There is a connecting thread among more than half of the 16 finalists of EY’s Entrepreneurs of the year 2018 list– they belong to the first generation of entrepreneurs.
In the list comprising 16 individuals, Byju’s Byju Raveendran and OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal are also included. These exceptional individuals were honoured for showcasing sound business acumen. “The Entrepreneur Of The Year program in India has over the years honoured entrepreneurs who with their creative ideas and exceptional enterprises have emerged as Builders of a better India” EY’s website said.
Siddhartha Lal, managing director and chief executive officer, Eicher Motors, bagged the EY Entrepreneur of the year award for 2018.
Here are some of the first-gen entrepreneurs who made it to the list.
Byju Raveendran: Founder, BYJU’s
Byju- the ed-tech learning company was founded in 2011 after Raveendran sensed an opportunity in teaching students and began with his classroom operation in 2006. BYJU also launched a learning app in 2015 which contains video lessons and content. Currently, as many as 3 crore students are registered with BYJU along with 20 lakh annual paid subscribers. The company also signed up with Disney for creating primary school educational content.
BYJU has gained unicorn status.
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Sahil Barua: Co-founder, Delhivery
After Barua quit Bain & Company, in 2011, his previous company, he co-founded Delhivery with four others. Delhivery has become one of the leading supply chain services in India. The net sales of the company were reported to be Rs 1,023 crore for FY18. Barua wishes to make Delhivery the fastest growing logistics company in India.
Ritesh Agarwal: Founder and CEO of OYO Hotels and Homes
A millionaire at the age of 22, after dropping out of college at 19, he started the company in 2013. He is a speaker at various entrepreneur conferences and events, both in India and across the globe.
Recently, OYO topped the first edition of LinkedIn’s 2018 Top Startups in India. The company also ventured into several new projects such as OYO Living.
Manu Kumar Jain: Co-founder, Jabong; Corporate Leader, Xiaomi
From co-founding Jabong, a company that rivalled online e-commerce behemoth- Flipkart to rising up Xiaomi’s corporate ladder, Manu Kumar has also worked with McKinsey & Company. The concept of flash sales, which is very popular on online platforms- was also pioneered by him.
The list also included AU Small Finance Bank’s Sanjay Agarwal, Laurus Labs’ Dr Satyanarayana Chava, TeamLease Services’ Ashok Reddy and IIFL Investment Managers’ Karan Bhagat.
