 He was born to a landless farmer in a small village near Coimbatore, South India. Today he owns and operates Thyrocare, an industry leader and a brand worth over 3,000 crore rupees. He started as a mathematician and then he acquired his Ph.D. in thyroid biochemistry from BARC, Mumbai University. He worked for 14 years at the University of Mumbai. He worked for 14 years in BARC as a research scientist and a teacher and then became an administrator in business. Ladies and gentlemen, requesting all of you to put your hands together for the chairman, Thyrocare Technologies Ltd. Dr. A. Velumini. Namaskar. I think everybody was doing it when we were telling to clap very powerfully. My Namaskar is not getting responded. Namaskar! Thank you, Anurag, for being my great fan and thank you, organizers, for getting me for the first event as the first speaker. Next, whatever time available, I will be taking you through my life's journey, a true journey. Without coloring, it has got a lot of blunt truths. Don't get offended. I'm a madarasi. My English will have some accent. My Hindi will have some accent. Forgive it. Take whatever best communication it can deliver to you. And it's a power pack story and let us have an entertainment. I have become now a storyteller instead of an entrepreneur. And people ask me, that's my Twitter handle. People ask me, do you have an MBA to do business? I am born in Coimbatore. There is an MBA in it. I arrived to Mumbai. There is one more MBA in it. And I married a girl from Kumbhakonam. There is one more MBA in it. So with three MBAs, I have embarked into business. Many people give an introduction to themselves when they become a personality. I am from Harvard. I am from Stanford. I am from Kellogg. I am from a village. Villages are the true universities where only thing which you do is problem solving. Experience is not the number of years you sat in a chair. It is the number of problems you have solved in your life. Poverty is the most powerful teacher. Fortunately I was in a village. Fortunately I was poor. One day I was yelling at my daughter for not doing something in the proper way. She looked at me and she told me, dad, you had the luxury of poverty. So I want all of you to understand poverty is the ultimate luxury. I don't think any of you will send children to any of the schools like this. Please don't get offended. I am blunt and straight. We always look at how much of granite is in that school. What is the canting swad? And look at the teacher's hairstyle and put our children there. It doesn't matter which school you study. It matters how you study. So this I wanted all of you to understand. And my parents were not for education. They were thinking that But they were waiting for me to fail and fortunately I did not fail at all. By the way, you want to know why I did not fail? In the entire Taluka, all graduates had fair looking wives. I thought I will finish the graduation. I will also be entitled for that. In those days, Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu were great social contributors, postants. They gave meals in the schools, without which I might have not become a graduate and I might have not been what I am today. I wish to thank the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu then for bringing in that slate and plate together. Meals and schools together. So this is work-life balance. I was imagining how my mother was to have managed five children. These Internets had cut-paste curriculum. Five classes. One teacher. Five children, no income. And in that village, anybody wearing chapels is said to be a rich man. Anybody wearing full trousers is said to be from a rich family. Of course, in today's Pedder Road and Cadill Road, it is off-trousers which is said to be the richest. Or Obi Fahdar Aigato from a royal family. There was nothing known as a dictionary or atlas in my school or college and the college group photograph was Rs.1.75. I did not have the money so I was not allowed to stand in the group photo. What I want to tell you is success in life is delta. Delta is equal to X2 minus X1. X2 is where you are today. X1 was where you were that day. My X1 was zero. Is there anything to worry about? Absolutely because there is no downside for zero. So this is how my early childhood was. I finished a graduation. Maths, physics, chemistry. My doctorate doesn't give me anything in medical. I was a mathematics man. I became a biochemistry PhD. In 50 interviews I failed. I didn't get a job. Everywhere they ask me only one question. Do you have an experience? Which university or college do you get an experience? You only get a degree. So that time I took a decision. If I start my own company I will not employ an experienced man. I will only take freshers. Today I have 1000 employees. For