24 Inspirational Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Quotes [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an Indian-born billionaire entrepreneur who is the Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Asia's leading bio-pharmaceuticals enterprise.

Her work in the biotechnology sector has earned her numerous national awards, including the Padma Shri (1989) and the Padma Bhushan (2005).

We've put together an incredible collection of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw quotes to read.

Here they are:

24 Inspirational Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Quotes [2024]

List of Inspiring Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Quotes

"As you become more successful, the gender barrier disappears. The credibility challenges you have during your growing up years start disappearing when you start demonstrating success."


"As a traditionally risk-averse nation, India has rarely been at the forefront of innovation. Indian companies have mostly imitated others and became very good at it."


"I think, in terms of corporate philosophy, I've always believed that you've got to treat people in a very, very egalitarian manner in the sense I like to treat people on a one-to-one basis. And I like people to take on a lot of responsibilities because I think with a sense of responsibility also comes a sense of purpose.”


"I really believe that entrepreneurship is about being able to face failure, manage failure and succeed after failing."


"You have to build a culture of philanthropy. In a country like India, we need to be sensitive and caring about the poorer, more disadvantaged section of our country.”


"Today anything can be done – we have the techniques."


"I learnt that business was about being emotionally driven about investing, but being emotionally detached when it came to divesting and that’s a very strong learning.”


"One of my objectives when I started Biocon was to make sure that I create a company for women scientists to pursue a vocation."


"I want to be remembered as someone who put India on the scientific map of the world in terms of large innovation. I want to be remembered for making a difference to global healthcare. And I want to be remembered as someone who did make a difference to social economic development in India."


"An entrepreneur’s life is always a continuous journey."


"I have never let gender get in my way. It has taken me over 30 years to get from a garage to the huge campus that we have today. And it’s been a long journey."


"I faced a number of challenges whilst I built Biocon. Initially, I had credibility challenges where I couldn't get banks to fund me; I couldn't recruit people to work for a woman boss. Even in the businesses where I had to procure raw materials, they didn't want to deal with women."


"My passion for innovation and my interest in the 'business of science' has seen Biocon commercialize many innovative platforms and products."


"I have a great team who has helped me build Biocon, I was very fortunate to be able to share my vision with a group of people who really were as excited about challenges as I was."


"My legacy is going to be in affordable health care. I am willing to invest in developing that model and the policies around it."


"Indian business women like Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar, Naina Lal Kidwai, Shikha Sharma, Swati Piramal, Anu Agha, Swati Piramal, Sulajja Firodia Motwani and Zia Mody have put India on the global firmament."


"I hate the title of being called the richest woman in India, but it's the recognition that this was the value that I had created as a woman entrepreneur and that makes me very, very proud."


"If you think about brewing, it is biotechnology. And I would say that I was a technologist at heart. So whether I... fermented beer or whether I fermented enzymes, the base technology was the same."


"My father was a brew master. He was the one who I was very close to, he influenced me in many many ways including my pursuing a career as a brew master.


"The brewing industry is a very, very male dominated industry. It's a male bastion."


"It was a chance encounter with a biotech entrepreneur from Ireland that got me started as an entrepreneur in India, because I partnered this Irish company in setting up India's first biotech company."


"Unfortunately our stock is somehow not well understood by the markets. The market compares us with generic companies. We need to look at Biocon as a bellwether stock. A stock that is differentiated, a stock that is focused on R&D, and a very-very strong balance sheet with huge value drivers at the end of it."


"What really got me focused on cancer was when my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer and even though she was a well-to-do person, I found that her treatment costs were crippling."


"I do serve on various boards and I'm very honest and frank, obviously, I am a very forthright person and I do, sort of, share my candid views on anything."

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Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.