A must read books for everyone, here, the story of Yusuf Ali turning the Gulf War crisis into an opportunity and becoming the entrepreneur to have faith in UAE or the story of how Ravi Pillai bounced back from a union action with a handful of employees in Kerala to a start-up in Saudi Arabia, now employing more than a lakh of people or the tale of how Kris Gopalakrishnan turned around a crisis among the founders of Infosys to go for an early IPO which turned the company into a darling of the stock market forever is all confidence-boosting episodes for all entrepreneurs — be it start-ups or established ones.
Another interesting theme running across the book is how entrepreneurs who made their fortunes abroad reinvested their success back in India. Shobha Apartments, Aster Hospitals, and Lulu Hypermarkets are all examples of God’s own entrepreneurs replicating their successful recipes from abroad back home in India.
The variety of businesses featured in the book makes it as interesting as the vegetarian sadhya served on a banana leaf during Onam, where the rhythm of flavours from each dish takes you on a trip on its own even for hardcore non-vegetarians.
A great mix of stories from traditional gold, spices, backwater tourism, and construction to modern retail, IT, Hospitals, and the world’s most successful ed-tech from a young man with a gift for teaching through entertainment. Finally, the payasam for the sadhya comes from the voltage stabiliser king Kochouseph Chittilappilli and Kris Gopalakrishnan with their strong emphasis on driving success through sincerity.
If there is any criticism, it will be for the author being more than generous in his praise for the philanthropy work of the entrepreneurs.
But Roshan has done a very delicate balance in bringing deep insight into the ordinary beginning of their family to extraordinary accomplishments in their business and personal life, which is very reassuring for all young readers worried about the potential risks of entrepreneurship on their family life.