all 1000 I am the first employer. This is the philosophy number one in which I have built the organization. By any chance, all mistakes are done by HR. By any chance if they didn't ask for experience they will ask, can you elaborate about yourself? Gadi, you are testing my English. English is a language. English is not knowledge. Plenty of people get carried away and employ English speaking. Sorry for that because I am a little more emotional towards that because I didn't get a job. In my organization freshers are taken inside. They don't know English we have taken inside because people who know English will immediately resign and go to somebody else. People who do not know English will not go out. So finally I got a job and this is not salary since sterling pounds per hour. It was IR per month. And 4 years 25 rupees each increment. I was thinking if I get 1000 rupees salary I will get married. Fortunately the company was closed down otherwise I might have remained unmarried even today. So then you need to leave Coimbatore. Leaving Coimbatore was very difficult. Soil and culture of every state is very unique. Parents and siblings I never thought I will leave and move out. Every man's poor man's life is in a ration card. Every rich man's life is in a credit card. Then movies of Rajnikanth, dances of Kamala Ghazan, songs of Ilaia Raja was not easy to forget. Finally I sat in the Jainthi Janta Express all alone from Coimbatore to Mumbai. 36 hours I traveled in which 30 hours I might have cried. Finally I landed in VT Railway Station 18-19-20 of August 1982 and I slept in the VT Railway Station because I didn't have anything to check in anywhere or to get into any solution. Thinrath VT Railway platforme soya tha. Success in life is delta. Delta is equal to X2 minus X1. My X1 was VT Railway platform. That's very important that these things have contributed for me to take decisions and be fearless. So I got a job. Baba Atomic Research Centre, prestigious job. I became a gadget officer. I was asked in an interview, where is thyroid? I said I was a mathematics student. I was thinking thyroid must be somewhere here. I didn't answer but because I answered some other questions I got a job. Mind you in 1982 I did not know where is thyroid. In 1992 I have become a PhD in thyroid biochemistry and in 2002 I am running world's largest thyroid testing laboratory. If you do what you have studied you will survive. If you do what you have studied you will survive and if you do what you have not studied you will be the leader. So I became a gadget officer. My wife was a bank officer. She was working in State Bank of India and Comfort Jones had set in. I was 37 and my son was 7. My daughter was 5 and that was the picture perfect. I think this is the dream everybody dreams. Good wife to children. Government job. Perfect. But comfort Jones means danger Jones in life. I asked myself whether I could survive or not. If I could live then I would have lived in Kaimuthu. If I came to Mumbai then I would have won. Whether I have to grow up or be an old man. I am an old man. I am in a hurry. If I have to grow up then I have to take a risk. I was a restless man. On this earth only two kinds of people. One is a restless one. Another is a KPM. The restless one does something, enjoys life. The other one is KPM. Want to know what is KPM? Kaya, Pia, Murgaya. Hair versus Hillock. This is a tumble proverb. Put a knot in it. Put it on top of the mountain. Kicho, Aaya toh pahad. Gaya toh baal. Two lakh rupees was my provident friend. Two lakh rupees was my provident friend. Baal tha. Today I have got half a billion dollar market cap in the national stock exchange company. Pahad, Aaya gaya hai. I want all of you to understand risk taking is very important. Today's title is romance with risk. Romance with risk. Please don't interchange the words. The next is what I will lose. My X1 was zero. Konik liye toh kuch leke toh nahi aaya. That was the decision making. Not that I'm a BJP follower nor Modi's fan but but here the story is these three children were challenged. Physically handicapped. The challenged got gold. The blessed only got silver. In life if you are challenged you may probably do bigger jobs and in my life I was a challenged one. You want to know how? I was demonetized at birth. Poverty means demonetized at birth. So I'm the most powerful man. In life either you can discuss or you can decide you can't do both. If you discuss you can't decide. In fact there is nothing known as a good decision. There is a decision and make it good. And there is nothing known as a good job. There is a job and make it good. And there is nothing known as a good spouse. So in 1982 I left my home without discussing with my father. I just showed him the ticket and they left. In 1986 I got married without