Meet man, who quit studies at 16, once repaired bicycles and swept floors, today his company is worth over Rs 3 lakh crore; he is...

Few success stories are as inspiring that of Soichiro Honda. Having started from scratch, the Japanese man built a massive company that is world-renowned for its class and quality. His automobile empire is today worth over USD 40 billion but there was a time when the late business tycoon struggled to feed himself. This is his story.

Honda was always passionate about machines
Born in 1906 in Japan, Honda was a blacksmith and also used to repair bicycles. Even though he struggled with academics, Honda was passionate about machines.
He quit his studies at the age of 16 and began working at his father's bicycle repair shop. His mother was a cloth weaver
Honda later worked as a sweeper at a garage in Tokyo.
After his working hours, he spent time learning to repair bikes and cars. After a severe earthquake hit Japan, most of his employer's mechanics went back to their homes because of which Honda got a chance to repair cars.

Starting a business
Honda started a piston ring factory in Hamamatsu but that was destroyed in an air raid during World War II. After that, he founded the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946.
Some time later, Honda garnered attention for making a bicycle with a generator engine which received high demand. In 1949, he changed the company's name to Honda Motors. After a few years, he successfully transformed the bicycle business into a motorcycle concern that gradually gained a good reputation in the market.

Success story
As business continued to grow, the company expanded its presence to several countries across the globe. By 1964, every second bike running on the roads of America was Honda's.

By the 1980s, Honda Motors had become the third-largest carmaker in the world.
Today, the company is worth over USD 40 billion or more than Rs 3,44,000 crores.