Industrialist and founder chairman of Bollant Industries, Srikanth Bolla, is set to make waves on Shark Tank India. With a legacy built on resilience and visionary leadership, he joins the panel as a ‘shark’ ready to challenge and inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs. His journey from overcoming personal hurdles to pioneering industry success promises to captivate viewers and ignite fresh entrepreneurial spirit.
In a preview of the upcoming episode, Srikanth Bolla was seen sitting alongside the judges.
Srikanth Bolla shared images from the show's set and wrote, “'To survive a pool of sharks, you need to become one yourself.' So yes, I got an opportunity to become a shark on Shark Tank India.”
“To be honest, entrepreneurship in India has taken a very heartwarming boost because of Shark Tank. People at the show seemed poised to solve some age-old problems and some modern issues in the society while being a visionary,” he said.
“I will just say one thing to all my fellow citizens: Don't just think your idea, act on it, or someone else will! Thank you for having me, Shark Tank India - This is just the beginning!” he added.
Who is Srikanth Bolla
Srikanth Bolla, CEO, co-founder and Chairman of Bollant Industries Private Limited, is a visually impaired entrepreneur and philanthropist who has featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. He was the first international blind student admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, according to Bolla's website.
His company, Bollant, has clocked an annual turnover of over $150 million and currently employs over 500 people.
Bolla walked miles to reach his school, which he enrolled in at the age of six, and went on to be among the top scorers of the state of Andhra Pradesh in the matriculation examinations. He fought legal battles with the state government when he wanted to study with the Science stream after 10th, despite government rules prohibiting blind students from enrolling in that stream.
After scoring 98 percent in class 12, Bolla was denied admission by multiple Indian engineering colleges, including IITs, which claimed they were not capable enough to manage the studies of a visually challenged person. Undeterred, he applied to several international colleges, including Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon, and finally chose to enroll at MIT.
After completing his studies at MIT and returning from the US in 2005, Bolla became a Youth Leader in the Lead India Program to combat poverty and unemployment, training over eight lakh youth in leadership, human values, and employability skills.
He also designed and implemented a Braille library in Hyderabad using grants from MIT’s Legatum Centre, co-founded Samanvai Centre for Children with Multiple Disabilities in Hyderabad in 2011, and in 2012, started Bollant Industries with a capital of just $19,000.
Since its incorporation in 2012, the company has grown at a steady rate of 20 percent per month, with a compound annual growth rate of 107 percent from 2015 to 2019.
In another social media post commending Shaadi.com Founder Anupam Mittal, Bolla said, “One of the privileges of being on Shark Tank is the invigorating presence of Anupam Mittal. His appreciation of our efforts at Bollant means a lot to me personally as I found him as a man of profound knowledge in building businesses successfully. It is so easy to communicate with him as he understands,” he added.