Lesser-known facts about Srikanth Bolla, the new judge in Shark Tank India 4

If you have somehow missed watching Rajkummar Rao’s 2024 movie ‘Srikanth’ portraying the story of

Srikanth Bolla

, a visually impaired Indian entrepreneur with an annual turnover of over $150 million, this is your chance to get to know this exemplary personality who has now moved on to a new adventure by becoming a judge at the Shark Tank India season 4.

Who is Srikanth Bolla?

Srikanth Bolla is the founder and chairman of

Bollant Industries

, a paper-based products manufacturing company which he started with his best friend Ravi Mantha back in 2012. Although visually impaired since birth, Bolla is known for achieving some big records over the years. He was the first international blind student to be admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Additionally, the 33-year-old has been featured in the

Forbes 30 Under 30

list and currently employs around 500 people.

Srikanth Bolla’s academic journey

In terms of education, Bolla studied at the Devnar School for the Blind in Hyderabad and went on to pursue his higher education at Royal Junior College for higher secondary education. As shown in the movie, he fought legal battles with the state government to be able to pursue the science stream after 10th which was prohibited for blind students by the government. Further on, he was denied admission by many IIT colleges which were incapable of managing the education of a visually impaired young man. But Bolla remained undeterred and filed for admission to prestigious international colleges such as Stanford, Berkeley and more. He finally found a breakthrough when he was accepted at MIT where he pursued degrees in Business Management. He was also the head of the International Development Club here.
After returning from the US in 2005, he joined the Lead India Program as a youth leader and successfully worked to develop leadership qualities and employment skills in almost 800,000 individuals. As a special needs individual himself, he also co-founded the Samanvai Centre for Children with Multiple Disabilities in 2011 where he launched a Braille printing facility to support the educational needs of special needs children.

Srikanth Bolla’s professional career

Bolla is the co-founder of Bollant Industries, which specialises in converting municipal waste and soiled paper into recycled Kraft paper. The company also manufactures packaging items, disposable products and useful items from natural leaves, plastic waste and more. Along with this, Bolla boasts a professional experience of three decades. He has worked as an intern at Infosys and General Electric India along with being a research assistant at the Sinha Lab for Development Research. His most recent professional adventure included becoming a judge at Shark Tank India 4, a business reality television series where modern startups receive funding from successful entrepreneurs. Bolla took to his Instagram to announce the same with the caption, “To survive a pool of sharks, you need to become one yourself. So yes, I got an opportunity to become a shark on Shark Tank India…” He also advised fellow entrepreneurs writing, “Don’t just think about your idea, act on it, or someone else will!” He attended the show alongside Jeet Adani, director at Adani Airports and Chirag Nakrani, co-owner of Rayzon Solar.

Srikanth Bolla’s personal life

In terms of his personal life, Srikanth is married to his longtime girlfriend Veera Swathi whom he met through Facebook during his college days at MIT. After dating for a period of years, the couple tied the knot in April 2022 and welcomed their first child, a daughter in 2024, whom they named Nayana.
Srikanth Bolla’s journey in life amidst all the hardships is an exemplary tale of dedication and intelligence. He serves as an inspiration to all who wish to turn their dreams into successful realities.