The incredible journey of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw from a chance meeting to becoming one of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Here's the inspirational story of Biocon
Entrepreneurial success story – Kiran Mazumdar
She considers herself an accidental entrepreneur. It was a coincidental meeting with another entrepreneur that opened doors for Kiran Mazumdar to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs and a pioneer of the biotechnology industry in India. Just before Kiran was about to move to Scotland for a job as a brewmaster, she met Leslie Auchincloss – founder of Biocon Biochemicals Limited, of Cork, Ireland. The chance encounter marked the beginning of her journey to entrepreneurial success. Yes, today's entrepreneurial success story is every business mentor's favorite quote-worthy example and every entrepreneur's inspiration. So, let's read on to find out this success story took shape. 01600315
Journey begins – Overcoming challenges Auchincloss’s Biocon, which used to produce enzymes to use in the brewing, food-packaging and textile industries, was looking to establish a base in India. Wanting to tie up with an Indian entrepreneur for a subsidiary, he approached Kiran. Indian FDI laws, at the time, allowed only a foreign ownership 30% and Kiran had the remaining ownership of the company. She wanted to
learn the ropes of the business and for a brief period she worked as a Trainee Manager at Biocon Biochemicals Limited, Ireland. Soon after returning to India, Kiran with a seed capital of Rs. 10,000 started Biocon India in 1978, in the garage of her rented house in Bangalore. Numerous challenges awaited her, especially during the initial days. Her gender, age and untested business model became hitches in her path. No bank would lend her the money without a guarantor or guarantee and thus getting funding became an uphill task. She faced difficulty recruiting people, as nobody wanted to work for a startup. Her first employee was a retired garage mechanic. She faced technological challenges as well. Unstable infrastructure, power, unhygienic labs, low-quality research equipment, workers without advanced scientific skills were some of the many hurdles she faced. But none of these setbacks deterred her. Steadily overcoming challenges, within a year of its inception, Biocon India became the first company in India to manufacture enzymes and export them to the United States and Europe. With the revenues earned by the company in the first year, she bought a 20-acre property, with a dream of future expansion.
Success beckons – Expanding Biocon Up until 1983, Biocon followed the protocols guided by the parent company and also sold to companies with similar backgrounds. Kiran didn’t want to restrict the growth there; she dreamt of taking the company beyond the scope of their current operations. She transformed Biocon to a fully integrated bio-pharmaceutical company, with a well-balanced business portfolio of products and a research focus on diabetes, oncology and auto-immune diseases. Eventually, she also launched two subsidiaries - Syngene in 1994 and Clinigene in the year 2000. She focused on research of enzymes and techniques for development of solid substrate fermentation technology. This took the company’s operations to conquer new horizons. Her vision, hard work and commitment were rewarded. Success came knocking and so did funding. In 1987, Narayan Vaghul of ICICI ventures supported creation of a venture capital fund of USD 250,000. In 1989, they became the first Indian biotech company to receive US funding for proprietary technology. In 2004, Biocon went for an IPO which was oversubscribed 33 times. It was the second Indian company to cross the 1 billion mark on the first day of listing. Kiran was now able to pursue
affordable innovation. She turned her focus on developing cost-effective techniques and lower-cost alternatives, so that people can afford the drugs they need, particularly for chronic therapies. Today, Biocon is India's largest biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and supplies advanced, life-saving biopharmaceuticals which are affordable and accessible. Biocon's major areas of research now include cancer, diabetes, and other auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Giving back – Social entrepreneurship ‘Compassionate capitalist’ is the term she uses for herself. She believes innovation and commerce are powerful tools for creating social progress. Kiran Mazumdar has been involved with several philanthropic activities and is committed to developing affordable healthcare. She has a CSR wing called Biocoin Foundation that focuses on health, education and infrastructure in rural areas. She supports the Arogya Raksha Yojana and has also established Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre in Bangalore. Through Arogya Raksha Yojana, Biocon Foundation establishes clinics to offer care, generic medicines and basic tests for those who cannot afford them. Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre was established with a goal to deliver affordable world-class cancer care services to patients irrespective of socio-economic status. In 2015, she joined The Giving Pledge, promising that at least half of her wealth will be dedicated to philanthropy. What an incredible journey it has been for Kiran Mazumdar Shaw; a journey that began in the garage of a rented house in Bangalore has today taken her to be among the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. She marches on, continuing to give outstanding contributions to the progress of science and chemistry as well as to the country’s health infrastructure. #BusinessMentorIndia #BusinessCoachIndia #BusinessCoachMentorIndia #BusinessMentorForEntrepreneursIndia #BusinessMentorForEntrepreneurs #BusinessEntrepreneurship #BusinessMentor #BusinessCoach #BusinessEntrepreneurshipIndia #SarathyMentor #SarathyCoach #BusinessMentorForEntrepreneurInMumbai #StartupMentor #StartupCoachInIndia #MentorForStartups #BusinessCoachandMentorIndia #BusinessCoachandMentorsIndia #StartupBusinessMentorIndia #StartupMentorCoachIndia