- Born in the coastal village of Moolaipozhi in Tamil Nadu, Shiv Nadar began working at the age of 22 and secured a job as an engineer in the Delhi Cloth Mills’ calculator division. However, he had different aspirations. 🤔
- Despite working 10 hours daily, Shiv realized this routine was not for him and desired to start his own venture. He left his job along with six colleagues and founded Microcomp to sell tele-digital calculators. Although the business was profitable, Shiv had bigger plans. 👇
- In 1976, with India lacking computers and IBM exiting the country due to a government mandate requiring 60% local equity, Shiv invested Rs 187,000 to start a computer company. On August 11, 1976, Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) was established. 🚀
- In 1978, Shiv developed the first HCL 8C computer using the Rockwell PP 8 microprocessor. The company acquired manufacturing land and an additional 20 lakhs from the UP government for a 26% stake. The HCL 8C became India’s first computer, following Apple and IBM. 💪
- Priced Rs 200,000 lower than IBM’s 1401, the HCL 8C targeted the IT needs of mid-sized firms. Identifying a similar opportunity in Singapore, Shiv founded Far East Computers in 1980. In its first year, it achieved 10 lakh in revenue and was valued at 3 crore. 💰
- By 1983, HCL had started manufacturing 16 in-house microprocessors and developed its own relational database management system and client-server architecture. Then came a significant announcement. 📢
- In 1984, the government allowed the import of computer parts. Within three weeks, HCL developed its personal computer, BusyBee. Built on the highly-demanded UNIX, BusyBee became a huge success in just two years, allowing HCL to enter the challenging US market in 1989. However, things did not go as planned. 👇
- BusyBee failed to get environmental clearances. Realizing the need for a strong partner to scale globally, Shiv partnered with American IT giant Hewlett Packard in 1991. This collaboration proved to be transformative. 🪄
- By 2001, HCL had become India’s leading desktop company and made history with its IPO, which was oversubscribed 27 times, receiving bids worth 20,000 crore. Shiv did not lay off any employees during the 2008 global crisis and scaled the company to 12,565 crore in revenue and 2,072 crore in profits by 2010. 📉
- HCL continued to grow, expanding its operations to 44 countries. In 2018, 69% of its 60,427 crore revenue came from software businesses, with 92.6% of revenue from America and Europe, demonstrating India’s capability to build software for the world. 🌍
- Today, HCL’s revenue stands at 109,913 crore with a profit of 15,702 crore. The company employs 227,481 people across 60 countries, and its current valuation is 411,172 crore. 💪
➡️ Shiv Nadar continues to support 15,000 underprivileged students through his seven educational institutes. He is a billionaire with a golden heart. 🙏