From old roots to new results: Pioneers making impact

Across industries, a new generation of leaders is turning experience, innovation and bold ideas into businesses with lasting impact. From modernising family legacies to solving everyday consumer problems, these entrepreneurs are challenging conventional thinking and building organisations around trust, technology, quality and purpose. Together, their stories reflect the evolving face of Indian entrepreneurship.Pradeep Kumar Singh and Kulshreshtha Vardhan: Reimagining a 45-Year legacy with Natural QFor Pradeep Kumar Singh and his son Kulshreshtha Vardhan, entrepreneurship represents a powerful dialogue between experience and innovation. After building Sagun Udyog from a cold storage business founded in 1981 into an enterprise supporting more than 1,200 farmers, the father-son duo embarked on a new chapter with NaturalQ. While Pradeep brought four decades of entrepreneurial wisdom, resilience and relationships, Kulshreshtha introduced technical expertise and a modern vision for FMCG. Together, they built an automated packaged drinking water facility with an annual capacity exceeding 300 million bottles. Their leadership reflects a belief that legacy is not preserved by standing still, it is strengthened by giving the next generation the freedom to build upon it.Prashant and Nishant Unnikrishnan: Building trust in homestay travelAs India’s homestay sector grows, trust remains its biggest challenge. Recognising this, Founder and CEO Prashant Unnikrishnan and Co-Founder Nishant Unnikrishnan launched HomestaysBnBto create a safer, verification-first booking platform. Built around stringent KYC, property verification, live photo checks, and a proprietary Trust Score system, the platform prioritises transparency over volume. Beyond bookings, it connects hosts, property managers, tour guides, and other local service providers through a unified ecosystem. As HomestaysBnB expands across India and beyond, the founders aim to redefine homestay travel by making trust the foundation of every stay.Shubh Jain: Helping entrepreneurs do more with AIShubh Jain, Founder and CEO of UnfAIr Advantage, came into AI through marketing. Years of working with businesses taught him how customers, sales and growth really work, and also showed him how often founders depend on teams to execute. Jain believes AI can change that equation. Today, he works with over 100 private clientsHis academy has also crossed 150,000 registered students. His focus is simple: help people become “AI Allrounders” who can think, execute and grow with far greater speed.Veluri Sai Ram: Taking Shanmukha Caterers Pvt. Ltd. from family legacy to modern hospitalityFor Veluri Sai Ram, the challenge has never been to replace a successful legacy, but to make it stronger for a new generation. As CEO and Managing Director of Shanmukha Caterers Pvt. Ltd., he has transformed a business founded in 1978 into a professionally managed hospitality enterprise serving weddings, corporate gatherings and celebrations across multiple states. By introducing structured operations, rigorous hygiene standards, workforce training and customised menus, Sai Ram has expanded the company's capabilities without compromising its foundation in authentic vegetarian cuisine. With 99% client retention and international recognition, his leadership reflects a simple philosophy: enduring hospitality is built through consistency, trust and an unwavering commitment to the guest experience.Vishal Saurav: From safety tech to robotics, building XBOOM for the ge of physical AIVishal Saurav’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2015 with safety and IoT solutions, before evolving into drones and, eventually, robotics. Today, through XBOOM, he is building at the intersection of drones, robotics and physical AI, with a focus on making emerging technology useful in the real world.XBOOMdevelops customised solutions around specific business needs, spanning surveillance, inspection, automation, education and human-robot interaction. The company is also the official India distributor for Unitree and works with enterprise partners on drone and robotics applications.For Saurav, hardware alone is not the opportunity. The real value lies in adapting technology to solve practical problems. His journey reflects a larger conviction: AI will increasingly move beyond screens to work alongside people in the physical world.Subur Khan: Building a consumer brand around everyday convenienceSubur Khan believes successful consumer brands are built by solving small but persistent everyday problems. As the Founder of Be-Foxy Food & Beverages Pvt. Ltd., he identified a gap between rising health consciousness and the convenience consumers expect from modern food products. That insight led to EzeeHoney, a brand that packages natural honey in portable, portion-controlled sticks. Rather than competing on price alone, Khan has focused on product design, quality, and usability. As Be-Foxy expands across retail, e-commerce, and international markets, his focus remains on creating practical food products that fit seamlessly into everyday life.Apurva Mhatre and Adnyesh Dalpati: Building a brand where every child’s essential feels personalApurva Mhatre and Adnyesh Dalpati are the founders behind Zootii by Bibliophiles, a Mumbai-based premium children’s lifestyle brand focused on personalised products. Apurva, with a background in marketing, design and early childhood education, brings thoughtful child-first products. Adnyesh, a technologist and AI evangelist, has built and exited two AI companies, powering their AI Personalisation Platform. Since launching in 2023, the brand has served over 1,00,000+ customers with notable celebrities. Their mission is to make personalisation fast, scalable and widely accessible.Pradeep Mani and Balaji Nandakumar: How HIELABS is redefining men’s comfort through innovationFor Pradeep Mani and Balaji Nandakumar - two college best friends, HIELABS began with a simple question: why couldn’t one pair of underwear stay comfortable all day? Combining Pradeep’s global fashion sourcing experience with Balaji’s manufacturing expertise, the founders created India’s only patented underwear brand featuring the BALLinTECH pouch and Lenzing MicroModal fabric. Built through continuous customer feedback and product innovation, HIELABS has grown from selling 2,500 pieces annually to over 25,000 per month, serving more than four lakh customers. Their vision is to redefine men’s basics through comfort-first design, innovation, and performance.Dr Er. Vijay Morale: Restoring reliability in residential constructionFor Dr Er. Vijay Morale, Founder and CEO of Engineer Construction Wala, the journey began with a problem close to home. When his father struggled to find a reliable contractor to build their family house, Vijay decided to take on the project himself. With a background in Civil Engineering and Structural Engineering, he brought together skilled workers, sourced materials personally, and completed the home with a focus on quality and accountability. The project soon led neighbours to seek his expertise, laying the foundation for Engineer Construction Wala. Today, after 1000+ residential projects, Morale is focused on making home construction more organised, transparent and dependable across Maharashtra.Disclaimer - The above content is non-editorial, and TIL hereby disclaims any and all warranties, expressed or implied, relating to it, and does not guarantee, vouch for or necessarily endorse any of the content.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.