This is the journey of a boy born in a remote village, who went from riding a bullock cart to owning an airline, a journey of an entrepreneur who built India's first and largest low-cost airline Filled with rich anecdotes of everyday struggles and joys, this is the awe-inspiring story of Captain G.R. Gopinath. This autobiography narrates in gritty detail Captain Gopinath's incredible journey: quitting the Indian Army in the late 1970s with a princely gratuity of Rs 6500, going back to his farm land inundated by the river, converting a piece of barren land to set up a farm for ecologically sustainable silkworm rearing, winning the Rolex award for it, his loves and passions, his extraordinary determination to launch an airline (which touched a crazy market cap of US$ 1.1 billion in less than four years ), in the process rewriting aviation history.
?Capt Gopi is an intrepid and irrepressible entrepreneur with an incredible flair for story-telling. And what a story! An army man turned farmer who enabled the common man to fly. Full of an earthy wisdom and gentle humour, this book is also a discovery of the difficulties and the exhilaration that innovative entrepreneurs face in India.? ? Nandan Nilekani, Chairman Unique Identification Authority of India and author of Imagining India
I love warts and all books and this is even better than that. A warts and all book written by the entrepreneur himself. Captain Gopi?s fascinating story of rags to riches, almost to rags again. Makes wonderful reading for any young Indians setting out in to business. A real rollercoaster that ended up transforming the face of air travel in India. ? Sir Richard Branson, British industrialist best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies and author of the bestselling title Losing My Virginity
Simply Fly is a riveting story of a serial Indian entrepreneur. It is inspiring. We can all learn practical lessons? ? Ram Charan, author, teacher, director, Global Indian of the Year, 2009?, Forbes 2009 Top 20 most influential management thinkers in the world
After reading the book of Capt Gopinath, I felt that this book containing invaluable entrepreneurial and leadership experience should be an imminently suitable guide for entrepreneurs and could be prescribed as a text book in all the management and entrepreneurial development institutions in the country, since it is an Indian experience. It is my hope that this book will help inspire readers to take challenges as they come and explore new vistas in life. ? Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India
This book is an excellent study of entrepreneurship bringing out the importance of innovation, dream, courage and sacrifice in success. I congratulate Captain Gopinath on bringing out such an excellent recipe for success for budding entrepreneurs. - N. R. Narayana Murthy, founder and now the Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies and the author of A Better India: A Better World
Captain Gopinath?s story needs to reach every Indian home where a child is growing up. ? Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of MindTree Ltd., and the author of Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons for the Young Professional
The Common Man has spoken. And it is as inspirational as the very best of the best, overwhelming with generosity and a keenness of spirit that is as deeply Indian as it is universal. This is a remarkable story of a remarkable life, which reminds the reader that beyond achievement lies fulfilment, beyond material goods a greater good. ? Kunal Basu, University Reader in Marketing, Sa?d Business School at University of Oxford and acclaimed novelist