The Can-Do Spirit

The Forbes India fourth anniversary edition is a tribute to all those who’ve pursued the entrepreneurial dream and emerged stronger, wiser and wealthier. Sixteen high-performance entrepreneurs from across business sectors share their make-or-break moments—which Intel founder Andy Grove called “an event that changes the way we think and act”—with us.

16 frontline entrepreneurs open up on their make-or-break moments.


1. Onkar Kanwar: I was a novice in the business and that was to be my biggest advantage

2. Alok Kejriwal: I was being called a broker when I was the innovator and pioneer  

3. David Nash: If you're ill, don't wait for the 'doctors'; do something about it yourself

4. Harsh Mariwala: Ours is the story of a small Indian FMCG player globalising  

5. Rashesh Shah: Every setback is an opportunity to recalibrate

6. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Instead of having bad blood with a good company,I decided to part amicably

7. John Bird: I hadn't given up and I didn't feel sorry for myself 

8. Amish Tripathi: I have enough story ideas to keep myself busy for the next twenty years

9. Anand Deshpande: My employees asked me, was it my company or our company? 

10. Chetan Maini: The 'chalta hai' attitude doesn't work with me

11. Naveen Tewari: We want to change the world of advertising

12. Harish Thawani: My company's motto - Find a way to do things faster & better

13. Sujata Keshavan: We believe the Taj Mahal is beautiful because we are taught so  

14. GV Prasad: You can never have a company totally dependent on one person

15. VC Sehgal: We entrepreneurs are a bit insecure, that's why we control

16. Inderpreet Wadhwa: It was like driving a train even as the tracks were being laid