Praveen Travels – Rs.50,000 to Rs.120 Crores

Praveen Travels

Read this amazing growth.  Parveen Travels, which opened shop with just over Rs 50,000 in the bank in 1980, did business worth Rs 120 crore last year.

As a 14-year-old, Afzal enjoyed going on rides in his father’s lorry. Often on these trips, the boy would dream of owning a fleet of cars and buses. Afzal’s father, Allah Baksh, ran a taxi service out of a small office in Purasawalkam, with a few cabs and lorries to transport cargo.

Afzal graduated with a bachelor’s degree in zoology and joined the family business.

 

“I was not keen on expanding the lorry business. I felt passionate about the transport industry and wanted to do something innovative,” he reminisces.

 

In 1981, the company purchased its first bus. “We were not keen on seeking financial help as we knew the bankers would not support us. So, we explored options that were within our limits, based on how much we earned in a given year,” recalls Afzal. To purchase new vehicles, the company put in half the amount and got loans for the remaining.

Later on introduced night service or point-to-point operations. 
   
A Logistics division was added in the late 80s. Cargo was initially transported on the roof of the vehicles and later in cargo trucks, when the company bagged sufficient number of orders.

Parveen today owns and operates 1,000 vehicles, of which 750 are buses

 

The company also prides itself on its “accidentfree transportation” and swift replacements if a vehicle breaks down. “If the bus is within city limits, we replace it with one of our own vehicles within 30 minutes. All the buses are fitted with GPRSbased vehicle tracking devices.

They introduced online ticketing four years ago, allowing passengers to print their own tickets.

 
Despite its success, the family is wary of investors. “Many investors had approached us. But once an outsider comes, they will have their own ideas about running the business. We may not be able to take decisions on our own,” he says.

The company employs 2,000 people, 37 branches. As part of its employee welfare activities, Parveen Travels runs an institute for its drivers in Madhavaram where they are trained in driving skills, fitness, yoga, and undergo regular eyetests. Every year, the top three performers among the children of company drivers are provided financial support.

Saravana Bhavan “Annachi” Rajagopal – Cleaner boy to owner of most successful chain of restaurant

Rajagopal started his career as a cleaner in a hotel… Today Saravana Bhavan has 25 outlets in India and 22 outlets in 7 countries.

First he  started a provisional store in K K Nagar in Chennai.

The sales representatives who came to their shop, one day said casually , “Sir, dispose of us quickly.  This is lunch time. There is no hotel in this area” triggered his thinking.

He was running the store successfully, but fell into debts after he purchased and built a 2 storied building. 

A person was running Kamatchi Bhavan in his building unsuccessfully and looking for buyers.

While eating the Prasadam (food offered to Lord), returning from Thiruthani an idea was born to takeover the Kamatchi Bhavan and discussed the same with his friend Ganapathi. Rajagopal is believer of horoscope and there are some indications he will prosper in hotel business.

Then he sold the building to Rathna Nadar with agreement that he can still run the store in the same building by paying rent. He bought Kamatchi Bhavan and made some changes.

He named the hotel “Saravana Bhavan” since the idea came while eating the Prasadam (Saravana is another name of lord Muruga).

The first hotel was opened on December 14, 1981 by Rathana Nadar. Because of no experience in running a hotel he and his partner Ganapathi worked very hard from 6.00 am to 11.00 pm.  His wife Valli also helped him.

Rajagopal desired to run a hotel which would earn a name for excellent food.

He used quality grocery and oil and incurred a loss as predicted by others.

He set apart Rs.50,000/- to compensate the loss. He incurred a loss of Rs.10,000/- every month.

From 6th month the sales increased.  For the first anniversary he supplied 23 items for just Rs.5 and there was too much of crowd and police has to control the crowd.

Then it is all history now….

In his own word “This success was not success easilty achieved.  The success was due to the hard work put in by me and my partner Ganapathi.  I should refer to my devotion to God also in the same breath.  It is no exaggeration to say that I achieved this success only because of of Lord Murugan’s grace”.

His autobiography “I set my heart on Victory” is available in Saravana Bhavan book stalls.

IT Entrepreneur to Social Entrepreneur – 100 Crore donation

Ramani has been an entrepreneur in the Software industry, from 1985 to 2006.
He is the Founder-Chairman and Managing Director of Future Software – a company based at Chennai and specializing in high technology communications software development.
Ramani is also one of the Founders and Co-promoter of Hughes Software Systems in New Delhi.
He is also the Founder Chairman and CEO of Future Communication Software in U.S.A., based at Santa Clara, California.

