In 2013, 5 friends wanted to copy Wattpad's success n India.

Everyone thought they'd FAIL to make people read LONG stories when 15-second REELS and TikTok ruled.

But to everyone's SHOCK, there are 2.5 CRORE readers on Pratilipi!

Why Pratilipi didn't fail: Reels are the new legal drug.

• They release a TON of dopamine, making you want it more and more.
• They are so 'short' that an hour seems to fly by,
• BUT, you cannot even remember the third last reel you watch.

Yet in the world of 15s drugs, how did a LONG form Pratilipi win? Let's start from the very beginning

If you see a McLaren go past, you say "What a car"

But if you see a Rolls Royce go past, you say "What a man".

But guess what? Rolls Royce wasn't created by a rich kid of Harvard Grad.

But an uneducated poor boy who spent his childhood delivering newspapers.

Rolls Royce story is more valuable than its car: If I could call anyone unlucky, it’d be Henry Royce.

At 4 years old, his family went bankrupt. He lost his father when he was 9.

He had to leave school to deliver newspapers to survive.

But how did this uneducated child create the world’s most prestigious car brand?

This is your offering to god?

A beautiful, golden-hued flower, which ends up polluting her other creation?

And to top it off, people bathed and drank in these waters!

2 Friends saw this and decided this needed to change.

Here's the amazing story of PHOOL: 1️⃣ Friends Forever.

Ankit was a happy employee at Symantec (Norton Security).

He had many foreign friends, one of whom visited India for 'sightseeing'.

He visited the usual - Taj Mahal, Bombay, Delhi.

But Ankit was unhappy. "That's not the real India. The Real India is in Tier2+".

In 2013, two IIM alumnus left their jobs to start selling MILK.

Everyone thought they'd FAIL to sell premium milk in a price-sensitive market like India where AMUL ruled.

But to everyone's SHOCK, it became a leader by selling ₹1380 CRORE items in a year!

Why Country Delight didn't fail: Selling milk in India is the hardest thing to do. Because

• Your product expires in 4 days.
• The margins are just 3-5%
• If you falter even once, you'll lose the customer and your business.

But Chakradhar and Nitin did this without relying on others. Here's his crazy story:

What a man.

He was denied entry to the Cecil Hotel because of his clothes.

So he bought the hotel.

The crazy part? He had no degree or money when he started.

You spend ₹30,000 a night at Oberoi, spend 3 minutes reading its mind-blowing story Mohan Singh Oberoi was an unlucky child.

At just 6 months of age, he lost his father.

Even though he was admitted into the DAV College, Lahore, he had to leave it due to financial constraints.

But they say God tests only those who are capable of being tested. Mohan was one of them. Why? Read on

In 2009, Cerana entered India importing beers.

Everyone thought it would FAIL to sell its 'premium' beers in Kingfishers and Carlsberg's INDIA.

But to their shock, Bira went on to sell 12 MILLION cases every year.

Here's the story of Bira91 (and can it be the next Blinkit?) After completing his master's from Illinois Institute of Technology in 2002, Ankur Jain wanted to do some 'startup'.

So after a short stint at Motorola, he started Reliant MD, a healthcare revenue management software.

But he ended up building India's largest craft beer company, selling ~800 Cr worth of beers in a year. How?

EVs are failing.

Once deemed to be the star of automobiles, it is not selling that fast anymore.

The reason? Hybrids.

Here's why Hybrids have become the new talk in town. If you own an EV, there is ONE big question always in front of you:

"What if the charge runs out while running? "

It's true. Range anxiety is the leading cause of EVs not selling.

In 2003, a Doctor told Kainaz she could no longer work at her dream job at Oberoi.

21 years later, Theobroma, her creation, now pegs ₹375 Cr in Revenue (and a 20Cr profit!).

Bain Capital has even sent a bid for Theobroma at a ₹2500-3000 Cr valuation!

But how did a Doctor's visit lead to the founding 'God's Food'? You'll never forget her story: 1️⃣ No More Pastries, please!

Kainaz was tired.

Her mother was an avid baker, often baking cakes and pastries for her customers up to 5 in the morning.

But after a point, her kids, Kainaz and Tina were tired of it. Imagine just smelling pastries 24-7/365!

He is a real entrepreneur.

After his restaurant business failed, he SOLD HIS HOUSE to start another business 'because he wanted to'.

After having nightmares about not being able to pay salaries, his company now earns ₹821 Cr EVERY YEAR.

A story worth reading. They say that if a restaurant fails, you become a PUBLIC failure. And nothing hurts more than that.

Viraj Bahl experienced this first-hand with the failure of his "Pocket Full" restaurant.

He then sold his house. Why? ↓

India has some unknown geniuses.

One of them was this 17-year-old boy.

At age 17, he left school to help his father run his struggling milk business.

Today, he runs a ₹2,000,00,00,000 brand selling milk products.

You'd not believe his extraordinary story 🧵 Selling milk in India is the hardest thing to do. Because

• Your product expires in 4 days.
• The margins are just 3-5%
• If you delay or falter even once, you'll lose the customer and your business.

