Definitions

Derived from French word Entreprendre means to undertake

Richard Carleton: a person who buys factors of production at certain prices in order to combine them into a product with a view to sell them at uncertain prices.

Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneur
4 factors of production

Land Labor capital organization

New venture

Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani

also known as Dhirubhai, (28 December 1932 6 July 2002) was an Indian business magnate and entrepreneur who founded Reliance Industries, a petrochemicals, communications, power, and textiles Ambani took his company public in 1984. Dhirubhai has been one among the select Forbes billionaires and has also figured in the Sunday Times list of top 50 businessmen in Asia. His life has often been referred to as a true "rags to riches" story.

 Dhirubhai started off as a small time worker with Arab merchants in the 1950s moved to Mumbai in 1958 to start his own business in spices. After making modest profits, he moved into textiles and opened his mill near Ahmedabad. Dhirubhai founded Reliance Industries in 1958 and today the company, with over 85,000 employees, provides almost 5% of the Central Government's total tax revenue.

Life in Aden (1949-1958)

Just after Dhirubhai was through his annual matriculation examination and even before the result was out, Hirachandbhai called him home to Chorwad. Hirachandbhai had been unwell for quite some time "I cannot work any more. I know you want to study further but I can't afford that any more. I need you to earn for the family

Dhirubhai had really wanted to study for a bachelor's degree, but his ambition melted .
It was on board the ship that Dhirubhai learnt from Gujarati newspaper that he had passed his matriculation examination in second division It was a clerk's job with the A. Besse & Co., named after its French founder Antonin Besse.

Life in Aden (1949-1958)

He learnt the ways of commodity trading, high seas purchase and sales, marketing and distribution, currency trading, and money management To learn the tricks of the trade he offered to work free for a Gujarati trading firm. There he learnt accounting, book keeping, preparing shipping papers and documents, and dealing with banks and insurance companies., skills that would come handy when he launched himself into trading about a decade afterwards in Bombay .

Majin Commercial Corporation

Ten years later, Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India and started "Majin" in partnership with Champaklal Damani, his second cousin, who used to be with him in Aden, Yemen. The first office of the Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up at the Narsinatha Street in Masjid Bunder.

During this period, Dhirubhai and his family used to stay in a one bedroom apartment. In 1965, Champaklal Damani and Dhirubhai Ambani ended their partnership .
Dhirubhai started on his own. It is believed that both had different take on how to conduct business. Ambani's net worth was estimated at about Rs.10 lakh by late 1970s.[

Reliance Textiles
Sensing a good opportunity in the textile business, Dhirubhai and Aryan Mehra started the first textile mill at Naroda, in Ahmedabad in the year 1966.

Dhirubhai started the brand "Vimal"Extensive marketing of the brand "Vimal" in the interiors of India made it a household name. Franchise retail outlets were started and they used to sell "only Vimal" brand of textiles. In the year 1975, a Technical team from the World Bank visited the Reliance Textiles' Manufacturing unit. This unit has the rare distinction of being certified as "excellent even by developed country standards" during that period.
Dhirubhai Ambani is awarded with starting the equity cult in India. More than 58,000 investors from various parts of India subscribed to Reliance's IPO in 1977.

Diversification
In 1982 Ambani began the process of backward integration, setting up a plant to manufacture polyester filament yarn.

He subsequently diversified into chemicals, petrochemicals,plastics, power. The company as a whole was described by the BBC as "a business empire with an estimated annual turnover of $12bn, and an 85,000-strong workforce". The final phase of Reliances diversification occurred in the 1990s when the company turned aggressively towards petrochemicals and telecommunications.

Death
Dhirubhai Ambani was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on June 24, 2002 after he suffered a major stroke. This was his second stroke. He died on July 6, 2002, at around 11:50 p.m. (Indian Standard Time). At the time of Dhirubhai's death, Reliance Group had a gross turnover of Rs. 75,000 Crore or USD $ 15 Billion. In 1976-77, the Reliance group had an annual turnover of Rs 70 crore and it is to be remembered that Dhirubhai had started the business with just Rs.15,000 (US$350)

Reliance after Dhirubhai

In November 2004, Mukesh Ambani in an interview admitted to having differences with his brother Anil Over 'ownership issues.

The Reliance empire was split between the Ambani brothers, Mukesh Ambani getting RIL and IPCL . Anil Ambani heading Reliance Capital, Reliance Energy and Reliance Infocomm. Mukesh Ambani is referred to as the Reliance Industries Limited . Anil's Group has been renamed Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (Reliance ADA Group)

Awards and recognitions

November 2000 Conferred 'Man of the Century' award by Chemtech Foundation and Chemical Engineering World in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of the chemical industry in India 2000, 1998 and 1996 Featured among 'Power 50 - the most powerful people in Asia by Asiaweek magazine August 2001 Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence for Lifetime Achievement A poll conducted by The Times of India in 2000 voted Him "Greatest Creator of Wealth In The Centuries".