Startup and Innovation Management

Indian Startups Dr. P.Baba Gnanakumar Rags To Riches



VISION







• Once you start working on POWER OF INDIAN something, don’t be afraid ENTREPRENEURS of failure and don’t abandon it. People who 2 work sincerely are the happiest. – Chanakya

AGENDA 3 Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us David M. Kelley and Tom Kelley Empowering Others Brain Tracy Rashmi Bansal's book 'Connect the Dots'

STARTED WITH RS 150, NOW RUNS A CHAIN OF DOSA RESTAURANTS WORTH 30 CRORES! 4

• Born in 1973. 5 • At age 17, Prem Ganapathy left his native place Nagalapuram in Tuticorin without informing his parents in the pursuit of making money, after a person promised him a job in Mumbai. • After Ganapathy completed his tenth standard, he did not want to study further. • He worked for about two years across restaurants in Mumbai doing all sorts of odd jobs. He soon realised that there was a good potential in the catering business

• \"I was scared but I was willing to 6 take the risk. We took a local train to Bandra and I was eagerly waiting to see where I would begin my new career. He took me to a tea shop and vanished. My worst fears came true. He had just dumped me there,\" Ganapathy reminisces.

• I started to move out of the hotel, to give tea/coffee to shopkeepers around that area. I used to earn Rs 1,000, three times more than the other boys as this service was based on a commission basis,\" 7

• \"I used to keep a note of every person's requirement, some 8 wanted strong tea, some wanted it without sugar. So I established a good rapport with the outside world. One person who had a small business saw that I was enterprising and hard working so he suggested that we open a food stall on the street on a joint partnership. He invested the money and told me to do the work and he promised me half of the profit,\" he says. • But declined to do so

Self Confidence 9 • By 1992, Prem had managed to save up enough to rent his own handcart. He started selling idlis and dosas on the street opposite Vashi railway station. “I borrowed some money from friends and rented a handcart for Rs 150. It was really difficult in the initial days. Many times, the municipality vans used to come and pick our handcart. But I was very positive and determined. I never gave up hope,”



• Ganapathy was lucky to have helpful roommates. They were very friendly and supportive. • \"Since they studied at NIIT, they guided me well. They even taught me a computer course. They also spread the word around about my dosas. My business did well,\" he says. • \"I took a break of two hours every evening and spent the time surfing at a cyber cafe 10

• “I took a break of two hours every evening and spent the time surfing at a cyber cafe. I used to read about various businesses and learned quite a lot. My brothers also played a crucial role in making the business a success,” he says. After witnessing the success of a McDonald’s restaurant which started beside his cart, Prem soon decided to venture out and start his own restaurant. • \"I was amazed to see the long queues of people who wanted to buy a burger. What is so great about the burger, I used to think. That's when I realised how a restaurant can make a big impact.\" 111

• In 1997, Prem leased a small 12 space for Rs 5,000 a month nearby and named it Prem Sagar Dosa Plaza. His business grew as he started experimenting with dosas. In the first year itself, he introduced 26 different varieties of dosas,

• \"In 2003, a new mall called Centre One opened in Vashi. The people from mall management team who knew me suggested that I open an outlet in the mall.\" 13



• My father instilled in me a lot of positive energy. This is what kept me going strong. I have tried to see an opportunity in every loss. Even when people teased him, saying 'your son has ditched you and gone far away', he always used to tell them 'I am happy for him as I know wherever he is, he will do well'. 14

• Dosa Plaza gained popularity, got a lot of media coverage as well. Ganapathy started offering franchises to people who wanted to set up the outlet elsewhere. • The first franchise outlet opened at Wonder Mall, in Thane. • Ganapathy went for a brand-building exercise for better visibility. \"The brand makeover helped. We got a new logo design as 'approved by Dr. D', and changed the name to Dosa Plaza. This was a big boost to the business. 15

• \"In 2008, we opened franchisee outlets in New Zealand. About 50 per cent of our clients in New Zealand are locals. In fact, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark and other ministers had dinner from our outlet,\" says Ganapathy. The next outlets will be in the US and Dubai. Today, Dosa Plaza has 35 outlets across 10 states in India with a turnover of over Rs 5 crore 16 (Rs 50 million).

• Another interesting instance was when film star Rajnikant's wife visited Dosa Plaza • Rajnikant also invited him to attend his daughter's wedding 17

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Rags to Riches II • ‘ragging the “riches”











CASE II • Sachin Bansal • Binny Bansal 20

CASE II FOUNDERS OF FLIPKART • Flipkart is an e-commerce company founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. It is registered in Singapore and it operates in India, where it is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. Flipkart has launched its own product range under the name “DigiFlip” with products including tablets, USBs, and laptop bags. 21

• Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are from 22 Chandigarh. Although they share the same last name, they are not related. They both were students of computer science engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Before the tremendous success of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal wanted to become a professional gamer. • It was launch in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Basal; who used to work for Amazon before starting this project. Bansals went to Indian Institute of Technology for getting their graduation degrees. They initially invested their own money into this business and later raised capital from big guns like; Accel India, Tiger Global and Naspers Group.

Power of Promoting • We used to stand outside Gangaram Book Stores on Church Street and hand over Flipkart bookmarks to the people coming out of the shop. In order to make sure that our targeting was right, we would give bookmarks to only those who were coming out2w3 ith books in hands; the people who have made purchases.