After selling his shares in Future Software & Hughes Software Systems to Flextronics Corp.of U.S., he has advised on the integration of these companies as a director and resigned from the Board of both the companies in April, 2006.
He was the Charter president of the TiE (The indUS Entrepreneurs) – Chennai Chapter from Jan 2001 to Mar 2003.

K.V. Ramani is now focused on directing and managing Shirdi Sai Trust founded by him in 1996, to spread Shirdi Sai’s teachings and helping needy persons for food, clothes, education and medical assistance, with pioneering efforts as a social entrepreneur. He is also mentoring a few start-up companies in the information technology and communications space.

Mr Ramani has donated equity shares worth over Rs 100 crore to Shirdi Sai Trust, a religious trust dedicated to Sai Baba, which he manages.

If you are interested to know more about him, then have a look at www.kvramani.com

A tailor weaves homespun dreams by becoming Wal-Mart’s chosen supplier

Venus shines over Punjab sky

WHEN Venus Garments bagged Wal-Mart’s ‘Supplier of the Year’ award in 2007, Anil Jain wasn’t surprised. What perhaps flashed in front of his eyes were images from the past when he used to run a 20*20 sq.ft. pigeon hole in Ludhiana’s congested Dal Bazar. Today, Anil Jain’s Venus shines bright with more than 6 lakh sq ft and eight units across the country. There’s an air of satisfaction too—of having gone it alone, when he lost his father at the tender age of 12. And entrepreneurship came easy from his school days when he bunked classes to stitch clothes for the neighbourhood. That’s when he made his first nickel, and apparel got entrenched in his mindscape. 

 
   Few would have imagined that from these such humble beginnings, the company would venture into direct export in 1992 and now even plans to start the company’s own retail outlets. “Time management and bringing out the most from every cloth was the only thing in mind. I could even make undergarments by cutting wastage left after stitching armymen’s vests. I used to sell these for rupees three a dozen in 1969,” says the 54-year-old businessman. 

 
   When ET caught up with Jain at his Venus Garments factory on GT road in Ludhiana, he ambled in sporting a black trouser and a navy blue shirt. Through the conversation, he gave due credence to his elder brothers Komal of Duke Group and Nirmal of Neva Garments, for his success story. “When we started the company, we had two workers and only second-hand sewing machines. My mother also used to work on machines till late night. Today, Venus Garments is providing direct employment to about 6,000 people and indirect employment to many more.” 

 
   Initially, he started out by stitching for players like Bhandari Hosiery, Grateway, Nagesh Hosiery, Jainson Hosiery and Addi Industries. “Our first year sales were approximately Rs 13,000. At that time, we had a target to grow the business. As I started with nothing, so even 0.1 million was very encouraging and valuable,” he says. Jain points out that he actually made his first million in 1976 when he bought a second-hand Fiat. The businessman now enjoys the comfort of a Mercedes car and his son drives a BMW. 

 
   One of the few companies that did not shift or close operation during terrorism days in Punjab, Venus stands tall as an epitome of optimism. “We did not plan on shifting anywhere. Rather, we planned and made our knitting and dyeing factory during that period,” he says. 

 
   The Rs 230-crore company was breezing along when the first gust of capital struck in 1992 when on Jain’s request, a buying agent gave the company a small order of 10,000 pieces of knitted tees for a US chain store. That, in a way, was the springboard for Venus when its product quality started weaving a chain of prospective international buyers. “Wal-Mart and Mexico, Old Navy (owned by Gap Inc), Tom Tailor, The Children’s Place, Sam’s Club and Suburbia are today my major buyers. I would not be surprised if the American clothing brand, Abercrombie and Fitch, becomes my buyers soon,” he says.

Registering a turnover of Rs 230 crore in 2007-08, the company is targeting an annual growth of 30%. It has had a CAGR of 48% over the last three years. Venus is a vertically integrated group encompassing yarn dyeing, fabric knitting, fabric dyeing, finishing, rotary printing, garmenting, garment washing, printing and embroidery. Its range of products includes polo, T-shirts, jogging suit, sweatshirts, thermal wear, and sweaters for men, women, kids and infants. 
   The company’s two units in Tirupur and another six units in Ludhiana have a capacity to manufacture 2 million pieces a month. “We are planning for backward integration. Setting up of a spinning unit with 25,000 spindles spread over 60-80 acre and an investment of Rs 70 crore, is my immediate concern. Apart from it, I see a huge market in domestic retail. By the end of the year, we will open 10 stores, with the first store under our own brand name in Punjab,” says Jain. The man who could not pursue higher education for want of time and money, now wishes to open a polytechnic college in Punjab in collaboration with a German institution.

ANIL JAIN Founder,Venus Garments

Thanks Economic Times