RG Chandramogan, the chairman of Hatsun Agro Product, began as a college dropout selling ice cream from pushcarts to a business tycoon owning India’s largest private dairy companies.
Some people are born into a pool of hardships but they strive hard continuously, consequently, their life takes a leap of faith and turns them into a billionaire.
One such inspiring story which reinforces our belief in determination, hard work and persistence is that of 74-year-old RG Chandramogan, the chairman of Hatsun Agro Product, who began as a college dropout selling ice cream from pushcarts to a business tycoon owning India’s largest private dairy companies.
The Chennai-based business tycoon Chandramogan has been referred to as a human-computer by some for his knowledge of numbers, in terms of sales. However, it was failing in the maths exam that compelled him to leave education and enter the world of business at merely 21 years of age.
While his father managed a small provision shop, Chandramogan began his career working at a timber depot for a Rs 65 salary. Next year in 1970, he chose to quit the job and start an ice cream business with just three workers out of a 250 sq ft room. He invested just Rs 13,000, which came from selling family property. His ice cream was sold on 15 pushcarts.
While his company grappled to survive in the early months, it earned over Rs 1.5 lakh in the first year itself, giving Chandramogan the push to continue.
In 1981, still owning a small business, Chandramogan reached a momentous stage after acknowledging a gap in the service of ice creams to smaller towns. Tapping the market ignored by bigger brands, Chandramogan established his ‘Arun’ ice cream brand as a market giant in Tamil Nadu. In 1986, he changed his brand’s name to the present Hatsun Agro Product.
Currently, as one of India’s largest private dairy companies, Hatsun procures milk from over 4 lakh farmers in 10,000 villages daily. From humble beginnings, Hatsun Agro Product today earns a revenue of Rs 20,000 crore. While Chandramogan’s net worth has reached over Rs 13,000 crore ($1.7 billion), as per Forbes rich list. His company’s dairy products are sold in 42 countries. While Chandramogan’s son C Sathyan serves as the company’s Managing Director.
Thus, from starting from nowhere to becoming India’s largest private dairy companies, Chandramogan has proved that the only pre-requisite to success is persistence, passion and dedication.
