Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Businesswoman

1953-03-23

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder of Biocon. She is known for building one of India's leading biopharmaceutical companies.

Quotes by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

I've had many failures in terms of technological... business... and even research failures. I really believe that entrepreneurship is about being able to face failure, manage failure and succeed after failing.
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I believe in never giving up, no matter what the odds. My mantra is, 'Failure is temporary. Giving up is permanent.'
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Innovation and commerce are as powerful tools for creating social progress as they are for driving technological advancement.
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We need to ask ourselves: What use is our scientific endeavor and innovation when they are inaccessible to the people who need them the most? It is only when the benefits of research reach the person on the lowest rung of the economic ladder that it can be considered to have delivered true value.
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Inherently, I have a social conscience which my late father inculcated in me. He was not exactly a very wealthy man, but he was very concerned about the underprivileged, about the people who didn't have equal opportunities.
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When I started Biocon in 1978, the obstacles I needed to navigate were manifold - ranging from infrastructural hurdles to issues related to my credibility as a business woman. With no access to venture capital, money was scarce and high-cost, debt-based capital was all I had.
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I faced a number of challenges whilst I built Biocon. Initially, I had credibility challenges where I couldn't get banks to fund me; I couldn't recruit people to work for a woman boss. Even in the businesses where I had to procure raw materials, they didn't want to deal with women.
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