrepreneurs Transforming championing their Industries

29 October,2024 03:59 PM IST |  Mumbai  | 

Anupam Mittal, Ritesh Agarwal, Azhar Iqbal, Vishnu Acharya, Vinayak Katkar and Ketan Sabnis.


In today's dynamic business landscape, entrepreneurs are making significant strides, breaking barriers, and redefining industries. From innovative startups to social enterprises, these women are not only achieving business success but also creating positive social impact. Here are Five inspiring Male Entrepreneurs whose ventures are transforming their respective fields.

Anupam Mittal:

Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, revolutionized the matchmaking industry with an online platform that disrupted traditional methods. Born in Mumbai and educated in the USA, Anupam identified a gap in the conventional matchmaking market during his studies. In 1997, he launched Shaadi.com, an online matrimonial site catering to individuals seeking life partners. The website offered an extensive database of potential matches and advanced search algorithms, providing a modern solution to traditional matchmaking. Despite initial challenges and skepticism from traditionalists, Anupam's unwavering belief in his vision and innovative approach helped Shaadi.com grow into a leading platform in the industry. Today, Shaadi.com stands as a testament to his vision and perseverance, inspiring many aspiring entrepreneurs. His journey exemplifies how education, vision, and determination can transform an idea into a successful enterprise. Anupam continues to inspire many as a respected judge on Shark Tank India and a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs, demonstrating the impact of combining technological innovation with deep cultural understanding.

Ritesh Agarwal:

Ritesh Agarwal is the founder and CEO of OYO and an Indian billionaire entrepreneur. OYO Rooms is India's largest hotel network, with monthly revenue of $3.5 million and 1,500 employees in 154 cities across the country. Ritesh Agarwal was born in Bissam Cuttack town in Odisha and brought up in Titilagarh. His family used to run a small shop, so he had exposure to the entrepreneurial life as a child. He graduated from St. John's Senior Secondary School and moved to Delhi for college, but dropped out soon after to launch OYO and became the first Indian to be selected for the Thiel Fellowship in 2013.The success journey of Ritesh Agarwal, from a dropout to a billionaire, is quite inspirational. At 30 years old, Ritesh Agarwal, a billionaire from India, is the founder and CEO of OYO, the world's most affordable hotel chain. He embarked on his journey at the age of 20 with a vision of creating a solution for people looking for affordable hotels worldwide, and he is on the path to achieving his goal. OYO Rooms, on average, generates about $56.6 million every month and has over 3000 employees in 800 cities across 80 countries. At just 25 years old, Ritesh became the world's second-youngest self-made billionaire.

Azhar Iqbal:

Azhar is known for creating the Inshorts News app, starting from a small Facebook page and turning it into a big company. He's also been honoured with awards like Forbes India 30 under 30 and Fortune India 40 under 40 for his work with ventures like "Public." Azhar, from Bihar, isn't great at English but is super confident, preferring to speak Hindi. His confidence and smart business decisions always pay off, showing that believing in yourself is the real key to success.

Azhar Iqubal, CEO of Inshorts, joins Shark Tank as a judge for Season 03. Born in Kishanganj, Bihar, India, Azhar's journey started with a thirst for knowledge despite limited resources. Azhar co-founded "News in Shorts" during his college days, which later evolved into the Inshorts app. Azhar Iqbal is a trailblazing businessman who began his career after quitting IIT Delhi's Mathematics and Computer Science Programs.His leadership skills has been instrumental in the success of Inshorts as it is a groundbreaking digital journalism platform. He was CEO for 11 years and now Azhar Iqubal took over as the Chairman of the company. Azhar Iqubal joined Shark Tank India as Shark for Season 3 where his investments are helping the start-ups to create a better impact in the business world.

Vishnu Acharya:

Vishnu Acharya currently heads corporate strategy and M & A at Razorpay. He claims to have closed deals worth $200 million across over 12 acquisitions while expanding Razorpay's business in new areas and markets. Three years ago, Acharya and the core team of Razorpay floated an angel fund, MarsShot, to back promising founders. After speaking to 400 founders, he invested in over 35 of them through the fund across SaaS, consumer, and B2B.

Harshil Mathur, co-founder, and CEO of Razorpay, says Acharya's team will play an instrumental role as the fintech company prepares for an IPO in the next two to three years. Acharya joined Razorpay in 2019 and helped set up the corporate strategy team and lead strategic projects. In late 2020, he started building the thesis for inorganic growth for Razorpay along with the founders. In the last two or three years, he has built the M&A strategy and hired a team to execute deals and integrate the acquired companies. Latestly, Fintech giant Razorpay has launched DataSync, a no-code data integration platform that provides real-time data access, allowing businesses to enhance business intelligence, improve financial reporting, strengthen fraud and security monitoring, and uncover new revenue opportunities.

Ketan Sabnis and Vinayak Katkar:


Sell.Do is spearheaded by co-founders CEO Ketan Sabnis and CTO Vinayak Katkar, who bring visionary leadership to the real estate sales and marketing arena. Sell.Do is a state-of-the-art CRM for the real estate sector which helps developers organise their work and retain their clients more effectively.Ketan leverages his 16 years of industry experience to drive innovative solutions that help real estate businesses grow. With a keen focus on the real estate sector, he integrates sales and marketing expertise to develop technology that accelerates business success. Vinayak, as CTO, has engineered the platform's robust architecture, ensuring its stability and scalability in line with industry trends. His technical acumen keeps Sell.Do at the forefront of innovation, leveraging AI and providing reliable and efficient solutions for real estate professionals.

Together, they are transforming how real estate sales, marketing and after sales are managed, setting new benchmarks in the industry. Sell.do offers a combination of Gen AI and CRM that enhances efficiency across functional domains of marketing, sales, commerce, service, and customer success, therefore enabling a better connection between brands and customers. It leverages technology and data to streamline property search, scheduling visits, rent payments, and service requests. By integrating advanced analytics and automation, Sell.do empowers real estate professionals to manage leads more effectively, improve customer engagement, and drive sales growth. Its comprehensive platform addresses the unique challenges of the real estate industry, offering solutions that enhance productivity and foster long-term client relationships. With a focus on innovation and user-centric design, Sell.do is redefining the CRM landscape for real estate businesses.

These five entrepreneurs exemplify the power of vision, innovation, and dedication in driving business success and societal change. Their journeys offer valuable lessons and inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere.

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