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Startup

A Conversation….

By Tejas Vishnu Nimbargi on 41 Comments / 2321 views

That day I got a call from Rajesh Uncle (Name not changed because there was no need!)

This post is that conversation in short! 

People involved ( Rajesh Uncle(RU) and Tejas Nimbargi (ME))

Description: Rajesh Kulkarni is settled in US. Managing Director with a Top Insurance Company, he is a big guy. My role model in every sense. Now disappointed with me because I did not do MS in Biomedical Engineering. He loves Academics 🙂 

I am a Biomedical Engineer, working in a Software Company as a SAP Consultant, resigned with nothing in hand, but with a vision and an idea. 
Vision to complete my MBA from IIM
An idea to set up a QSR.

RU: How are you Tejas?

ME: I am fine. How are you Mama?

RU: We are all fine here. (He knew my next question would be how is Mami and their son, so he told this to me beforehand so that I won’t waste his time. Man, I know how much he loves time, and how much I respect him for that).
So I had a talk with your mom. Quickly tell me what’s going on in your life.

ME: (After taking a long gushing breath) Mama, I have resigned from the company.

RU: Oh… you can carry on without waiting for my monosyllables.

ME: (A little shocked with this reply but continuing my answer) I am planning to do my MBA next year and have a business idea in my mind. It was not possible for me to do both these things with my job. So I have quit my job. Now I am serving my notice peri….

RU: So what’s your plan? Just the gist.

ME:(I knew I had to be short and to the point so I explained to him my point. For people who haven’t read, here it is.

Image Source: en.wikipedia.org

RU: Well. I am not interested your business model. The business plan you forwarded to me, I have already deleted that. 
Answer some of questions:
1) Who will make Pav Bhaji?
2) What if he agrees and then doesn’t turn up the next day?
3) What if his Pav Bhaji is just not up to the mark?

How well are you prepared to handle these scenarios??

ME: (I somehow had no definite answers to these questions. I tried to explain him that we would try to talk to other cooks, make sure he comes daily blah blah blah…
He patiently waited for my lame answers to get over)

RU:
Teju(he was in a lighter mood now) I have always known you as a level headed person and that you would do good. But one thing I wanted to hear from you is ” I l make my own Pav Bhaji”
You are trying to sell a product, build a brand , but if you do not know how to make a Pav Bhaji, how do you believe that customers would come and still maintain their loyalty.

I do not oppose to your idea of having a cook. But you must also know how your product is made.
If you cleaner doesn’t turn up, you should be ready to sweep the floor. If your waiter doesn’t turn up, you should personally go and take orders with a good smile on your face.
At the same time, treasure the person who will make Pav Bhaji to you. Ultimately it is your product which is going to create value for your company and your cook would play a pivotal role in that. Do not treat him as a commodity.

Never dream about franchising now, (I had mentioned that plan of ours in the near future) take number of years to build a brand, delayed gratification is always a pleasure later.

Concentrate on just one center that you will be opening, make your Pav Bhaji great. Call yourself a chef. Invite everyone to your house and make them eat your Pav Bhaji. If they say that it is good enough to be sold in the market, then think of opening a Pav Bhaji center.

Do not worry about VC. I will come to India and eat your Pav Bhaji. If it is good enough I will be your VC. But your Pav Bhaji should make me come back to you. 
I hope you are getting me.

I had no words to describe what I felt. These were valuable lessons. Although I knew how to make Pav Bhaji and was cognizant with most of the lessons he gave, this one was gem of an advice. 
This was one advice which had care, concern, warning and lot of blessings in it. 

I could not thank him more. We talked about general things for some time and the call ended with a punchline…

“Do Not Build Business, Build Value. Do not Follow Money, Follow Ethics. All the Best to you”
What a conversation it was….

Thanks for your patient reading. 

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41 Comments

  1. Tejas, this is the first thing I told to your partner when he met me, learn how to make pav bhaji, experiment with the recipe…

    and now u hv a potential VC too, good luck…

  2. I know Aman. Bhautik had told me that…
    Thanks 🙂 

  3. “Do Not Build Business, Build Value. Do not Follow Money, Follow Ethics. All the Best to you”

    Summarizes all the possible lesson you will learn at IIM. 

    Good Luck! 

  4. Tejas, ask Bhautik to meet me whenever he gets time, if you guys are soon to start…

  5. Tejas, you are very lucky to have a insightful mentor in your family 🙂

    All the best.

  6. Hey Aman, Tejas, Divyesh, 

    I’m planning a meet up in the next week with Hitesh Bhatia, and also trying to meet up Sanal. I have a plan that why don’t we all meet up and just share a jist of all the ideas, as now I’m on completion with my funding process, and planning to open up by july. So I just thought that right now is a good time to plan a meet up. What say you guys. 

    Let me know asap on 9699-246-444 you can whats app me o just text me, then we can plan it out in the evening to meet up.

  7. Hi Tejas,

    I think when we had a conversation I too had said the same thing , you need  to be the chef firs and then hire a chef, as you need to know your product much before you let the world know about it. 

    you should do a lot of trial runs before you launch the product.

  8. Thanks so much Divyesh. 🙂

  9. The same old problem Aman. I am in Hyderabad. Can’t come before July 15th. We will start full fledged after that. I l tell him. 
    We would let you know our plans and Bhautik would call you soon. Thnks so much again 🙂

  10. Karan! First of all, Congratulations for completing your funding process and for your plans of opening up. I hope this July becomes your best July ever!
    All the best.

