Raj Shamani

Billion-Dollar Founder: Why Success In India Is So Hard | Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw | FO537 Raj Shamani

Get your hand-picked playbook here: https://www.figuringout.co/pdf/fo-537 -------------- Guest Suggestion Form: https://forms.gle/bnaeY3FpoFU9ZjA47 -------------- Design Your Own Podcast Episode: https://forms.gle/sx8iyUF9vnqhgvru7 -------------- Trying to grow your Social Media? Talk to us - https://forms.gle/sJfksjy4K3rpNnvF9 -------------- Disclaimer: This video is intended solely for educational purposes and opinions shared by the guest are her personal views. We do not intent to defame or harm any person/ brand/ product/ country/ profession mentioned in the video. Our goal is to provide information to help audience make informed choices. The media used in this video are solely for informational purposes and belongs to their respective owners. --------------- Order 'Build, Don't Talk' (in English) here: https://amzn.eu/d/eCfijRu Order 'Build Don't Talk' (in Hindi) here: https://amzn.eu/d/4wZISO0 -------------- Follow Our Whatsapp Channel: https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaokF5x0bIdi3Qn9ef2J -------------- Subscribe To Our Other YouTube Channels:- https://www.youtube.com/@rajshamaniclips https://www.youtube.com/@RajShamani.Shorts 🎧 Stream Figuring Out episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/736rhmW7vilNgkFFo8aDz4 📺 Watch Figuring Out episodes on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE0Jo6NF_JYO5-phess8GKafKMtPv3tfZ -------------- Timestamps - 00:00 - Intro 02:37 - Childhood, Family Values & Father's Life Lesson on Merit 07:41 - Rejected by Breweries for Being a Woman 12:29 - Gender Bias in Funding & Starting Biocon Against All Odds 21:44 - The Science of Enzymes & Convincing Skeptical Banks 27:08 - The Art of Pitching: Telling Your Story Right 29:57 - From Enzymes to Pharma: Cracking Statins 31:15 - The Insulin Breakthrough That Disrupted Global Pricing 34:18 - Entering Cancer Biosimilars After Losing a Friend 36:56 - Biosimilars vs. Generics Explained 40:29 - Why Being First (Not Just Best) Matters 43:52 - Building Affordable CAR-T Cancer Therapy (Immuneel) 45:46 - The GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drug Debate 53:13 - How Pharma Pricing & Margins Actually Work 58:20 - A Near-Financial Crisis: The Loan Default Scare 1:03:45 - How Can People Who Have Self-Doubt Build Confidence? 1:07:13 - Why India Undervalues Innovation vs. the US 1:13:51 - The AI Pathology Startup India Let Slip Away 1:20:50 - Proving Global Pharma Giants Wrong 1:22:06 - What the World Gets Right (and Wrong) About India 1:26:43 - Bengaluru's Infrastructure & Civic Problems 1:30:14 - India's Civic Sense Crisis 1:35:44 - Why India Is Losing FDI to Vietnam & Indonesia 1:38:03 - Has She Ever Felt Humiliated? 1:41:58 - The Harshest Truth: Gender Bias in India 1:49:04 - How Biocon Silenced the "Wealth Destroyer" Critics 1:50:51 - Big Pharma Ethics & COVID Vaccine Inequality 1:55:52 - Choosing Her Successor: Niece Claire Mazumdar 1:58:54 - The Power of Authentic Networking & Friendships 2:02:47 - Separating Her Identity From Biocon 2:04:52 - One Advice No One Should Follow 2:06:03 - Outro --------------- In today's episode, we sit down with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, to talk about rejection, risk, and how she built India's biggest biotech company from a garage. We discuss why every brewery in India refused to hire her despite her topping her class, why her father refused to pay a capitation fee to get her into medical college, and why she believes India keeps losing its best ideas to the rest of the world. Kiran explains how she brought insulin prices down from ₹1,000 to ₹100, how a personal loss led her to develop cheaper cancer treatments, and why she thinks India's fear of failure is holding back real innovation. The conversation also covers the $3.35 billion acquisition everyone called a mistake, why she's never once doubted herself in 48 years, and what she looks for in a successor after building a company from scratch. Subscribe for more such conversations. Follow Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiranmazumdar_shaw/ --------------- About Raj Shamani Raj Shamani is an entrepreneur and the host of the Figuring Out Podcast. He sits down with experts, athletes, celebrities, billionaires, and world leaders to break down how they actually win: money, business, mindset, relationships, and life. He's also a bestselling author, speaker, and angel investor. His work sits at the intersection of business, psychology, and human behaviour. To Know More, Follow Raj Shamani On ⤵︎ Instagram @RajShamani https://www.instagram.com/rajshamani/ Twitter @RajShamani https://twitter.com/rajshamani Facebook @ShamaniRaj https://www.facebook.com/shamaniraj LinkedIn - Raj Shamani https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajshamani/ • • • #podcast #FiguringOut #RajShamani #medical #health #cancer #innovation #india About Figuring Out Figuring Out Podcast is a Candid Conversations University where Raj Shamani brings raw conversations with the Top 1% in India.