With a net worth of over 5 million USD, he became the first blind person to join Shark Tank India as an investor, backing a startup developing smart glasses to assist the deaf and mute community, a cause close to his heart.
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Srikanth Bolla. (Photo: Global Indian) |
Srikanth Bolla. (Photo: Global Indian)
Born on 7/7/1991 in Seetharamapuram village, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Srikanth Bolla grew up in poverty with illiterate farmer parents.
Upon his birth, villagers deemed him a bad omen, urging his mother to abandon him. Relatives and neighbors warned he would be a burden, unable to support his parents in their old age. Despite these pressures, his parents showered him with love and care.
Despite their poverty, his parents sent him to school. However, he faced ridicule from peers and indifference from teachers, often relegated to the back of the class and excluded from extracurricular activities. "I had no friends; no one wanted to be near me because I was blind," Srikanth recalled. "But that loneliness helped me focus on my studies."
At the age of 7, he enrolled in a school for the blind in Hyderabad, learning Braille, English, and computer skills. He excelled, winning awards in debating, creative writing, chess, and cricket for the blind, and becoming the school's top student. He scored 90/100 on his high school exams at Devnar School.
Showing a talent for science, Srikanth was denied the opportunity to study science in high school because teachers believed he couldn't interpret charts. He challenged this decision, suing the state government and winning the right to pursue science after 6 months. He then scored 98/100 on his 12th-grade exams. "I've always had a clear vision. When people told me I couldn't, I said I could," Srikanth stated.
Further challenges arose when top Indian engineering schools, including the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), rejected him due to his blindness. Undeterred, he applied to international universities and received offers from four leading American institutions: MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon. In 2009, he chose MIT, becoming its first international blind student, graduating in 2012.
Declining lucrative job offers in the US, Srikanth returned to India and founded Bollant Industries. The company manufactures packaging from recycled paper, natural leaves, and plastic waste, prioritizing employment for people with disabilities.
Bollant's business model, addressing both waste management and providing jobs for a marginalized group, quickly attracted investors, including Ratan Tata. The company currently boasts over 18 million USD in revenue and aims to reach 120 million USD within the next three years.
Srikanth's vision extends beyond profit. He aims to build a company where both able-bodied individuals and those once considered "useless" can contribute. His company's philosophy emphasizes creating equal opportunities for everyone. "What limits people is not their eyesight, but the lack of a clear vision," he affirmed.
Ngoc Ngan (According to Global Indian)
