Arokiaswamy Velumani’s story will undoubtedly inspire you to believe in the power of hard work and toil. Born into a family of a landless farmer in 1959, Velumani spent his childhood in a village on the outskirts of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. He was one of four sons to his parents.

He completed his BSc from the University of Madras at the tender age of 19. His first job was at a pharmaceutical company name Gemini Capsules. Here he worked on Rs 150 per month for four years before quitting it and joining Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Mumbai.  

Later he decided to pursue his PhD in thyroid biochemistry. His learning from this helped him to open with a mere investment of Rs 2 lakh, the world’s largest diagnostic centre worth Rs 7,000 crore - Thyrocare. Today Thyrocare is synonyms with good diagnosis and affordability.

But during the initial years, Thyrocare focused on detecting only thyroid, It later ventured into the diagnosis of STDs, diabetes, infertility and cardiovascular diseases. It is currently spread across India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Middle East making it the largest diagnostic venture.

The company had only three funding rounds. In 2011, the company was estimated to value at Rs 650 crore. After an IPO, Tyrocare was oversubscribed seventy-three times, making its vale Rs 3415 crore. When Thyrocare made its debut in the Indian Stock Market, its value was Rs 3377 crores. 

This June, Velumani in a surprising decision decided to sell his listed company to a startup. PharmEasy acquired Velumani’s 66% stake in Thyrocare for Rs 4546 crore. Velumani used Rs 1500 crore and bought a 4.9% stake in PharmEasy’s parent company API, thus pushing PharmEasy’s valuation from $1.8 billion to $4 billion. 

Will a startup like PharmEasy be able to do justice to Velumani’s successful venture Thyrocare?