Leaders with Francine Lacqua · Nov 8, 2026 · 24m · 17m saved
With Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises
Photo via bharti.com
Reliance Jio's 2016 launch left roughly $100 billion of Indian telecom investment worthless. Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, gave that estimate to Francine Lacqua on Leaders with Francine Lacqua, and said Bharti answered by buying its failing rivals' spectrum and assets.
Rivals with bigger balance sheets went out of business in India's price wars. Bharti kept its cash through the worst of them, then raised money to buy what the others left behind.
"I raised $18 billion in 34 months against all odds." — Sunil Bharti Mittal
Sunil started out at 18 making bicycle parts in Ludhiana. He went on to build what he calls India's first phone and to win one of the country's first mobile licenses.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 24 minutes of audio, 7 minutes of reading.
Here are the 11 lessons that matter.
Key Takeaways
Sunil raised $18B in 34 months after Jio's launch
His own stake fell from 51% to 25%, which he did not find hard
Inside Bharti in 2002, the question was when, not if, it would go out of business
Every operator had the same equipment, so Bharti won on its people and its customers
Lower prices in Africa made customers save, not spend more on phones
Large, professionally run companies slide from risk management into risk aversion
A leader should never lose their temper, because it costs them their judgment
1. Out of College at 18
Sunil's career began in Ludhiana, the industrial town in Punjab, making bicycle parts and hosiery yarn.
Sunil left college at 18 with no interest in staying
"I was 18. I came out of college and that is not my best place. Education was not my forte. I just wanted to get the hell out of there." — Sunil Bharti Mittal
In his early twenties he moved to Bombay with little capital and traded whatever he could find: zip fasteners, copper scrap, aluminum drawers and stainless steel plate.
