India, Aug. 24 -- The Indian economy has been powered by the ambition and grit of a growing bunch of superman entrepreneurs. As per Hurun India, last July, India had 334 billionaires, 55% of whom were first generation. Post the 1992 economic reforms, the number of superman entrepreneurs grew rapidly and between 2000 and 2025, the number of Rs.1,000 crore plus revenue companies in India has gone up manifold. The superman entrepreneur (SE) is a "force of nature". They have achieved what very, very few people could have. It's their superpowers that have allowed them to overcome the odds and build unlikely high-growth businesses. At the start they had few things going for them - just a burning ambition. These superman entrepreneurs could have had different origins - some may have been driven to start a business because they couldn't find a job; others may have just hated the thought of joining the existing small family business; others felt claustrophobic in the companies they worked in repelled by the bureaucracy and conservative decision making; and a few had a driving passion that they could not shed and so went after it and ultimately succeeded. None of these SEs had it easy. Everyone doubted them, they scrounged to raise capital, finding people to join them was tough, and they faced failure at the start but did not get deterred. They persevered and have lived to tell the tale. We are talking about entrepreneurs seeking to create industries and great companies, and not some shady businessmen with a high share of bad loans. Here, we are creating a Weberian ideal type of the SE. While it is not specific to anyone, it attempts to capture essential traits. It's not an accurate description of reality, but rather a simplified representation, highlighting essential characteristics. This allows for comparison and analysis of real-world situations by contrasting them with this constructed model. Let's construct aspects of their personality. Unbounded optimism: Most SEs are optimists, and see opportunities where others see roadblocks. They can pivot and change swiftly and adjust where needed. They are driven by what can be more than what others believe is realistic. It both inspires and scares their teams. It allows them to make bold decisions. Sometimes, this optimism and positivity can make them irritated about naysaying pragmatists or risk-conscious managers; they want people to believe and trust their instincts. But these instincts can expose the business to huge, real risks. Can do, can learn: Most of the SEs are relentless in learning and doing. Often, they are self-taught without fancy degrees. They hear out many people but assimilate in private. All of them understand their balance sheet better than their profit and loss accounts. They understand the importance of corporate structure and cash (raising equity or debt, leverage, multiple management, free-cash flow, portfolio, tax and regulations). They are curious and always want to know about other entrepreneurs and experiment all the time. All in, all the time: They are all in all the time. They are consumed by their journey, are alert and resilient. They also would like to know every detail of their business and always choose investment and risks over conspicuous consumption. They resent entitlement in their children and respect only those who are as committed as they are. It's tough to be their children as they are larger than life figures, poor teachers with very high expectations. They rarely give their children true autonomy and succession planning is talked about but never implemented. They are also always instituting processes and rules, for employees and even their children, but never use them themselves. This undermines the processes they seek to introduce but mostly they do not see how it applies to themselves. Resilience and persistence: In the journey of most of these businesses, there is often one or more moments of deep, life-threatening crisis - a failed joint venture, a fire in a factory or shutting down of a business line. In these times, SEs always double down. They bet on themselves against the odds. They take charge. They may hear other opinions, but they decide alone. They like the loyalty of their teams but often not their judgment. And they never forget the crisis - it shapes them for the future. It also reinforces their belief in their own abilities. Loyal order takers: SEs build the business with loyal order takers. Initially, they could not hire great talent and so they valued loyalty and liked people who could take orders and execute their orders well. People who were there before they became successful - partners, employees, vendors, - will always have a special place in their hearts, and quite often, in their business. These loyal "friends" occupy key positions. They provide internal and external information. But at some point, the SE and the business outgrows the capabilities and skills of the loyal employees. The loyal friends can become a drag on the business, but the SE finds it hard to acknowledge. Failed professionalisation: Often the limitations of their original teams push them to think about professionalising - bringing in top talent, putting in place rules and processes. Many of them intellectually know that they need to do this, but few of them emotionally commit to it. Often because they lack high-quality formal education, they seek branded talent. But their honeymoon with such talent is short. They are impatient with professional managers - offering a shorter rope for failures than they would do for themselves or their loyalists. The loyalists feel threatened by new talent and make it harder for them to settle or succeed in the business. India owes a great debt of gratitude to these SEs. Their drive and vision have transformed the industrial landscape and helped India grow. These SEs start to face challenges as they graduate beyond Rs.5,000 crore revenue and face a real challenge by the time their business has grown to around Rs.15,000 crore. At that point they become the biggest bottleneck to the growth of their business. Changing gears to go from being SEs to creating truly iconic companies is tough. They need to learn the importance of leverage for themselves and to be able to trust and give autonomy to others. They need help to move to the next orbit! That's the subject of another article....