Samar was recently published in the famous Fortune India magazine as a result of his success, earning him the distinction of being the youngest Odia to do so.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed Indian youths to rise and demonstrate their entrepreneurial skills, they responded emphatically.
Four Odisha teenagers dreamed of making it big in life as many start-ups made rapid leaps and gave gasoline to the country’s growth juggernaut. They decided to join the start-up bandwagon in order to achieve something different for themselves and the state of Odisha.
Olive Ridley Media, Samar Pratap Nayak
Olive Ridley Media was founded by Samar Pratap Nayak. Samar was recently featured in the famous Fortune India magazine, and as a result, he received the distinction of being the youngest Odia to do so in the magazine’s ’40 under 40′ category.
Samar, an IIM Ahmedabad and B-School Bhubaneswar alumni, never desired a 9-5 job. Indeed, he recognised from the start that entrepreneurship not only gives prospects for employment, but it also provides much-needed freedom of thought.
He stated clearly to Fortune India Magazine, “The beauty of being an entrepreneur is having both the opportunity to solve a problem creatively and the freedom to test your solutions.”
Samar founded Olive Ridley Media with his unique, daring approach, employing ‘Design Thinking’ as his secret ingredient. He built his office in Bengaluru for obvious reasons. However, he later decided to locate himself in his home state of Odisha, which explains the company’s name, Olive Ridley Media. As endangered Olive Ridley turtles travelled from as far away as Europe and Africa to deposit their eggs along the Odisha coast, Samar’s media and communications brand returned to its home state to sow the seeds of growth.
This trailblazer recognised that applied creativity would be the key to revolutionising a stagnant industry. He ushered in a branding renaissance in Odisha by introducing concepts such as contextual branding, meme marketing, and influencer outreach.
When OTV met up with him, he was anxious to tell them about his experience so far.
“Happiness aside, as an Odia, it gives me a sense of victory,” Samar stated after being featured in the magazine. I can now see the stereotype associated with us slowly fading away. We experienced resistance from friends and colleagues when we closed our Bengaluru office and moved to Odisha. This was due to a number of factors, including a lack of skilled labour and dim economic outlook. I was, however, determined to change that outlook and not only start, but also expand, my business in Odisha. The confirmation provided by Fortune India reveals how people’s views on Odisha are evolving. I felt triumphant after completing this.”
Samar incorporated the idea of “design thinking” into his company strategy, which, in his opinion, allowed him to think creatively and find speedy solutions to his clients’ problems.
“The idea of design thinking gives me the ability to view the issue differently. This idea prompts me to look at the problem itself, although more carefully, while individuals concentrate on the solution to a problem. And it’s simpler to offer a solution to the consumer once you’ve examined and comprehended the issue, Samar remarked.
When asked about the state of business in Odisha, Samar responded, “I never imagined Odisha would be so open to new ideas. In reality, after studying the market, I saw that Odisha is falling behind in terms of creative concepts and alternative methods of product marketing. The clients were more than happy to amuse me when I offered my ideas, and the outcomes showed it.
Parthajeet Patnaik, Falcon Group Director
In 2008, Parthajeet Patnaik graduated with an MBA from the University of Hertfordshire in London and then entered the world of real estate. He went on to lead Falcon Real Estate Pvt. Ltd. to unparalleled growth with his vision and unyielding dedication to excellence. Beyond his prosperous business pursuits, Parthajeet’s affection for his native state of Odisha is unwavering. By establishing 12 contemporary seafood retail stores in Bhubaneswar under the banner of Falcon Marine Exports Ltd., he has boosted the state’s economy.
The young industrialist is charitable and altruistic, just like his father, and his business’s practises demonstrate this. Under his leadership, The Falcon Group has rapidly grown, bringing in an incredible INR 2800 crore in income.
Ashwini Group of Hospitals, Jay Dash, and Suma Dash
At the height of COVID, the power couple Jay Dash, Director Strategy, and Suma Dash, Director Finance, made the historic choice to leave their affluent American lives and return to work in their native India. They had pursued lucrative careers in corporate strategy in Silicon Valley, health AI development at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, management consulting at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and investment banking at Lehman Brothers and Nomura in London.
Their five-year plan is to bring the most successful and important businesses, not just those in the healthcare industry, to Odisha.
Within a year, everything was accomplished, from opening the first wellness centre in Bhubaneswar, which boasts of bringing many preventive and rehabilitative healthcare verticals under one roof, to launching a chain of modern pharmacy stores that combine convenience and medicine in a 24-7 format with home delivery.
