He begged for a living, now owns a 30 crore empire

“Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.”

- Orison Swett Marden

He begged on the streets, worked as a domestic help, pushed a handcart to sell utility items, acted as a security guard and has driven cars for travel agencies. He dropped out of school in Class VIII. What can such a person achieve in life? “Nothing much” would be the likely answer. But you are in for a surprise! This person, whose name is Renuka Aradhya, has become the owner and managing director of the Rs.40 crore turnover venture. He founded Pravasi Cabs Private Limited, a car rental service in Bengaluru. He manages a fleet of more than 1,000 cars and 40 school buses. “We hope to touch a turnover of Rs.100 crores by 2019 and then we will go for an IPO,” he says. He commutes on a Rs.23 lakh Hyundai Elantra and might soon be seen on a Rs.84 lakh Land Rover. He is also a director of four startups that are spread out in the transport, hospitality and real estate sectors.

Aradhya happens to be the son of a priest at Mutyalamma Devi temple in Gopasandra village in Anekal taluk near Bengaluru. He earned just about Rs.1 or 2 daily from the 'aarati' collections. There was a small piece of land near the temple in which his father cultivated ‘raagi’ and paddy, but the yield from it was not enough to meet their needs. Aradhya had an elder sister and a brother. When Aradhya’s father used to go begging from house to house, he would accompany him. He went to a government school, and his teachers helped him by paying his fees. He would do household chores for them in return.

The experience which he got there was the real schooling than what he studied from books. When Aradhya’s father realised his plight, he took him to Mahanteera Mutt in Chikpet, Bengaluru and admitted him there. He used to get two meals a day, one at 8 am and the other at 8 pm, and nothing in between. But after he failed in class ten, he went back home.

He worked on odd jobs like a sweeper, helper in packing and transporting bags and suitcases on handcarts to various shops. Soon, he started his own business by buying suitcases from wholesalers and selling them door to door. He lost Rs.30,000 in the business, his hard-earned savings and some borrowed money. His brother got him a job as a security guard in Koramangala. He worked for three years as a security guard at various places on a salary of Rs.600 a month.

"Aradhya believes that spirituality and business go handin- hand for him. He appreciates the support of his wife in his business and success"

When he was 20, he was married to Pushpa, who was a year younger to him and was also a class ten dropout. He also worked as a gardener and also climbed coconut trees in the neighbourhood to pluck coconuts. His wife worked in a garments factory for a salary of Rs.275. At 23, Aradhya became a father to a son and named him after the deity he worshipped, Raghavendra Swamy.

Aradhya liked driving as some of his friends were drivers and they were earning around Rs.2000 a month. He started his job as a driver but on the very first day met with an accident. He ran away and rejoined as a security guard. Aradhya soon got an opportunity to work for Ganesh Travels. His earnings went up to around Rs.5,000 a month, which included a salary of Rs.600, driver allowance of Rs.100 a day on outstation trips, and generous tips from customers.

After four years, Aradhya joined Manjunatha Travels. “Here, I got a chance to drive foreign tourists. Once there was a tourist group from France. I learned basic French to talk to them”. Aradhya knew as a driver that once you please your customers, your success is assured.

In 2000, Aradhya bought his own vehicle. His used his savings and his wife’s PF to buy their first car, a Tata Indica, for Rs.3.2 lakh and went on to work independently. He learned English by talking with tourists and reading newspapers. He also attended workshops on marketing and entrepreneurship. He learned a lot from interacting with people. By 2006, he bought five more cars and attached them to City Taxi. The same year, he bought another company, Indian City Taxi, which was in a distress sale. Aradhya bought it for Rs.6.75 lakh by raising loans and selling all the cars he had in his possession. Aradhya called his new company ‘Pravasi Cabs.’

Intending to sustain his business, he realised the best solution was to have an owner- cum-driver scheme. Under this scheme, a driver would get a new car, by paying as little as Rs.50,000. The car would be transferred to the driver’s name after 36 months.

Aradhya believes that spirituality and business go hand-in-hand for him. He appreciates the support of his wife in his business and success. Aaradhya’s son is a director at Pravasi Cabs. His daughter-in-law is from a poor family. She is being groomed to be Aradhya’s secretary. Aradhya’s life just proves that if you dream something and put your heart and soul into it, nothing can stop you from achieving it.