    That is a wonderful idea to meet up Hitesh Sir.
    I have work commitments in Hyderabad, but my partner Bhautik Kanadia would surely turn up. He would contact you. 

    I love this platform! So much to learn and so many people to guide. 
    Hospitality Industry rocks!!! 😀 😀

  11. I know Abhik Sir. Truly insightful. Thank you. 🙂

  12. I know. You Aman Divyesh gave me very valuable insights of this industry. My sunday is usually spent doing Pav Bhaji. A lot of trial runs are expected. Will keep you posted. 🙂 
    Again all the best for your Venture! 🙂

  13. Thanks a lot Tejas, will surely meet up once you’re back, will contact Bhautik and others to try and meet up .

  14. Sure, btw your number has already reached Bhautik’s phone book and he will ping you.:)

  15. Hi Karan,

    I will be glad to join you guys. And I believe you all are surely going to attend open house meet this saturday, so we can hv a quick discussion there too.

  16. I cannot explain how bad I am feeling,,,Cant attend the open house and meet you guys..
    July ke baad pakka ..:)

  17. yes I’m surely will meet up …. watch out for my brand name …… 

  18. best part of being an indian . you will find at-least one relative who can fund your idea ..!! and great advice that u have shared . !! best of luck 

  19. So, you are giving a presentation, karan?

  20. na no presentations……. you got to wait and see ……. surprises ………. 

  21. Thank you Nitish. Actually I do not really agree on this point. Taking money from a relative. So will look out for some other source. Thanks anyways! 
    🙂

  22. Tejas,

    All the best to you. Having a mentor is like having wind on your sails. Go rock the pav bhaji world!

  23. Absolutely right!! Thanks so much Ratnakar!
    🙂 🙂

  24. Hi Tejas,

    Think again if you want to do an MBA. I see you already have a business plan ready with you. You don’t need an MBA to do business. Limit your liabilities as Kapil has mentioned in his post – What MBA did to me ? . Any top B-school teaches how to be a manager and not an entrepreneur. You might get lost in those 2 years. I would suggest you to re-think.

    PS : Currently, I am a IIM Indore 2nd yr student. Still thinking why I opted for an MBA.

  25. Oh boy! you are an IIM student thinking why you opted for an MBA! Interesting.
    Whatever you told is perfectly correct. MBA is more of a necessity for me, a pre condition put forth by my family. I know it is not necessary for a business but it would at least help me in some way or other.

    Moreover after MBA i plan to do business and not a job. As of now, i m taking baby steps. Making my QSR ready and at the same time, CAT. Lets see how this shapes up. Thanks Roshan for replying. 🙂

    P.S- Btw, do you, by any chance, know Prasad Patil??

  26. He is my senior, just passed out .. I’ll pass out in 2014 .. don’t know much about him though 🙂

    Where are you planning to start your QSR and how are you planning to run it once you are in college ?

  27. Ok. He is my friend.

    I am right now serving my notice period. Will be back by July 15th. We plan to start immediately thereafter. Target is December 2013, to set up my first store. Then I will be working full time in that store for first 6-8 months.

    Then if my MBA is getting confirmed, my partner will take over.
    I have a great and understanding partner. That helps. Later I will come back and look into the expansion of the business. We are taking it very slowly. Not looking to increase centers very quickly.

    Lets see how it goes. My advantage will be I wouldnt be joining MBA for a job. 🙂
    just for learninig.

    P.S: am i sounding like Baba Ranchchoddas

  28. Hahaha !! no you are not sounding like Baba Ranchoddas. What i meant was what we learn at top b-schools is not worth to spend 15+ Lakhs and more importantly 2 years of our entrepreneurial life. 

    All your take but this is how I see my MBA as.

  29. I can understand.
    Btw what is your plan buddy.

    You will be taking up a job or take up the entrerpreneurial route?

  30. Not sure Tejas. I am working on one of my plans, if everything works out well in the next 9 months from now, I’ll not be taking a job. But, otherwise I’ll have to,  may be for couple of years and then will decide what I want in life. 15L loan is a big liability.

  31. I agree.. 15 lakhs is too much. Job is a must if you have to repay it on your own.
    Anyways all the best with your plan dost!
    I hope you do well.
    Had a good talk. 🙂

  32. Some conversations change your life.. and by sharing it with us, you have in a way helped us have that conversation virtually with someone like your uncle… Simply amazinG!

  33. Do Not Build Business, Build Value. Do not Follow Money, Follow Ethics. All the Best to you !!
    thanks for this advice, have printed it for my soft board !!
    🙂 f

  34. Some conversations do change our life and mainly our perspective.
    This was indeed one of them. 🙂

    Thanks for reading it Anamika. 🙂

  35. yeah. same here Fayzad. 
    Thanks for reading it. 🙂

  36. So true!

  37. 🙂 🙂

  38. The conversation is truly marvelous & this is the exact reason I started to learn coding all by myself because my idea being an online service I should know the online part of it as well as the offline part of it 🙂 

    Feels good to be on the right track 🙂 Good luck to you Tejas 😛

  39. Thanks Ankit…
    And it is really heartening to know that you are learning Coding.

    A Commerce guy learning to code. A Biomedical Engg making Pav Bhaji twice a week.
    This is what distinguishes a normal person from an ENTREPRENEUR!

    🙂

    Best luck to you and your Venture Ankit. Hard work always pays off. And it will do in our cases.. 🙂

  40. Awesome conversation. Thanks for sharing!:)

  41. Glad you liked it. 🙂 🙂

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