One man’s dream and the invaluable lessons for entrepreneurs everywhere
How Goli Vada Pav became a household name across India
This inspiring story features Venkatesh Iyer, Founder & CEO, Goli Vada Pav as he shares his journey of turning a street food from Maharashtra into a multi-million dollar business spread across 300 outlets in 100 cities. He talks about the idea he had, the choice of Vada Pav for being fast food, finger food and mobile food, and the challenges he faced in translating his idea from mind to market.
Inspired by Paulo Coelho’s Alchemist, Venkatesh is a staunch believer that if one has a dream and believes in it, the universe conspires to help you achieve it. He talks about a chance encounter that gave him access to a fully automated plant, solving his problem of wastage, pilferage and standardization of the product.
His story has its fair share of ups and downs, with the 2008 financial crisis wiping out any hopes of funding and leaving him with no money, manpower or market. However, he persevered with grit and determination and stuck to his idea, and today Goli Vada Pav’s success is a case study taught in business schools around the world.