admin Leaders are not born great, rather they become formidable through an inspirational journey. It is only through dedicated hard work and diligence that one can hope to attain such pinnacles of success. The inspirational stories of astute industry stalwarts help fondle the fire of greatness in others. This journey is even more arduous for women entrepreneurs and first-generation business persons. However, there are quite a few leaders who have left embodied both these titles and yet left an indelible mark on the market.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is one such fiery entrepreneur. Her journey has served as a testament to what can be achieved by sheer willpower, courage, and determination. As the Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Limited, her inspirational life story has served as a guiding light for many young and aspiring business women.
From Brewing to Biotech
Born in into a Gujarati family in Maharashtra in 1953, Kiran grew up wanting to pursue her father’s occupation and make a career as a brew-master. In fact, Kiran also trained to become one in Australia. However, she had to face obstacles as the industry was heavily male-dominated and was not yet ready for a female brew-master. In such a scenario, Kiran struggled to get any viable source of employment. She thought of the industry as a ‘male bastion’.
She did not allow this to dissuade her from achieving her dream of success. Much like all ingenious stalwarts, Kiran soon ideated a different but equally potent source of achieving her dream of success. With the hardcore determination to do something phenomenal with her life, Kiran went on to establish the foundations of the Indian branch of the Irish Biocon venture.
Challenges in the Path
The gender prejudice remained palpable when Kiran tried to secure financing for her venture. To attain funds, Kiran had to approach banks. They often considered lending funds to a woman as a high-risk liability. The prejudice ran so strong that oftentimes her father was asked to be present as a guarantor for the loans. Moreover, biotech was a relatively new field and banks were apprehensive about lending large sums to amateur and inexperienced entrepreneurs.
Kiran maintained her resolve and resilience. She was determined to succeed. This fire and hunger for success allowed her to overcome all roadblocks and propel the venture towards new heights of success. She convinced investors with her will and determination to grant her funds for the venture and finally managed to secure enough funds to begin it.
Beginning the venture in a garage space in Bangalore with merely 10,000 rupees was a feat in itself. Having scaled it into the top suppliers of insulin in the country today is another formidable feat she has successfully achieved.
Creating a Well-Crafted Business Model
Her ingenuity lies in the fact that she could ideate a novel business model to cater to her business needs. She used the revenues collected from the development and manufacture of enzymes to build her core operation- i.e. manufacturing medicines. However,
Within a year of its establishment, Biocon India became the first company in the country to manufacture enzymes and export them to the USA and Europe. Kiran used the profits from the first year to invest in the growth and expansion of the venture. She invested in a 20-acre property for the company and planned to grow it even further. In 1983, Kiran was able to transform the venture into an integrated biopharmaceutical company. The focus of the venture was now on diabetes, oncology, and auto-immune diseases. Eventually, she also launched the firm’s two subsidiaries- Syngene (1994) and Clinigene (2000) – to expand its R&D units.
A True Inspiration
Today, Kiran heads the venture as its fearless leader. She is also the present chairperson of IIM-Bangalore. In 2019, she held the 65th position on Forbes list of The Most Powerful Women in the World. She is also the board member of the governors of the Indian School of Business. She is also a former member of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad. Furthermore, Kiran is the term member on the board of MIT, USA till 2023. She also serves as an independent director on the board of Infosys and is also a member of the General Body of Maharashtra State Innovation Society. With regard to women empowerment, she is the first woman to head the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.
Her journey has been a source of inspiration for women all over India. She has personified the struggle women face in all industrial segments as well as the ways of overcoming those struggles through sheer will and determination. Kiran’s story is one that helps women hold onto the embers of their dreams for success and rekindle this fire to achieve greatness.
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