For bringing quality dental care to India's working class.

When Vikram Vora was walking clinic to clinic selling dental equipment in the late 2000s, every customer was a disgruntled customer. "The waiting times were too long, pricing was not transparent, and materials were substandard," he says. Vora launched Mydentist in Mumbai in 2010, basing it on the café model: clear, standard rates for every treatment (e.g., a root canal always costs 2,500 rupees—about $40), fixed waiting times, and quality materials. Profits would come through efficient sourcing and scale.

The three-year-old chain now has 72 clinics and last year alone treated 150,000 patients, most from India's teeming working class—domestic helpers, cab drivers, and roadside vendors. "It was a segment that was underserved, people who waited for their teeth to fall out as they could not afford pricey dental treatments," says Vora, 34, an engineer by training. The outlets are situated around Mumbai's bustling commuter-train stations, but treatments are site-independent. "A dental implant procedure started at one location can be seamlessly continued at another," he says. "No one else has done this in dentistry anywhere in the world." The chain employs 280 full-time dentists and 120 consultants, plus 280 dental assistants—all young adults from ­working-class families, all trained by the company.

Fast Company