Mukesh Ambani

Geo offered free data for a year to every subscriber. Indian consumers got unlimited internet with no monthly charges. Reliance built massive cellular infrastructure and gave the service away at massive cost. Giving away a core product seemed absurd and destroyed competitors. But it was strategic. Ambani played a long game. 400 million Indians joined Geo and experienced fast internet free for the first time. When free ended, they'd become dependent on the service. Competitors couldn't match it. Ambani built a monopoly base of 400 million users. He layered services on top. Commerce, payments, entertainment. All connected and monetized over time. Lost leaders work when building monopolies with no switching possible.