The blind CEO who built a 50 crore company

Srikanth Bolla (pictured below) is standing tall living by his conviction that if the "world looks at me and says, 'Srikanth, you can do nothing,' I look back at the world and say 'I can do anything'."

When he was born, neighbours in the village suggested that his parents smother him.

It was better than the pain they would have to go through their lifetime, some said.

He is a "useless" baby without eyes… being born blind is a sin, others added.

Twenty-three years later, Srikanth Bolla is standing tall living by his conviction that if the "world looks at me and says, 'Srikanth, you can do nothing,' I look back at the world and say 'I can do anything'."

Srikanth is the CEO of Hyderabad-based Bollant Industries, an organisation that employs uneducated disabled employees to manufacture eco-friendly, disposable consumer packaging solutions, which is worth Rs 50 crores.

He considers himself the luckiest man alive, not because he is now a millionaire, but because his uneducated parents, who earned Rs 20,000 a year, did not heed any of the 'advice' they received and raised him with love and affection.

"They are the richest people I know," says Srikanth.

Underdog success story

What is it about stories like Srikanth's that so inspire and fill one with hope?

Could it be the multiple zeroes after a dollar sign or the belief that you and I can achieve similar success if we set our minds and hearts to it?

Underdog success stories touch a raw nerve. After all, everyone faces adversity, they dream, and they work hard.

It is another matter that only a few cross the threshold of limits set by society.

In Srikanth's case, it is his sheer tenacity that shines through the dark clouds of his misfortune.

Being born blind was just one part of the story. He was also born poor. And you know what that means in a society like ours.

In school, he was pushed to the back bench and not allowed to play.

The little village school had no way of knowing what inclusion meant.

When he wanted to take up science after his class X, he was denied the option because of his disability.

All of 18, Srikanth not only fought the system but went on to become the first international blind student to be admitted to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

As author Paulo Coelho says, "We warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know the Universe is conspiring in our favour, even though we may not understand how."

Today, Srikanth has four production plants, one each in Hubli (Karnataka) and Nizamabad (Telangana), and two in Hyderabad (Telangana). Another plant, which will be one hundred percent solar

operated, is coming up in Sri City, an integrated business city in Andhra Pradesh, 55 kms from Chennai.

Angel investor Ravi Mantha, who met Srikanth about two years ago, was so impressed with his business acumen and vision for his company that he not only decided to mentor him but also invested in Srikanth's company.

"It was a small, tin-roof shack in an industrial area near Hyderabad. There were eight employees and three machines under the shed. I expected him to talk about how he wanted to make a social impact, but was surprised by the business clarity and technical knowhow in someone so young," Ravi says.

They are raising $2-million (around Rs 13 crores) in funding and have already raised Rs 9 crores.

According to Ravi, his personal goal is to "take the company to IPO."

A vision to build a sustainable company with a workforce comprising 70 percent people with disability is no mean task.

"Srikanth's vision is inbuilt in the company. It is not just a lip service to CSR," adds Ravi.

Isolation a big curse

"The isolation of differently-abled people starts at birth," Srikanth said in his first public speech on the INK Talks stage in Mumbai last month. According to him, "Compassion is a way of showing someone to live; to give someone an opportunity to thrive and make them rich. Richness does not come from money, it comes from happiness."

When Srikanth was growing up, his father, a farmer, would take him to the fields but the little boy couldn't be of any help.

His father then decided that he might as well study.

"In my parent's entrepreneurship model, I was a failure. In entrepreneurship, we have a lean business model where we evaluate an enterprise and say how quickly it fails."

Reference: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/achiever-the-blind-ceo-who-built-a-50-crore-company/20151222.htm?pos=1&src=NL20151223&trackid=aOXQnFSBNyGA0JQy25Bs9DNKHZ4S8ymkD6S8f6vzhK4=&isnlp=0&isnlsp=0