The Innovator
Mr. Anil Jain came from a simple background and his father being a teacher by profession was having difficulties in paying fees for his college and for his brother’s and sister’s education as well. This was the time when the first acumen for a business started. He realized that the fellow students were more afraid of paying the exam fees than failing in the exam which was just 45 rupees back and seeing that he started an Insurance Scheme that if a student comes an hour post the exam time and gives him a premium of 20 rupees the entire exam fees will be paid by him if the student fails and in case the student passes the 20 rupees stays with Mr. Jain. The idea flourished and not only helped him pay the college fees but also helped him buy a motor-cycle by the end of his first year which was very expensive back then.
Mr. Anil Jain joined Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in 1977 and worked in Marketing and Sales Division, Project Management and Marketing and Planning departments at its headquarters in Delhi. In 1983, he joined Voltas Limited at Mumbai in Project Engineering division, responsible for special projects. In 1986, Mr. Anil Jain switched over to Prestige HM-Poly Containers Limited at Mumbai and became responsible for operations of the company. He left Prestige in 1991 in dismay with few company rules. An unexpected event took place later as 19 of his colleagues handed their resignations without any propagation or provocation just after his departure from the company.
And this burden of providing for 20 families was responsible for landing him into the polymer container business as overnight his residence in Magnum Tower, Lokhandwala, Andheri became a makeshift office. With only 9 lakhs in his account he marched ahead bravely and fortunately for him the loans were easily granted to set up an industrial shed, install machineries and meet agreements with a foreign partner as well. The orders came without any hassles and Time Technoplast Limited became a leading polymer product company in India.
Mr. Anil Jain is one of the most influential personalities in the plastic industry and is an inspiration for young entrepreneurs. He had shared a message for young turds in the ‘Make it Big’ show which was “It is better to be a sailor in a ship than be a captain in a lake” for starting a business, the canvas has to be big to paint on.