When 27-year old Sarathbabu graduated from the
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he created quite a stir by
refusing a job that offered him a huge salary. He preferred to start his
own enterprise -- Foodking Catering Service -- in Ahmedabad.
He was inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of
Chennai, to educate him and his siblings. It was a dream come true,
when Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy lit the traditional lamp and
inaugurated Sarathbabu's enterprise.
Sarathbabu was in Chennai, his hometown, a few days ago, to explore
the possibility of starting a Foodking unit in the city and also to
distribute the Ullas Trust Scholarships instituted by the IT firm
Polaris to 2,000 poor students in corporation schools.
Sarathbabu describes his
rise from a Chennai slum to his journey to the nation's premier
management institute to becoming a successful entrepreneur. This is his
story, in his own words.
Childhood in a slum
I was born and brought up in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have
two elder sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole
breadwinner of the family. It was really tough for her to bring up five
kids on her meagre salary.
As she had studied till the tenth standard, she got a job under the
mid-day meal scheme of the Tamil Nadu government in a school at a salary
of Rs 30 a month. She made just one rupee a day for six people.
So, she sold idlis in the mornings. She would then work for the
mid-day meal at the school during daytime. In the evenings, she taught
at the adult education programme of the Indian government.
She, thus, did three different jobs to bring us up and educate us.
Although she didn't say explicitly that we should study well, we knew
she was struggling hard to send us to school. I was determined that her
hard work should not go in vain.
I was a topper throughout my school days. In the mornings, we went
out to sell idlis because people in slums did not come out of their
homes to buy idlis. For kids living in a slum, idlis for breakfast is
something very special.
My mother was not aware of institutions like the Birla Institute of
Technology and Science, Pilani, or the Indian Institutes of Technology.
She only wanted to educate us so that we got a good job. I didn't know
what I wanted to do at that time because in my friend-circle, nobody
talked about higher education or preparing for the IIT-JEE.
When you constantly worry about the next square meal, you do not
dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer. The only thing that was on my
mind was to get a good job because my mother was struggling a lot.
I got very good marks in the 10th standard exam. It was the most
critical moment of my life. Till the 10th, there was no special fee but
for the 11th and the 12th, the fees were Rs 2,000-3,000.
I did book-binding work during the summer vacation and accumulated
money for my school fees. When I got plenty of work, I employed 20 other
children and all of us did the work together. That was my first real
job as an entrepreneur. Once I saw the opportunity, I continued with the
work.
Life at BITS, Pilani
A
classmate of mine told me about BITS, Pilani. He was confident that I
would get admission, as I was the topper. He also told me that on
completion (of studies at Pilani), I will definitely get a job.
When I got the admission, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I was
excited that for the first time I was going out of Chennai, but there
was also a sense of uncertainty.
The fees alone were around Rs 28,000, and I had to get around Rs
42,000. It was huge, huge money for us. And there was no one to help us.
Just my mother and sisters. One of my sisters -- they were all married
by then -- pawned her jewellery and that's how I paid for the first
semester.
My mother then found out about an Indian government scholarship
scheme. She sent me the application forms, I applied for the
scholarship, and I was successful. So, after the first semester, it was
the scholarship that helped me through.
It also helped me to pay my debt (to the sister who had pawned her
jewellery). I then borrowed money from my other sister and repaid her
when the next scholarship came.
The scholarship, however, covered only the tuition fees. What about
the hostel fees and food? Even small things like a washing soap or a
toothbrush or a tube of toothpaste was a burden. So, I borrowed more at
high rates of interest. The debt grew to a substantial amount by the
time I reached the fourth year.
First year at BITS, Pilani
To put it mildly, I was absolutely shocked. Till then, I had moved
only with students from poor families. At Pilani, all the students were
from the upper class or upper middle class families. Their lifestyle was
totally different from mine. The topics they discussed were alien to
me. They would talk about the good times they had in school.
On the other hand, my school years were a big struggle. There was
this communication problem also as I was not conversant in English then.
I just kept quiet and observed them. I concentrated only on my
studies because back home so many people had sacrificed for me. And, it
took a really long time -- till the end of the first year -- to make
friends.
The second year
I became a little more confident and started opening up. I had worked
really hard for the engineering exhibition during the first year. I did
a lot of labour-intensive work like welding and cutting, though my
subject was chemical engineering. My seniors appreciated me.
In my second year also, I worked really hard for the engineering
exhibition. This time, my juniors appreciated me, and they became my
close friends, so close that they would be at my beck and call.
In the third year, when there was an election for the post of the
co-ordinator for the exhibition, my juniors wanted me to contest. Thanks
to their efforts I was unanimously elected. That was my first
experience of being in the limelight. It was also quite an experience to
handle around 100 students.
Seeing my work, slowly my batch mates also came to the fold. All of them said I lead the team very well.
They also told me that I could be a good manager and asked me to do
MBA. That was the first time I heard about something called MBA. I asked
them about the best institution in India. They said, the Indian
Institutes of Management. Then, I decided if I was going to study MBA,
it should be at one of the IIMs, and nowhere else.
Inspiration to be an entrepreneur
It was while preparing for the Common Admission Test that I read in
the papers that 30 per cent of India's population does not get two meals
a day. I know how it feels to be hungry. What should be done to help
them, I wondered.
