Sunil Bharti Mittal on Entrepreneurship

When Sunil Bharti Mittal started in business more than 30 years ago in Ludhiana in Northern India, he borrowed $1,500 to make bicycle crankshafts. Today, he heads the $5 billion Bharti Group, whose flagship company, Bharti Airtel, is India's largest mobile phone operator. Forbes magazine, which estimates Mittal's net worth at some $11 billion, ranks him among Asia's self-made millionaires. Mittal spoke with India Knowledge@Wharton at the U.S.-India Business Council's 33rd annual meeting in Washington, D.C., about the leadership and entrepreneurial lessons he has learned during his career. Among them: When faced with a choice between perfection and speed, choose speed; perfection will follow.