The School of Management - Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science, Coimbatore organized an interactive session with A. Velumani, the visionary founder of Thyrocare, recently. The veteran businessman delivered a talk on the topic 'Focus Gives Success'. 

Dr. A Velumani is a self-made Indian billionaire and the founder of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd., a diagnostic and preventive care laboratory chain based in Mumbai. Velumani’s journey began in the small village of Appanaickenpatti Pudur, Coimbatore, where he was born into a humble family. His father, a landless farmer, and his mother, who reared buffaloes to support the household, struggled to make ends meet.

Determined to create a better future, Velumani pursued a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. In 1979, he started his career as a shift chemist at Gemini Capsules, a pharmaceutical company in Tamil Nadu. When the company shut down after three years, he joined the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) as a laboratory assistant.

While working there, he earned his master’s degree in 1985 and later completed a Ph.D. in Thyroid Biochemistry (1995) from the University of Mumbai. In 1996, Velumani took a bold step and founded Thyrocare Technologies, focusing on affordable thyroid testing. His innovative franchisee model revolutionized the diagnostics industry, making testing services accessible across India.

Thyrocare eventually expanded into preventive healthcare and became the country’s largest thyroid testing laboratory, achieving unicorn status. In a landmark move, Velumani sold his stake in Thyrocare for approximately Rs 5,000 crore, cementing his legacy as an entrepreneur who built an empire from scratch.

In his speech,  he shared his personal story where he trusted his vision and dream to pursue something great rather than settling down with  something good in hand. He recommended the audience to be frugal, stay focused and be fearless, because the bold create history. At the end of his talk, he answered  the questions raised by the audience. The event also celebrated internship excellence, with top-performing students being felicitated in his presence.

(With inputs from The Economic Times)