I also read about Infosys and Narayana Murthy, Reliance and Ambani.
Reliance employed 20,000-25,000 people at that time, and Infosys, around
15,000. When a single entrepreneur like Ambani employed 25,000 people,
he was supporting the family, of four or five, of each employee. So he
was taking care of 100,000 people indirectly. I felt I, too, should
become an entrepreneur.
But, my mother was waiting for her engineer son to get a job, pay all
the debts, build a pucca house and take care of her. And here I was
dreaming about starting my own enterprise. I decided to go for a campus
interview, and got a job with Polaris. I also sat for CAT but I failed
to clear it in my first attempt.
I worked for 30 months at Polaris. By then, I could pay off all the
debts but I hadn't built a proper house for my mother. But I decided to
pursue my dream. When I took CAT for the third time, I cleared it and
got calls from all the six IIMs. I got admission at IIM, Ahmedabad.
Life at IIM, Ahmedabad
My college helped me get a scholarship for the two years that I was
at IIM. Unlike in BITS, I was more confident and life at IIM was
fantastic. I took up a lot of responsibilities in the college. I was in
the mess committee in the first year and in the second year; I was
elected the mess secretary.
Becoming an entrepreneur
By the end of the second year, there were many lucrative job offers
coming our way, but in my mind I was determined to start something on my
own. But back home, I didn't have a house. It was a difficult decision
to say 'no' to offers that gave you Rs 800,000 a year. But I was clear
in my mind even while I knew the hard realities back home.
Yes, my mother had been an entrepreneur, and subconsciously, she must
have inspired me. My inspirations were also (Dhirubhai) Ambani and
Narayana Murthy. I knew I was not aiming at something unachievable. I
got the courage from them to start my own enterprise.
Nobody at my institute discouraged me. In fact, at least 30-40
students at the IIM wanted to be entrepreneurs. And we used to discuss
about ideas all the time. My last option was to take up a job.
Foodking Catering Services Pvt Ltd
My mother is my first inspiration to start a food business. Remember I
started my life selling idlis in my slum. Then of course, my experience
as the mess secretary at IIM-A was the second inspiration. I must have
handled at least a thousand complaints and a thousand suggestions at
that time. Every time I solved a problem, they thanked me.
I also felt there is a good opportunity in the food business. If you
notice, a lot of people who work in the food business come from the
weaker sections of the society.
My friends helped me with registering the company with a capital of
Rs 100,000. Because of the IIM brand and also because of the media
attention, I could take a loan from the bank without any problem.
I set up an office and employed three persons. The first order was
from a software company in Ahmedabad. They wanted us to supply tea,
coffee and snacks. We transported the items in an auto.
When I got the order from IIM, Ahmedabad, I took a loan of Rs 11
lakhs (Rs 1.1 million) and started a kitchen. So, my initial capital was
Rs 11.75 lakhs (Rs 1.17 million).
Three months have passed, and now we have forty employees and four
clients -- IIM Ahmedabad, Darpana Academy, Gujarat Energy Research
Management Institute and System Plus.
In the first month of our operation, we earned around Rs 35,000. Now,
the turnover is around Rs 250,000. The Chennai operations will start in
another three months' time.
Ambition
I want to employ as many people as I can, and improve their quality
of life. In the first year, I want to employ around 200-500 people. In
the next five years, I hope to increase it by 15,000. I am sure it is
possible.
I want to cover all the major cities in India, and later, I want to go around the world too.
I have seen people from all walks of life -- from the slums to the
elite in the country. That is why luxuries like a car or a bungalow do
not matter to me. Even money doesn't matter to me. I feel bad if I have
to have food in a five star hotel. I feel guilty.
Personally, I have no ambition but I want to give a house and a car to my mother.
Appreciation
I did not expect this kind of exposure by the media for my venture or
appreciation from people like my director at the IIM or Narayana
Murthy. I was just doing what I wanted to do. But the exposure really
helped me get orders, finance, everything.
The best compliments I received were from Narayana Murthy and my
director at IIM, Ahmedabad. When I told him (IIM-A director) about my
decision to start a company, he hugged me and wished me luck. They have
seen life, they have seen thousands and thousands of students and if
they say it is a good decision, I am sure it is a good decision.
Reservation
Reservation should be a mix of all criteria. If you take a caste that
comes under reservation, 80 per cent of the people will be poor and 20
per cent rich, the creamy layer. For the general category, it will be
the other way around.
I feel equal weightage should be given for the economic background. A
study has to be done on what is the purpose of reservation and what it
has done to the needy. It should be more effective and efficient. In my
case, I would not have demanded for reservation. I accepted it because
the society felt I belonged to the deprived class and needed a helping
hand.
Today, the opportunities are grabbed by a few. They should be ashamed
of their ability if they avail reservation even after becoming an IAS
officer or something like that. They are putting a burden on the society
and denying a chance to the really needy.
I feel reservation is enough for one generation. For example, if the
child's father is educated, he will be able to guide the child properly.
Take my case, I didn't have any system that would make me aware of
the IITs and the IIMs. But I will be able to guide my children properly
because I am well educated. I got the benefits of reservation but I will
never avail of it for my children. I cannot even think of demanding
reservation for the next generation.
Source : http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/31spec.htm