discussing with my mother. I'm sure some of you are laughing because it must be a love marriage. Actually my father in law loved me. Whoever has a marriageable daughter has to love a boy. And he loved me and he was persuading me. I thought I will have a look at the girl and if she is good I will go ahead and the girl was not at all impressive. I thought I will come back and sit so that my father in law will not chase me again. But father in laws don't have ego at all. Till marriage. He came to me again five, six times. I thought I should not tell him at his face that it is not working. I must tell the girl, disgrace the girl so much the girl tells the father I don't like the boy. So I asked him can I talk to her for one hour? He allowed. One hour is sixty minutes. Fifty five minutes I only talked. And five minutes absolute silence. I decided I must marry her. Then I resigned my government job without discussing with my wife. Because if you discuss with your wife your father in law will be very next day at your home. I went to the office. I had two lakh rupees in my savings bank account. My monthly expenditure for my children was family was three thousand rupees. So I had sixty months reserve. I looked at my right side. There was a colleague who had three bedroom hall kitchen but twenty years EMI. Left side another guy who is two bedroom hall kitchen twenty years EMI. I am free. Took a decision within twenty minutes, resigned my job and went home. I didn't discuss about it with my wife during dinner. In the night two o'clock I was not sleeping and she asked me, are you not sleeping? I told her I have resigned. Until that time she was horizontal then she became vertical. Then I was waiting for her response and after one minute I looked at her. She said, if you don't go, I won't go. And the bank salary only I took a decision and came home. At two o'clock in the night if you don't go, I won't go. Until that time I was horizontal then I also became vertical. And I told her we will live together and die together. Both of us left jobs, safe jobs overnight and plunged into business romancing with risk. Today I am very powerful. That decision making was very important. I am not asking any of you to resign from Anurag Badra and go and do some other work. I have only said my story. Then everybody was doing thyroid test at 500 rupees. I decided to do at 100 rupees. I take a decision once and then I don't listen. And everybody is doing a cancer diagnostic test and everybody is using PET CT as a technology. I have decided to do at only 10,000. Five decisions I have taken and five zeros I have added to my net worth. And if you don't take decisions you can't add zeros. And if zeros are not added probably you have not taken decisions. I am sure all of you must be thinking all of you must be thinking I copied him. My photograph was March 2016 from Salt Lake City, US This gentleman comes up with his movie in July 2016. Tell me who must have copied whom. The objective here is I have focused on a 15 gram gland out of 100 kilogram body and I sensed a 1000 crore. This was my first overhead projector base. Education to my employees. When I crossed 1000 crore I felt I really had a vision and this becomes the most powerful slide which says focus. I have focused so much on thyroid. Thyroid now sounds like android. I have focused so much on thyroid I have built a brand around the gland. Thyroid is the most powerful gland also. So I have done disruptions. What disruptions I have done? Lowest cost. You know when BSNL was there then Eretel came then GEO comes. Is that clear? The first man in thyroid directly did the GEO. I had 2 lakh crores. I only had 2 lakh rupees. And it has become the most powerful disruption. I did that. Second one is a franchise concept. Employing people and do the work on your behalf give 60 percent to them. Keep 40 percent. He was very shocked. Sir, I keep 60 and I give you 40. If you have given to people they will run for their profits. I have done transportation business using air cargo. I have done using technology and I have done a McDonald's. What is McDonald's? They don't do masala dosa. They don't do Chinese fried rice. They only do burgers. I don't do pathology. I don't do microbiology. I only do biochemistry. Every pathologist does biochemistry also. I do only biochemistry. Every bank gives housing loan also. HDFC gives only housing loan. I have my ability to see and I have disrupted the market. I have done a OLA. Before OLA came into the country before OLA came into picture taxis were standing for 20 hours running for 4 hours then taxis are running 24 hours. Until I came into picture thyroid testing was running for 2 hours standing for 22 hours. Today they are running 24-7. This is the disruption which I had brought in. This is the