Founder President, TiE Kerala & Angel Investor, Mentor & Author
Balagopal enrolled for PhD at the Kerala University and associated with the Center for Development Studies Trivandrum during the course. He was chosen to serve the nation as an officer in the Indian Administrative Service (Manipuar Cadre) in the role of a district official. He found his calling in entrepreneurship and quit Government service in 1983 and started a joint-venture to commercialise a knowhow developed in a national research lab. He later sold the idea to KSIDC and NRDC.
Good leadership, team work along with government support helped his company develop fast and grow. They excelled in the ‘know why’ of medical device manufacturing which became the company’s core competency. With the opening up of Indian economic policy, and advent of foreign products into Indian market, Balagopal signed an MOU with Terumo Corp. Japan in 1999 as an investor and global business partner; Penpal became Terumo Penpal (TPL). Blood bags and equipments manufactured by TPL were exported to more than 50 countries globally. In the year 2012, he sold his shareholding to Terumo Corp. and stepped down as managing director in March 2013. He continued his association with TPL as an Advisor for yet another year to help with the transition to a new management team.
Balagopal wears multiple hats; he is currently the Founder and Trustee at Anaha; Director of Enter Technologies Pvt. Ltd; Chairman of Mobilexion, a medical technology company. He is a Charter Member and first President of TiE Kerala. He is also a member of the Ethics Committee of Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology; Investment Promotion Board; Kerala and Technology Development Committee and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (Dept of Science &Technology, Govt of. India).
Balagopal now divides his time between mentoring and investing in startup ventures, especially those engaged in healthcare, community development activities, and writing. He is a sought after speaker on various subjects ranging from business, healthcare and public health, entrepreneurship, and contemporary affairs. He has written a book, “On A Clear Day You Can See India”, published by Harper Collins, and his second book “The View from Kollam” is out now.
