Young boy gets job with Ratan Tata

Who says one cannot touch the sky? For this young MBA graduate, the sky isn’t the limit. Having studied at a prestigious college Cornell University, Shantanu Naidu has made big for himself quite early in his life. Last year, he made headlines for bagging a coveted job with India’s leading industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata. Now, he assists the business magnate with his startup investments apart from providing him executive assistance. Shantanu Naidu and Ratan Tata’s friendship is one of a kind.

Shantanu Naidu age is 28 as of 2022 and when asked, Shantanu Naidu describes his job as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity. He said,

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“It is an honour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be working with Mr Tata. It is full of learning every minute, every day.”

Shantanu Naidu with Ratan Tata
Shantanu with Ratan Tata. Humans of Bombay/Facebook

Everybody knows who is Ratan Tata

For those who have been living under the rock, here’s a short explainer of who Ratan Tata actually is and why he is a ‘thing’ in India.

Ratan Tata is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, and former chairman of Tata Sons, who is better known for his charitable acts for his nation. He has received two of the highest civilian awards in India, namely Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.

Ratan Tata Instagram
Ratan Tata/Instagram

How did Shantanu Naidu meet Ratan Tata?

In 2014, Shantanu Naidu was working as an automobile design engineer at Tata Elxsi in Pune. He noticed that several stray dogs are often run over by speeding cars and it made his heart melt. He decided to do something for them. Naidu noticed that dogs aren’t visible to the speeding vehicles at night. Thus, he swore to resolve this problem. He made collars for stray dogs that would glow at night, even without streetlights.

After several trials, he succeeded in making these collars and called his initiative Motopaws. This initiative then earned a mention in the Tata Group of Companies newsletter, which subsequently caught Mr. Ratan Tata’s notice.

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Shantanu Naidu-Motopaws
Humans of Bombay/Facebook

Shantanu Naidu even wrote to Mr. Tata, since he knew how big an animal lover he was. However, he didn’t receive any response. Obviously, there must be thousands of mails dropping by his mailbox. But one-day Shatanu received a call to meet Ratan Tata at his office in Mumbai. Ratan Tata met him and expressed a lot of love for his initiative Motopaws.

Shantanu Naidu and Ratan Tata
The first time they met! Humans of Bombay/Facebook

Ratan Tata invested in Motopaws

We already know how much Ratan Tata is fond of dogs himself. If you remember, during catastrophic rains in 2018, he offered space of office Bombay House 2.0 to stray dogs. Earlier, they used to sleep in the reception area, but later they even got a separate room for themselves.

Motopaws team
Humans of Bombay/Facebook

Motopaws was not funded till then and then Ratan Tata invested in it from his own pocket. The initiative has now reached up to 11 cities in India and has plans for expanding to the remaining cities as well. Motopaws is also receiving a lot of requests from countries like Malaysia and Nepal. They are now looking to make collars for bigger animals like cows as well.

Currently, they manufacture around 500-1500 collars per month, but they aim at speeding up the production.

Motopaws investor Ratan Tata
Team Motopaws after receiving the funding from Ratan Tata. Your Story

And finally, Shantanu joined the Tata Group

Ratan Tata and Shantanu Naidu’s collaboration didn’t end here. Following the association with Motopaws Shantanu kept in touch with Ratan Tata seeking his mentorship.

During his second year of MBA at Cornell, Shantanu focused on entrepreneurship, startups, investments, venture capitalists, key industry trends, etc. In an interview he said,

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“Cornell has a very grassroots entrepreneurship programme and several incubators that give you a thorough entrepreneurial orientation. I interned with the Tata Trusts and with Cornell University on Mr Tata’s pet project of building a veterinary hospital in Mumbai. I was put in that team before I graduated which, incidentally, is coming along very well now. By the time I came back, I had the additional qualifications of the entrepreneurial world, which I felt very passionate about.”

Shantanu Naidu Ratan Tata
BBC

Ratan Tata young assistance Shantanu Naidu

After completing his degree Shantanu was expecting to work on the same veterinary project. But Ratan Tata had other plans for him. He was asked to join Ratan Tata’s office on a permanent basis. Ever since then, Naidu is working with Tata. Shantanu added,

“Mr Tata’s mind is extremely sharp and to be in his presence and see how he makes his decisions is an education of its own. The best part is his wit and humble nature. You will never feel like you are working with Mr Tata, because he does not have that barrier that says, ‘I am this and you are that’. He has never made me feel intimidated or threatened or scared about learning something. He is always encouraging in that sense. Not just to me, but to everyone that comes his way.”

Shantanu shared that he is the fifth generation working with the Tata Group. He is the first one to grab the opportunity to work as an executive as everybody who worked previously were all engineers and technicians.

shantanu naidu net worth
indianexpress

Shantanu Naidu net worth

Shantanu’s net worth is estimated to be Rs 5-6 crores as of 2022.

Shantanu Naidu and Ratan Tata friendship

Over the years, Ratan Tata and Shantanu became good friends. Shantanu even turned Ratan Tata into a social media star through his millennial impact. Among the selected businessmen with an active and engaging Instagram account, at the age of 84, Tata is one of them.

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He learned about social media trends, emojis, lingo, and hashtags from Shantanu and now has more than 6 million followers on Instagram.

 

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A post shared by Ratan Tata (@ratantata)

Ratan Tata said,

I enjoy seeing Shantanu’s freshness and concern. We never see enough of this in the ‘dog eat dog’ world we live in

Besides his regular work at Tata Group, Shantanu launched a ‘companionship company’ GoodFellows, that focuses on promoting and providing intergenerational friendships, just like his own with Ratan Tata. Employing educated young graduates, the startup aims at reducing the loneliness of elderly people by helping them connect with the younger generation.

Intergenerational friendships are a kind, meaningful, and authentic way to help the elderly living alone with companionship and warmth in the way that GoodFellows is offering. I am keen to see how GoodFellows progresses and wish Shantanu and his young team all the very best

– Ratan Tata

Shantanu Naidu Ratan Tata friend
hindustantimes

Shantanu Naidu Book – I Came Upon a Lighthouse: A Short Memoir of Life with Ratan Tata

In 2021, Shantanu launched his book I Came Upon a Lighthouse: A Short Memoir of Life with Ratan Tata, which is all about the relation between ‘the millennial Naidu and the octogenarian industrialist, Ratan Tata’.

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Five years ago when I started to get to know Mr Tata better, my mom suggested that I write down all that’s happening in a small red diary. Eventually that one red diary lead to two, three red diaries and I realised that my parents, and the people who found out about my stories and experiences with Mr Tata, were keen to get to know more about him. So I felt it’s worthwhile to share this privilege with people

-Shantanu Naidu

I Came Upon a Lighthouse
goodreads

Perceived as unconventional fast friends, Shantanu Naidu and Ratan Tata even watch movies together.

This proves that age and generation have no influence on friendship, it knows no barriers.

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Reshu Manglik is a highly accomplished professional, holding a degree in Science and boasting an extensive 9-year career as a seasoned Content Marketer. Her passion for writing extends across a diverse range of marketing topics, showcasing her versatility and expertise in the field. Reshu is renowned for her ability to craft compelling content that resonates with audiences, making complex marketing concepts accessible and engaging.