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Every entrepreneur’s journey starts with an aspiration or an idea of how they will make a positive impact in life. Entrepreneurs want to help others by providing solutions through business. The following article tells the motivational story of an individual who began with humble beginnings. With focus, persistence, creativity, and hard work, the entrepreneur overcame the odds and eventually developed a successful business that has value for others today.
Bharti Airtel had modest beginnings, but it has grown into one of India’s largest telecom companies. Currently, it is India’s fourth-highest valued company with a market cap of Rs 9.26 lakh crore in 2024. From very humble beginnings, the telecom’s success was created by using just Rs 20,000 borrowed from the entrepreneur’s father for starting a bicycle part-selling business based in Ludhiana.
Sunil Mittal was born on October 23, 1957, in Ludhiana. He is the son of Satpal Mittal, a politician. Sunil chose to make different choices from what was expected of him. At 18 years old, he borrowed Rs 20,000 from his father and opened a bicycle parts manufacturing business with a friend. In just three years, the company had expanded to three manufacturing plants.
Despite being engaged in the bicycle part business, he was dissatisfied. Once he realised that the bicycle part business had reached a plateau, he decided to close that business and create a new one, which would focus on imported electric power generators. Unfortunately, after only a short period, the Indian government banned the export of generators, leaving Sunil’s business in jeopardy. Most people would have given up, but he did not give up. He looked for the next opportunity.
Soon, he started importing push-button phones under the brand “Beetel” from Taiwan. This marked the commencement of his association with the telecom industry.
The introduction of this relatively small change turned out to create a huge shift for many homes and businesses throughout India. As a result, Beetel quickly became one of the top telephone brands in India, and rotary dial telephones became obsolete in many people’s memories.
Cellular service licenses became available in India in 1992, and in 1995, Sunil acquired a cellular service license and formed Bharti Cellular Limited under the name Airtel. By 2008, Airtel was recognised as one of the top telecommunications companies in the world, providing services to millions of customers.
The telecom industry was turned upside down in 2016 by the introduction of Reliance Jio, a telecommunications company owned by Mukesh Ambani, which offered free calls and unlimited data to its users, disrupting the entire industry. Competitors such as Vodafone and Idea merged together into one company as a response, and while Airtel suffered a significant decline in both income and customer base. Airtel, however, overcame these obstacles and changed its strategies in order to compete better in the telecommunications industry. Today, it has more than 490 million customers in 17 different countries.
Sunil Mittal has a net worth of $22.5 billion and is one of the richest men in India. He owns 25 per cent of Bharti Airtel and has investments through Bharti Enterprises and other holding companies. Additionally, he holds 50 per cent of Brookfield India Real Estate Trust. His primary residence is a charming colonial-style mansion located on the ultra-exclusive Amrita Shergill Marg in Lutyens’ Delhi—one of the most prestigious residential zones in the country.
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