They all graduated from BITS Pilani as did Maharashtra Chief Prithviraj Chavan, founder of SQL Star International Ltd Ashok Kumar Agarwal and filmmaker Mani Shankar.
A new book, "BITS of Success: Inspiring Stories of BITS Pilani Alumni," by the institute's alumni Harsh Bhargava, Kinnera Murthy and Anu Khendry takes the reader through the journeys of 50 individuals who realised their dreams through perseverance and determination, be it as entrepreneurs, technologists, scientists, teachers or artists.
Creators of Hotmail Sabeer Bhatia, FoodKing Saratbabu Elumalai, MapmyIndia Rakesh Verma, Onida Gulu Mirchandani and Buddh International Circuit Manoj Gaur, to name a few, were all driven by the passion to realise their dreams.
Elumalai, who as a boy helped his mother sell idlis on the streets of Chennai, is, today, living his dream of attempting to make India hunger-free. His desire to tackle his two major concerns - empty stomachs and jobless youth in the country - led him to set up a successful food chain which now provides food and employment to lakhs of people across India.
According to Elumalai, "Entrepreneurship is like a Japanese bamboo tree. In the first six years, it grows only six inches and then in six months, it shoots up to 90 feet."