But a 17-year-old tackled this problem, without any money, investors and even a brand name! How? ↓

What a man.

He inherited a Billion Dollar Brand but left it to start his own company.

And today, that same company makes over 100 Cr selling Juices. 1️⃣ The Right Time

Ameve was enjoying his time at Baidyanath, a 100-year-old Ayurvedic Brand started by his grandfather.

But somewhere along the way, he had a curious realization.

We think of Ayurvedic as to 'old' and 'ugly' and 'only for the sick'. But he knew, it was not like that.

In 2014, Micromax was the SECOND LARGEST mobile brand in INDIA.

Alibaba was about to invest in them at a $3.5 BILLION valuation.

But to everyone's SHOCK, from selling 33,315 units in just a day, they could not even sell ONE today.

Here's the crazy story behind Micromax: If you are a 20-30 year, and an Indian, I can bet 90% of you used Micromax in one point of time.

At one point, they were the second largest mobile company in India, even the 10th largest in the WORLD.

But then what happened? Read on

What a man.

He couldn't find good coffee, so he built his own.

And today, his 'hobby' is worth ₹1,200,00,00,000

His story is worth reading: Back in 2012, a couple was happily enjoying their life in Chennai, drinking filter coffee. But their life was about to change when

1️⃣ Move to Delhi

Matt Chitharanjan, and his wife, Namrata shifted to Delhi.

Both coffee lovers agonized in Delhi. Forget fresh roasted beans; here, brands like CCD and Starbucks just 'did not have' the experience of a fresh local roast of Arabica in Chennai.

BluSmart is faking its approach.

They are showing themselves as a 'cab' company, but are secretly tapping into a much bigger opportunity.

Let me explain with their short story: 1️⃣ The Tri-Pod

In 2019, Anmol and Puneet Jaggi, along with Punit Goyal were going to do something brave.

They were going to challenge Ola and Uber. Because they had 3 observations:

He is the real Sharma ji ka beta.

IIT. ISB. McKinsey. VC. And a Business worth ₹42,000 Cr whose name you don't even know.

His story is worth reading. 1️⃣ The First Steps

Asish Mohapatra is a gifted man. He attended IIT-Kh, ISB, then went to McKinsey, before finally ending up as a VC at Ma

But all of his research and study gave him one key insight: About MSMEs

It is often said for a business, the "first generation grows it, second generation enjoys it, third generation destroys it"

But Murugappa Group, which has 11 listed companies, has still been intact and GROWING in its 5th GENERATION

Here's what sets them apart: In 1900, Dewan Bahadur A.M Murugappa Chettiar was a mastermind.

In the midst of all the poverty reigning then, he started his money-lending and banking system.

Heck, it was not even in INDIA! (It was in Myanmar btw)

In 2004, Ferrero Rocher entered India after conquering the world

Everyone thought it'll FAIL to sell expensive chocolate in a price-sensitive market like India where Cadbury ruled

But to their SHOCK, it became the No. 1 premium chocolate here!

Why Ferrero didn't fail in India The chocolate market in India is tough to crack.

The market is filled with affordable chocolate brands like Mondelez's Cadbury (55.9%) , Nestle Kitkat (14.9%), and other small players (13.3%)

These brands offer chocolates at a starting cost of ₹5 or 10.

Meet the CANTEEN WORKER who created a snacks company which EARNS MORE than Dominoes and Dunkin Donuts COMBINED Who is this extraordinary man? Chandubhai Virani, the co-founder of Balaji Wafers!

In FY23, they clocked in ₹5010 crore in REVENUE - for perspective, that's almost EQUAL to DOMINOES, DUNKIN DONUTS, AND POPEYE's revenue COMBINED.

Shocked? This story will shock you even more:

In 2010, CROCS was among the top 50 WORST INVENTION by Times Magazine.

They had $185 MILLION in LOSSES and a 98% FALL in their STOCK price (2008)

CROCS WAS ABOUT TO DIE.

But then something strange happened.

THREAD; How Crocs Rebounded to Become one of the MOST LOVED footwear: On May 27, 2010, Crocs got a huge SHOCK.

They were among the top 50 WORST INVENTIONS according to Times Magazine.

But how did they reach here? Well, the real story starts in 2007.

Campus KILLED it.

They got 0 in FUNDING.
They spent 0 on DIVERSIFICATION.
They spent 0 on PREMIUM PRODUCTS

And still - they earn 1400 Cr just selling LOW PRICED shoes;

THREAD: How Campus Activewear became India's largest sports brand: Campus was started in 2005.

And unlike the prevalent sports brands then - it had a completely different aim:

To provide sports shoes to not-so-rich people.

But wait... isn't that a low-profit area? How would they become successful then?

BookMyShow was about to DIE

They had just reduced their team from 150 to just 6 people - and were looking at SHUTTING DOWN.

But then something strange happened.

THREAD: How BookMyShow became a MONOPOLY in movie and event bookings: The 1990-2000s was an amazing time for internet companies.

You didn't need profits, just have 'internet' in your name and goals - and you'd be worth BILLIONS. (like AI)

Every person wanted to grab this opportunity

And Ashish Hemrajani jumped into this pool.