“Serve a Billion, Don’t Chase a Billion”: Mukesh Ambani’s Advice to Entrepreneurs

Reliance chief urges young visionaries to build for a billion lives, not a billion dollars

Billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, has urged entrepreneurs to shift their focus from chasing massive personal wealth to creating large-scale societal change. In a powerful interview for McKinsey & Company’s Leading Asia series, Ambani emphasised that the path to enduring business success lies in building solutions that impact lives—not bank accounts.

Ambani recalled a lesson from his father and Reliance founder, Dhirubhai Ambani:

“If you want to start a business to be a billionaire, you are an idiot. But if you want to start a business to impact a billion people, then you have a good chance of success and as a by-product, you might also make a reasonable amount of money.”

This principle, Ambani said, continues to define Reliance’s approach to business. It is this vision that drove the launch of Reliance Jio in 2016, what he called the biggest risk of his career. At the time, industry analysts warned the telecom gamble would fail. But Ambani remained focused on the broader mission: digitising India.

Jio: India’s Digital Revolution

“When we launched Jio, we knew we were risking a lot. But we also knew that if we succeeded, we’d change the face of India,” Ambani said.

Fully self-funded by Reliance, Jio offered free voice calls and ultra-low data prices, disrupting the telecom industry and bringing internet access to the masses. The result: over 800 million Indians online, many from rural and underserved areas, fuelling a boom in digital education, e-commerce, fintech, and entertainment.

Ambani noted, “In the worst case, if Jio didn’t succeed financially, it would still be the greatest philanthropy Reliance had ever done.”

Today, Jio has more than 470 million subscribers and is a leader in next-gen technologies including 5G, AI, and cloud computing. Ambani proudly stated that Reliance built 80% of Jio’s infrastructure in-house, relying on global players like Nokia and Ericsson for only validation purposes.

“Your Goal is Your North Star”

Ambani’s message to entrepreneurs goes beyond telecom. He believes in setting a clear, unshakable goal and letting that vision guide every business decision—even through turbulence.

“We have a saying: if you focus on the obstacles, you will never reach your goals; but if you focus on your goal, you will overcome all the obstacles.”

This clarity of purpose is what allows Reliance to reinvent itself every 3–5 years, keeping pace with change while staying true to its mission of national transformation.

The Road Ahead: Deep Tech & Advanced Manufacturing

Looking forward, Ambani said Reliance’s next big transformation will be into a deep-tech and advanced manufacturing company. He believes the era of importing innovation is over for India.

“In my early years, India licensed technology and lived in fear of regulation. Now, we must become owners of technology. We must be the innovators.”

His vision includes empowering the next generation of Reliance leaders to take bold steps and build indigenous capabilities that can match and exceed global standards.

Key Takeaway for Entrepreneurs:
Impact first, profits later. If your vision is clear and rooted in improving lives at scale, success both financial and societal,will follow.