#StartupStories Bollant Industries: How a Blind Man Set up | Idea factory
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Bollant Industries: How a Blind Man Set up a Corporation to Help the Disabled
Srikanth Bolla is an Indian entrepreneur and the first international blind student in Management Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He founded Bollant Industries to employ physically challenged people and purify the environment.
Not only has the company created important social impact, but also brought around $15 million of annual revenue. This is a fantastic story that actually happened to the Indian dreamer.
Childhood & Studentship
Bolla was born visually impaired in Andhra Pradesh in 1992. His family was destitute and mainly dependent on agriculture. At the age of 12, Bolla wanted to study science was not allowed to do it. After receiving a permission, the boy became the best in his class.
Because of his blindness, Bolla was refused to enter the Indian Institute of Technology, where he wanted to study engineering. But the guy didn’t give up and enter the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, becoming one-of-a-kind.
Career
In 2011, Bolla launched a Braille printing machine providing educational, professional, financial, and rehabilitation services to students with multiple disabilities. Its aim was to ensure them economically independent life.
In 2012, the entrepreneur founded Bollant Industries for making areca-based products and providing disabled people with working places. The company solves a complex of problems, from employment and economy to ecology and social impact.
It produces environmentally friendly recycled kraft paper from household waste or contaminated paper, as well as disposable products from recycled paper. Bollant Industries also recycles plastic waste into usable products.
The eco-startup has displayed exceptional growth, averaging 20% per month since its launch, and reached the worth of £42 million.
Soon, Bolla became the director of the Surge Impact Foundation established in 2016. The organization aims to help individuals and institutions in India to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
In April 2017, Bolla was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the Asian billionaires under 30, being one of the three Indians there.
Achievements
Bolla became the Entrepreneur of the 2015 Year according to NDTV and received Emerging Leadership Award from ECLIF Malaysia. In 2018, he won the main prize in the field of small and medium-sized businesses in the view of Young Change Maker Award. On top of that, Bolla took the second place at the Indian scientific congress.
What do you think helped Bolla succeed? Do you believe success is achievable for everyone? Comment below