business. One laboratory connected hubs, 40 cities are connected to Mumbai directly by flight. Each hub is connected with 30 franchises, 1200 franchises. Each franchise is with 30 laboratories. Each laboratory with 10 doctors and this is the business. I think I will explain you what is that focus. Ultimately focus. There is a song of Kamala Hassan which says If you see a stone then God will not see it. If you see a stone then God will not see it. If you see a stone then God will not see this opportunity. You will not see the competition. If you have seen the competition you will not see the opportunity. I felt I must differentiate myself so much that I don't have a competition. Others do pathology I do biochemistry. Others do subjective reporting I do numerical reporting Others are focused on diseases. I am focused on disorders. If you are confused and disorders are equity and debt. Very different market. others patients are once patient, my patients are once for all patients, others are looking after infection, I am looking after metabolism, their patients are in clinic and office, my patients are at home and, sorry, mine are at home and office, they are at the clinic and hospital, their patients are horizontal, my patients are vertical and walking. There is no competition at all. Very unique way of staring the business to your own comfort zone. So night story, 50,000 tests, 50,000 patients a night, 250,000 tests a night, every night same night, before midnight and only in night. Since time is less, I am skipping some of the, this is eating my sum type. Oh, poor a suspense school girl. This is having some problem gentlemen, somebody can operate from there, go back, yeah. We are present in 1000 cities, 1200 franchises, 5000 families are living, 1000 staff are there, 98% are freshers, mean age of the employees is 24 and my mean age of my company is 22 years old. And in the entire world, India is cheapest in healthcare, in entire India I am cheapest in healthcare. And my balance sheet has 40% of EBITDA, which no one can digest. I want all of you to understand, take least from the customer and make best balance sheet, you are the most powerful CEO. So this is how I started 200 square feet rented garage in 1996, today I won 400,000 square feet, two such buildings nearby in Navi Mumbai, additional 15 acres of land in Navi Mumbai, all and only because everybody took 500 rupees, I only took 100 rupees. This is the very different way of doing business and that makes the story. These are my own punchlines, you can copy and you can use it, there is no copyright. Take less to get more, if you take more you get less. In my industry it works, please don't tell me every industry it will work, it worked in my industry. Don't copy the neighbor, resist temptation. There are only two kinds of people, one who is successful, other could not resist temptation. Plan to lose. You want to make a billion, you have to lose a million. And if you are not prepared to lose a million, you will not make a billion because business is a hockey stick, it is not a straight line, you must all love it to go down. Stamina is ultimate. With what I came to Mumbai, not money, stamina. In Mumbai, people with money cannot make money, people with stamina can make tons of money. Stamina is the most important. Avoid easy things. In life you have only two options, what is easy to do is not right to do, what is right to do is not easy to do, I don't know what you will do. In fact, you want to know what you want to do, you must call ten people who love you the most, tell them what you want to do. If all of them tell, don't do it, please do it. Be alone, be a lion. This is the picture, Sivaji Dabas in which he says, lines come alone, pigs come together, and being alone is the most powerful statement. Jitao, jo jitata hai, saayat haar sakta hai, jo jitata hai, saayat haar sakta hai, jo jitata hai, wo kabhi haar sakta hai, to jitana bohot important hai. Next one, gentlemen, right. What's my name? Velu Mani. My father cannot be an illiterate man, right? He has understood value of money and I have put me as there. I like this photograph because this man uses the stick when he walks in a different way, when he drives a cycle in a different way, the most powerful way of driving life. Here you see the numbers which I have written is my net worth. Every six years I have added a zero. I am only 58. Warren Buffet is 88. You can imagine how many zeros are more possible. Next one, please. So, business means focus first. Get it done. Jo kaam karata hai, wo budda hota hai, jo kaam karata hai, wo bada hota hai. Romance with risk. Learn storytelling. Very important is storytelling. You want to know what is storytelling? Buy your banner. Betro. Focus on IT, HR, logistics, without which nothing works. Use technology. Be