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Total Number of Subscribers: 464 |
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Date: 17th August 2008 |
Compiled by Mr. M. Sathya Kumar |
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A crorepati who
lives in a hut! His story is an inspiration for millions. A self-made entrepreneur,
his mission is to help the poor through job creation. E. Sarath Babu hit
the headlines after he rejected several high profile job offers from various
MNCs after he passed out of IIM, Ahmedabad two years ago. He instead started a catering business of his own, inspired by
his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, worked as an ayah
in an Anganvadi to educate him and his siblings. As a child, he also sold
idlis in the slum where he lived. "We talk about In August 2006, Sarathbabu's entrepreneurial dream came true
with Foodking. He had no personal ambition but wanted to buy a house and a
car for his mother. He has bought a car but is yet to buy a house for his
mother. The "foodking" still lives in the same hut in Madipakkam in
Chennai. Today, Foodking has six units and 200 employees, and the turnover of
the company is Rs.32 lakh a month. But it has not been a bed of roses for
Sarathbabu. After struggling and making losses in the first year, he managed
a turnaround in 2007. How has his experience as a 'Foodking' been in the last two
years? Sarathbabu shares the trial and tribulations of an exciting and
challenging job in an interview with Shobha Warrier. A tough beginning
Sleeping on the railway platform My first unit was at IIM, Ahmedabad. When we
started our second unit in October 2006, I thought now I would start making
money. But I made losses of around Rs 2000 a day. A first generation
entrepreneur cannot afford such a loss. But I worked really hard, working
till I started the third unit again in Ahmedabad but it also made
losses. All my units were cafeteria and I understood then that the small
cafeterias do not work; I needed huge volumes to work. My friends who were
extremely supportive in the first year when things were difficult for me. I
had taken loans from my IIM-A friends. They were earning very well. In December 2006, an IIM Ahmedabad alumni event took place in
Mumbai and I decided to go there mainly to get a contract. I was hopeful of
getting it. I also knew that if I got the huge contract, I would come out of
all the losses I had been incurring. I booked my train ticket from Ahmedabad to Mumbai for Rs 300 and
I had Rs 200 in my hand. As the meet went on till late at night, I could
reach the station only at It was an unforgettable night as I was even shoved off by
policemen from the platform. It was quite insulting and embarrassing. After
two hours, people started moving in, I also went in. A man who sat next to me on the platform gave me a newspaper so
that I could sleep. I spread the newspaper and slept on the platform! I sleep
well. I got my ticket refund in the morning and went back to Ahmedabad. And,
luck did not favour me, I didn't get the contract. In March 2007, I got an offer to start a unit at BITS, Pilani
(Sarathbabu was an alumnus of BITS, Pilani). That was the first medium break
for me. For the first time, I started making profits there though the other
units continued to make losses. The reason for our success at BITS, Pilani
was the volume; there were more students and there was a need for a unit like
ours while in Ahmedabad, they have at least a hundred options. If I made Rs 5000 a day at Ahmedabad in two shifts, here I made
Rs 15,000 a day. BITS, Pilani unit gave me the confidence to move on. Unless
you make money, you can't be confident in business. What changed my fortune When all my friends who worked for various MNCs made good
money every month and I made losses with my venture. But I kept telling
myself, I am moving in the right direction to reach my ambition and vision.
My dream was to provide employment and I was doing just that. I continued to
work till Through BITS, Pilani, I got the BITS, I was still in debt by Rs 15-20 lakhs but I knew BITS, I was called to give a speech at the Now, I have the BITS, I have hired about 200 people. Indirectly, we touch the lives of
around 1000 people. By this year end, we will have 500 people working for us.
Only 10% of my workers are educated, the rest are uneducated. I want to make
a change in their lives. If they have any problem, I will take care of it. We
support the marriages and education of poor families. We are paying more to
the employees as the company is doing well. Now that the foundation is strong,
I plan to have ten units and a turnover of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million)
turnover by next year.
His advice: Never give up! In the last two years, I have given more than 120 lectures in
various institutions in When you just dish out the theory, nobody believes you. But when
you do it, they believe you. What I tell them is based on my own experiences. When I thought of starting a company, I felt Entrepreneurship is needed to uplift the poor. It is not easy to
be an entrepreneur, especially a first generation entrepreneur. There will be lots of challenges in the beginning but you should
learn to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Never give up even if there are hurdles. There are many who give
up within a week. You need determination and a tough mind to cross the initial
hurdles. If you are starting without much money, you should not have any
overhead expenses. He still lives in the same hut As I am in the food business, I know how much the price of every
food item has gone up. Many people will languish in poverty because of
inflation. Had my mother been working as an Anganvadi ayah today and earning
Rs 1500, she would not have been able to feed us and educate us. On the one side, we talk about I wanted to buy a car and a house for my mother. I bought a car
first, not a house. I still live in the same house, the same hut. I can build
a house right now but I want my business to grow a little more. I feel good
in the hut; thats where I get my energy, that's where I lived 25 years of my
life. I want to remind myself that the money and fame should not take me away
from what I want to achieve. But within six months, I will build a good house for my mother.
Her only advice to me is, don't waste money. Till I was in the 10th, there was no electricity in my house. I
had to sit near the kerosene lamp and concentrate hard. That's how I learnt
to concentrate. The two year journey has been very enriching. It seems like a
20-year journey for me. I was living every moment of the two years, from
sleeping on the Mumbai railway station platform to this level. Source : The Rediff Website |
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