"Seeing your own production being aired is a great kick and the fact that most of them

figure among the top ten TRP rating makes me feel wonderful."
- Ekta Kapoor, Creative Director, Balaji Telefilms
"My vision is to grow into a global bio therapeutics company with very innovative and
proprietary products and technologies."
- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CEO, Biocon
"I do not sell products. I sell an entire civilization in a jar."
- Shahnaz Husain
"Our objective is to maximize employment opportunities for women through activities
connected with village industries, while, at the same time, not sacrificing basic business
principles and quality consciousness. We are a full-fledged commercial, self-reliant
organization and not a charitable society. Any such benefits that occur are incidental to our
business."
- Vimalben M Pawale, Ex President, Sri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad (SMGULP)
Introduction
A large number of women around the world have set up and managed their own businesses.
It was not easy for these women to succeed in business. They had to face a lot of difficulties
and overcome a number of barriers to become successful in their ventures. They had to deal
with discrimination and withstand the skepticism of society, and also put in more effort than
men to prove their credibility to others.
The entrepreneurial style adopted by women was different from
that of men. Studies have revealed that women focus more on
intuition and relationships for running businesses, while men
emphasize logic and efficiency. The ability that women have to
look beyond the obvious and identify hidden opportunities
sometimes helped them gain an edge over men.

The entrepreneurial style of some of the successful women

entrepreneurs of India are featured in this case All the women
featured in this case came from different backgrounds and
worked in different fields. Ekta Kapoor, the daughter of a
successful film star, started her television software business at
the age of 19 and became immensely successful by the time she
was in her early 20s. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw had no educational
qualifications for running a business.

Introduction Contd...
She did not even have an active interest in setting up a business. A chance meeting with
the CEO of Biocon International, however, changed her career plans forever. She became
India's first lady biotechnology entrepreneur. Shahnaz Husain came from a royal family of
conservative Muslims. Her business intention was to draw the attention of the world towards
the natural system of ayurveda, which she managed to do successfully. The women of Shri
Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad inculcated a spirit of entrepreneurship among semi literate
women. These women were able to overcome social and educational constraints to establish
an extremely successful business model. By so doing, they set an example for other
women.
 Successful Women Entrepreneurs
Ekta Kapoor
Ekta Kapoor was said to be the face and brain of Balaji Telefilms
Limited (BTL)1, and was almost solely responsible for the
phenomenal success of most of BTL's serials. According to Ekta,
her childhood was "materially easy but emotionally difficult." As
a child she was extremely obese and suffered from low self
esteem.

She was a poor student and was happy to get by with the
minimum pass marks. Even as a child she was an avid television
watcher and spent most of her free time glued to the TV. She
felt guilty about letting her parents down, but was unable to do
anything about it.
The turning point in Ekta Kapoor's life came in the early 1990s when a non resident Indian,
Ketan Somayya, approached her father and requested him to make some software for the
channel he wanted to start. Ekta's father asked her to take up the responsibility of making
the software. Consequently, Ekta Kapoor made six pilots, of about three episodes each, at a
cost of about Rs 0.5 million. The proposed channel, however, did not fare well and had to be
sold to Zee TV.2 Not wanting to waste her efforts, Ekta Kapoor started looking for other 
buyers for her pilots.