frugal. Work on stamina. Perfect discipline. Maintain T, T, T, trust, truth and transparency. So, I think some punchlines. Again, I am having some more time. Just another. Create jobs, not just money. Many people start working for creating money and they stop after five crores and ten crores. They don't create great organizations, so create jobs. Work for value, not for profits. Invest more and spend less. People very often don't know whether they're investing or spending. Neighbor is the biggest enemy. Narendra Modi b. Neighbor is the biggest enemy. EMI gives all stress. Please get out of your EMI. Not easy, but then I don't have an EMI. I never had an EMI personally, nor my company ever had an EMI. Today, if there is 100 crore, it is with the bank, not the bank's money with me. Act poor. It's very simple to live if you have an ability to act poor. Love, nature, not gadgets. Love, music, and not food. Burn calories, not salaries. My own punchline. Unfortunately, nowadays I find people are burning their salaries to burn the calories. Gems. Petrol and diabetes has an unfortunate correlation. A number of gallons of petrol sold in a country, a number of diabetes in that country, it is a straight line. A number of cars on the road, a number of heart attacks in the hospital, it is a straight line. And four words I want you people to focus. I mean, to remember, focus, learn, grow, and enjoy. Please don't change the order, because enjoy is very tempting. So this is for parents. This I tell because many people ask me, how are you so successful? I tell them I am very successful because my parents did not do anything for me. There is a song of MGR which says, by default, all children are creators at birth. If they become consumers, it is because of the parents and grandparents. What my parents did not do for me, they didn't pamper me, they parented me. They didn't overfeed me, they underfed me. They didn't coach me, they allowed me to think. They didn't work on my megabytes, they helped me to improve my megahertz. Ugly habits of parents. The problem I faced, my child should not come. Idiots. Problems came, so he won. He will not face any problem, so he will not win. Mind you, life has two innings, 70 years, 35 is first innings, rest is second innings. Your first innings is all pains, second innings will be all pleasures. Your first innings is all pleasures, you will be called king of good times. My parents did not give me fear, they gave me confidence. My parents did not ask me to see the world through their eyes, they saw the world through my eyes. This slide of mine is a tribute to my parents who made me a great man, and I want all of you to remember if you are not doing right, please know that you are not doing right. And if you can correct, please correct, it makes a great children if you understand this. Next one, please. So this last but one slide. This is about valuations. I became a hero only subsequently. Cooling in one corner, one company, counting all my profits and enjoying my life, and suddenly some investors, I gave advertisement for getting more turnover, and instead of more patience, I got more investors. Then investors wanted my stock, they came to me. I did not know what is the value of my company. I thought it may be worth 200 crore, I told them 400 crore. They were about to sip the coffee, they kept it and they went away. Exactly after two quarters, they again came. I had a courage to tell 500 crores. They asked me, six months back you were 400, two quarters went away, they went away. This time, before the coffee came, they went out. They again came. Before telling the coffee, I told 600 crore. Why should I waste coffee every time? Mind you, there is no multiple of top line, bottom line, nothing. Salman Khan. At 600 crore, they agreed to do a 25% deal and I diluted 25%. Then somebody comes after 15 more months. I thought if 100, 100 increase, all guys will purchase it. Let me increase 200, 200. Then I realized these guys are crazy, they might bite at any cost. Let me not lose it. My mind said, tell 1000 crore. They said, we can close it. I went 12, 10. So 35% was diluted and 65% and I came for an IPO last year, March. At 1800 crore, I wanted to go through. But all investors wanted at 2400 and I came to an IPO at 2400 crore valuation. Mind you, last May, the IPO hit the stock market. 75 times it oversubscribed. First time after 10 years stock market, one mother as his company got 75 times oversubscribed. So it got listed at 3300. Today it is 3700. Mind you, at the day when the subscription was over, we were celebrating. I received a lawyer notice in my mobile and I read it. I am the accused number one, all directors, all lead managers, even SEBI and the National Stock Exchange, the accusation is when I came to submit my bid, your computer was hanging. Computer hanging, I got the lawyer notice. I thought it must be a joke. I slept, relaxed. Third day I got summons from Bombay High Court. If you don't appear, your IPO will be staked. 