Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal's advice on success: ‘It begins in quiet years, no headlines, no praise. Just work…’

Anil Agarwal, the Chairman and Founder of Vedanta Resources, had some words of advice on building a successful business. Noting that success begins in the “quiet years”, the billionaire industrialist encouraged entrepreneurs by added that it is years of “invisible work” that “builds everything that comes after”.

According to Forbes ‘Richest people in the world’ list, Anil Agarwal and family are worth aroud ₹440 crore or $4.1 billion, as of March 2025.

Here's what Anil Agarwal believes leads to success:

“6 years, no headlines… In my early 20s, I acquired my first business - a struggling cable company in Bombay. No pedigree. No formal training. No support from the bank. Just belief, and the willingness to learn everything the hard way. What followed were 6 long years of setbacks,” he shared.

He added that there were strikes in those years, delays and machines that broke down more often than they ran, and that it was a thankless job. “There were no headlines, no praise. Just work. Most people only notice what you’ve built once it starts to shine.”

Words of encouragement to Indian entrepreneurs

However, he is not bitter, believing that these moments are how success is gained, adding: “But I’ve learned — that’s not where success begins. It begins in the quiet years. When you're solving problems no one else sees. Fixing things you don’t yet know how to fix. And showing up, even when no one’s watching.”

“So if you’re in that phase — where nothing feels big enough, fast enough, good enough — Don’t walk away. Keep building. Because that invisible work? That’s what builds everything that comes after,” he encouraged.

Anil Agarwal's journey building Vendanta Resources

Hailing from Patna, Anil Agarwal came to Mumbai in in the mid-70s as a scrap dealer. He founded what became Vedanta Resources in 1976, by buying a cable company called Shamsher Sterling Corporation with a bank loan, according to an archived Business Standard report.

In 1993, he set up the copper smelter Sterlite Industries and later ventured into mining with majority shares in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) and state-run Hindustan Zinc (HZL).

In 2003, Vedanta was listed in the London Stock Exchange, but later went private in Octber 2019. At present, Anil Agarwal hold a 100 per cent stake in the conglomerate that now ranges across metals, mining, power, and oil and gas.