Entrepreneur Stories
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw – Life Lessons
When Kiran Mazumdar Shaw wanted to become a brewer like her father, she didn’t realise there would be a strong protest against women working in this industry. Through the years, Ms. Shaw realised her dream might not come true, then she decided to change course and start working with biotechnology. Despite the change in her course, she believed in her company, Biocon, which did so well, it became one of the most successful companies in India. If you have a dream and work hard to make it come true, then here are some truly inspiring lessons from Ms. Shaw:
1. Fight against the ordinary
One of the primary lessons to learn from Kiran Shaw is that in order to succeed, you should have the ability to fight against the norms. Even though she knew she would face a great deal of opposition and gender discrimination, Shaw realised she didn’t want to cut her dream short. Instead, she pushed herself and made sure that while she could not succeed in achieving her initial goal of becoming a brewster, she would pursue her dream of becoming a biochemist.
2. Don’t be afraid of criticism
More often than not, one of the things which holds us back from achieving greatness is the fear of being criticised. If Shaw had listened to people telling her she couldn’t work in the industry because she was a woman, she would have given up long ago. However, because she kept fighting back, she became the great force she is today. Start being you and stop being anyone else because you are afraid of being told you are doing things wrong.
3. Make sure you have a differentiator
An important point to remember is, when you have a unique selling point, you always stand out. Before you start your business, make sure you choose that point which sets you apart. In Shaw’s case, she chose biotechnology because when she started her Company, there weren’t many people doing what she did. This is why she quickly rose up the ladder and made people take notice!
4. Don’t be afraid to take risks
Another thing we can all learn from Shaw is, in order to stand out, you should never be afraid of taking risks. Despite having only Rs. 10,000 in her savings account, she still pursued her dreams and made them come true. While the amount seems like a lot, securing it was not an easy task. Only after breaking her savings and borrowing money from her family, Shaw secured the funds to start Biocon. Not only did she manage to prove everyone around her that women can do it all, she also showed people that taking risks is an extremely important factor required to succeed.
5. Focus on innovation
When Shaw started Biocon, she realised there were very few people, let alone women, working in this industry. She saw the opportunity to create a truly unique niche for herself and by innovating on the idea she had, she created a phenomenon with her Company. From the very first day, she started working on changing the course of biochemistry and because of her Company, there are now several ways to cure multiple conditions like diabetes, for example.
From having nothing to having an entire Countrylove her Company, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is leading a truly inspiring life. If you learnt other lessons from this great leader, comment and let us know!
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