Dr. A. Velumani started Thyrocare Technologies in 1996 as a private lab testing blood samples for thyroid disorders using his provident fund of Rs. 1 lakh. Thyrocare grew to become the world's largest thyroid testing laboratory through franchising to 345 outlets nationwide, offering affordable thyroid and other specialized tests starting between Rs. 400-800 through centralized high-volume processing. Thyrocare ensures quality, cost, and speed through ISO certification, technology, efficient transport of samples and reports, and incentives for employees. The company has grown at 200% annually with a turnover of Rs. 20 crore and plans for expansion, raw material manufacturing, and education.

1. ENTREPRENEURSHIP

2. WHAT IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP? Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses (referred as Startup Company).

3. QUALITIES OF AN ENTREPRENEUR 1.Vision/Idea 2.Identifying Opportunity 3. Feasibility Study 4. Business model 5. Business proposal 6. Funds, investors , sponsors 7. Establishments 8.Sales & distribution 9. Feed back 10.growth

5. PAANWALA Website quality Location Variety/flavors Advertisement Franchise Export Raw material Distribution

7. Introduction Thyrocare, the leader player in the Indian diagnostic industry with the largest capacity and a CENTRALIZED LABORATORY CONCEPT, brings international quality testing at affordable prices. The Indian diagnostic and pathological labs test industry valued at approximately Rs. 70 billion is expected to grow to about Rs. 160 billions by 2013 driven mainly by applications of molecular diagnostic testing which are expected to revolutionize this industry. Currently diagnostic labs are categorized into high level labs (38%), manual labs (28%) and regional labs (34%). In tests done, biochemistry and clinical pathology tests take up 77% of the market share.

8. Thyrocarehas developed a collection point network of more than 18,250 centers across the country and has built the capacity to process more than 65,000 investigations / night, the highest of any laboratory in India. The Thyrocare laboratory is ISO 9001-2000 certified, NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) certified, and is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), a global accreditation organization. Thyrocare is also the World’s largest Thyroid testing and diagnostic laboratory and India’s best equipped clinical chemistry laboratory.

9. Thyrocare provides a unique combination of Quality, Cost, Speed, Reach and Systems. Apart from regular tests, Thyrocare offers packages for preventive diagnostic tests at a highly affordable costs. It has entered the preventive health care segment with a unique comprehensive diagnostic profile comprising of tests focusing on the functions of the vital organs like Liver, Kidney, Heart, Thyroid, Blood Vessels thereby revealing the exact health status of an individual. With the Free Thyrocare Loyalty Card one can get a 20% cut on any diagnostic service. Primary Thyrocare Loyalty cardholders can add up to 4 family members as secondary members as well. Samples can be taken at the patients residence and results couriered back the next day. Thyrocare thus offers a great value proposition to its customers that will be hard to beat by its competitors.

11. While grazing his landlord's buffaloes, five-year-old A. Velumani in AppanickenpattiPudur, an obscure village near Coimbatore, decided to join school. Years later, he went on to become the first person to graduate from the village, and then a scientist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). After a stint in research on thyroid, he risked his secure job at the Centre, invested his provident fund amount of Rs1 lakhto establish a private lab, testing blood samples for thyroid disorders, in 1996. Today, he is the Managing Director of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd., the world's largest thyroid testing laboratory, with ISO 9001-2000 certification that boasts of a turnover more than Rs 10 crore, and nearly 340 franchisees all over the country. The company specialises in immunodiagnostics, that is, testing blood samples for thyroid disorders.

12. "Thyroid disorders are curable by cheap and safe methods of medication," says Dr Velumani. "Even thyroid cancer is not life-threatening. Once the gland is removed and radio-iodine treatment is given, it will ensure that the patient is completely safe and free of cancer." But due to lack of networking among them, thyroid and other specialized tests were expensively priced, sometimes as high as Rs1,000 to Rs 3,000. The patients also had to wait long for results, even three-four days. In a competitive market, where thyroid tests were hardly considered important and ridiculously priced, Thyrocare had a lot to work on.

13. There were apprehensions from certain quarters about such specific lab-testing. "Instead of starting a full-fledged pathology laboratory, conducting all tests and localizing the services, I decided to venture into something I was sure of." Having a Ph.D in Thyro Immunodiagnostics, Dr Velumani knew that he was technologically competent and hence could concentrate further on marketing and channelizingthe operations of his laboratory. When Thyrocare started operations, it would cost anything between Rs 400 and Rs 800 for a single sample testing. Dr Velumani was not deterred though. "To achieve profits, the only task ahead was to build volumes and this has been achieved by creating a nationwide network of franchisees," recalls Dr Velumani. Within a year of its inception, the company had 25 franchisees.

14. Dr Velumanirealized that franchising was the only way to leverage the laboratory as a brand name. Today, Thyrocare boasts of a spanned network across the country, with 345 franchisee outlets, with the head office in Mumbai and four regional zonal centres and 10 regional centres. According to Dr Velumani, franchising is more than a trademark — it is a whole package. "Thyrocare," he says, "keeps in mind the three parameters: quality, cost and speed." Transporting specimens or reports are very costly considering courier and air-cargo costs. "Not when you have volumes in hand," says Dr Velumani. At Thyrocare, the cost of collecting a specimen at Adyar, Chennai, at 4 p.m. to reach Santa Cruz, Mumbai, at 11 p.m. by air-cargo would be as little as 30 paise only. Thyrocare tries to make optimal use of technology. The results of lab tests are then transmitted through e-mail, available at all franchisees ensuring the cost of report delivery as truly low.

15. "Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution," says Dr Velumani. Thyrocare uses the technology method of radioimmunoassay, a nobel-prize winning technology developed by Rasolyn and Yallow. The average day at Thyrocare, Thane, is a complicated scenario: 2,000 specimens, 7,000 investigations, 100 different tests, 20 different instruments for the same and 100 different reagents for utility. With repetitive maintenance, quality of reagents, quality of instruments, manpower and systems are ensured. Dr Velumani admits that quality could be maintained for a long period of time only by ensuring the goodwill of employees. Thyrocare provides for basic amenities such as shelter and food, thus providing incentives to put up with rising demands.

16. Many of these hundred-odd employees are from Dr Velumani's village. The company has grown at 200 per cent compound growth rate since its inception in 1996, with an annual turnover of around Rs 20 crore. Among other plans, the company has entered into a strategic alliance with GlaxoWellcomein the manufacturing of "Eltroxin", a medicine for the cure of Thyroid deficiency. In terms of the alliance, GlaxoWellcome will extensively market the company's processing activities. The company has also sponsored the setting up of Thyrocare Institute of Medicine Education (TIME), which will impart training in the field of laboratory medicine.

17. Key points: Idea – “ to help laboratories to get their specialized tests at affordable costs” Identifying opportunity – “ preventive health care” Feasibility study – “ demand in society for thyroid detection” Risk taking – “ starting at a low price, price less than the competitors” Establishment – “ opening up franchise” Feed back / improvement – “ diversified, raw materials, expansion”

19. Thank you….. Presented by- SwatiVaish (M-Tech Biotechnology, 2nd semester)