At 52, Ray Kroc was taking the boldest and riskiest bet of his life. After two decades of being a salesman—selling paper cups and milkshake machines—part-time pianist and real estate agent, the plucky American had opened his first McDonald’s franchisee outlet at Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. The unlikeliest candidate anybody would hedge money on, Kroc had survived the First World War and had seen his father amass and lose his fortune in speculation and stocks.
Six years later, in 1961, Kroc went on to buy McDonald’s. “Achievement must be made,” the unflinching entrepreneur wrote in his autobiography Grinding it Out, “against the possibility of failure, against the risk of defeat. Where there is no risk, there can be no pride in achievement, and consequently, no happiness.”
Cut to India. At 50, Pardeep Jain is doing a Kroc. “He has an inspirational story of never giving up in spite of multiple failures,” says the managing director of the Jaina Group, which had hit a high in early 2014 when the maker of the Karbonn mobile cornered a 10 percent market share, making it the third biggest smartphone brand in India.
Five years later, fortune has swung to the other end. Karbonn, along with other homegrown handset players like Micromax, Intex, and Lava, has been muscled out by Chinese smartphone players such as Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo. Jaina Group, which boasted of a revenue of ₹3,456 crore in fiscal 2017, hit a new low of ₹1,243 crore two years later.
Denne historien er fra December 6, 2019-utgaven av Forbes India.
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Denne historien er fra December 6, 2019-utgaven av Forbes India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet