Think Big | Arumugam Sakthivel | TEDxKids Club CBSE School
Arumugam Sakthivel shares his entrepreneurial journey from starting with 50,000 rupees to building a 1,500+ crore business group, emphasizing the importance of 'thinking big.' He discusses overcoming an 85-lakh debt crisis, expanding into exports, and leveraging his success to drive infrastructure and social development in Tiruppur through the Tiruppur Exporters Association.
Summary
Arumugam Sakthivel, a prominent businessman and entrepreneur from Tiruppur, delivers a motivational talk centered on the philosophy of 'thinking big.' He begins by sharing his personal background as the son of an honest police officer and his decision to pursue business rather than traditional career paths. Starting with only 50,000 rupees as capital in Tiruppur, he founded Poppies, a domestic apparel business, which he grew over three years before transitioning to exports with a partner through Ashoka International (established around 1978). Within three years, they became the number one exporter in nitwear. However, a partnership dispute left him with a debt of 85 lakhs (equivalent to 85 crores in modern currency). Rather than abandoning the business, Sakthivel pledged his house to the bank and committed to repaying the debt, demonstrating his integrity and determination. He successfully cleared the debt within two and a half years by reinvesting 5% of earnings back to the bank. This experience propelled him to expand Poppies into a diversified group with multiple product lines, ancillary services, and hospitality ventures. Recognizing the need to contribute to society and support young entrepreneurs, Sakthivel became a board member of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) around 1984-1985, eventually becoming its chairman—a position he has held five times over 43 years, making him the only person in India to achieve this distinction. In 1990, alongside other exporters, he founded the Tiruppur Exporters Association and set an ambitious target of 1,000 crores in exports (from the then-current 300 crores), which was achieved within two and a half years despite widespread skepticism. Beyond business targets, Sakthivel spearheaded major infrastructure and social initiatives: developing industrial estates, establishing educational institutions like the Lifts Fashion Institute, and most notably, implementing a public-private partnership water project worth 1,000 crores that brought 24/7 water supply to industries and drinking water to surrounding villages—eliminating water scarcity in Tiruppur entirely. His group's current export volume stands at 47,000 crores. He concludes by encouraging students to think as entrepreneurs, exporters, and manufacturers rather than merely seeking placement, and offers guidance to aspiring business leaders.
Key Insights
- Sakthivel started his business career with only 50,000 rupees capital in Tiruppur and built it into a multi-crore business group, demonstrating that initial capital constraints are not barriers to significant entrepreneurial success.
- When faced with an 85-lakh debt crisis after a partnership dispute, Sakthivel voluntarily pledged his house to the bank and committed to repaying dues rather than abandoning the business or starting anew under a different name, which he credits as a turning point in his career.
- As chairman of AEPC for the fifth term over 43 years, Sakthivel claims to be the only person in India to have been elected chairman five times, indicating exceptional longevity and recognition in industry leadership.
- Sakthivel set an ambitious target of achieving 1,000 crores in Tiruppur exports (from 300 crores) which was initially mocked by the public, but the target was achieved within two and a half years, demonstrating that bold goal-setting can overcome social skepticism.
- The Tiruppur Exporters Association implemented India's first private-public partnership water project worth 1,000 crores, resulting in 24/7 water supply to industries and solving drinking water shortages in the region—a social outcome achieved through business-led infrastructure development.
Topics
Transcript
[0:03] Good morning everyone. >> Good morning sir. >> First let me she talked about uncle I have to talk about my niece. She the one vibrant positive and hardworking and dedicated girl I never across. You're all fortunate to have her as a secretary of your school. And all this happening did it goes to my this my dear students they asked me actually [0:35] I was a little hesitated to come because I'm really having a lot of traveling even today I supposed to go but I postpart because of this program my granddad requested me tata you should come for this I said yes I'll my subject I they wanted to ask they asked me what is…
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