Meet man, linked to Virat Kohli, once sold balloons on street, later built company worth over Rs 61,000 crore, he is...

KC Mammen Mappillai, the man behind India's iconic tyre brand MRF, lived quite a difficult life before turning into the successful entrepreneur that he became. Mapillai was born into a business family that owned a newspaper and a bank. But their assets were seized when Mappillai's father was jailed for two years in the princely kingdom of Travancore, giving them a big financial setback. But Mapillai was not the one to give up. He started his business on a humble note and eventually built one of the country's most recognisable brands.

MRF's exceptional journey
Born in 1922 in Kerala into a Syrian Christian family, Mappillai graduated from the Madras Christian College in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. After his family was faced with financial struggles, Mappillai resorted to selling balloons on the streets. He even had to sleep on the floor of his college to save up money. Later, in 1946, Mappillai took an entrepreneurial leap as he started Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) as a small unit making toy balloons. A few years later, his business ventured into manufacturing tread rubber. In 1961, MRF became a public company and also launched its first tyre the same year. A major achievement came when MRF became the first-ever Indian company to export tyres to the United States in 1967. MRF has famously been promoted by top cricket stars including Virat Kohli.

Other ventures and awards
Besides involvement with MRF, Mapillai also ventured into banking, finance, rubber cultivation as well as agriculture. He was also awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 1992 for his contributions to the industry. Mapillai passed away on March 3, 2003 at the age of 80 years.