8 lakh applicants, 30,000 crore has come in. If it is staked, it is all gone. I went to the Bombay High Court and I stood in front of the judge. The judge asked me a question. Do you have objection in taking this money? What is the judge asking? Do you have objection in taking this money? I said no, and the judge passes an order, please accept the money. Have you ever seen court passing an order to accept the money? Now if I don't accept, it is a contempt of the court. I accepted the money, the amount was 350 crores and the client was Kotak Mahendra Bank. He gives whatever God gives. He doesn't give even a slap. He gives even a high court. I want to thank the business world team. I was quite surprised, sweetly surprised in the December month when they have published, Dr. Velumani is 149th richest man in this country. Thank you for that if your research has really given me that position I must tell you with 500 rupees in my pocket I traveled to Mumbai and today I have great organization and a great market cap. It's all because I took risks. I want all of you to understand you need to risk to achieve things otherwise it is known as KPM. Kaya Pia, Mar Gaya. This is my last slide. So this five second silence is for my wife. She's no more. I last her just 50 days before the IPO. She came to submit all the papers in SEBI but she had only five month time by the pancreatic cancer which killed even Steve Jobs. Just I couldn't do anything even if they had asked me to give a 1000 crore or 2000 crore I might have given but then it looks like life cannot be purchased, bargained and she vanished. I must tell you that Chai Rukkar is a brilliant child. She was with the sperms and she was the true mother and if we were the co-pilots for this great journey I went to the toilet for a few minutes when I came back the cockpit was empty and if I had to tell it little more emotionally we were climbing Everest. My hand was only 500 more meters were left out. My hand was holding a rock. She was holding my hand and she gave it up. That's the tragedy for me. I really enjoyed putting all these pieces together. I said it will have humor, it will have everything. Finally it has these emotions also and I want you people to appreciate this great lady for her power of making me as the powerful man in this industry. That's the true applause. That's the true applause. Thank you very much. Thank you Anurad. Thank you the applause team. I have really enjoyed. I want all of you to sit down because I don't want to start a day with a story which ended with some kind of this. It is essential for us to get into your emotional but in 100 seconds you will be back, promise. In 100 seconds you will be back. One day my son was... I mean he was not doing well in 12th standard final exam was to come. I told him, me, my wife, my son, my daughter in the table and they tell my son, my grandfather was very rich. He was so rich, so rich because of him my father became rich. My father was so rich, so rich because of him I became rich. Now I am so rich, so rich that I am worried about you. He only spent a minute. Then he said, Daddy, I am extremely happy. Why? My son will be very rich. I enjoyed and I wish that day we will have a great... even deliberations to enjoy. I am going to be around for pretty long hours. We will enjoy together. Thank you once again, applause family. Yes, yes. Thank you, thank you. That was such an amazing presentation. Thank you. Mr. Sabbaz Joseph, I know you don't like to be felicitated, but I would trouble you to please come up on stage and definitely felicitate this powerhouse. And if you talk about lying about ages, if I may just say a second thing, you know, it used to be a lot earlier, lying about your age on your birth certificate and all. I think this is a prime example of how I was born. So you said you're 58 or something. I think that's the energy of an 18-year-old. Let's hear it once again, please, for the doctor. That was really entertaining. Thank you. And thank you so much, Mr. Joseph. I'm pretty sure OML is sending its representatives through the rain just to sign this guy. He's really funny. Did you guys enjoy that? Come on, did you guys enjoy that? I could hear that. I think it's really funny. Come on, did you guys enjoy that? Come on, did you guys enjoy that? I could hear you backstage. I mean, that was really, really entertaining. And, you know, when you hear that the owner of a 3,000-crore business is going to come and talk, you have some preconceived notions, but I think he's destroyed all of them. Amazing, sir. That was really amazing. Thank you.