When Falguni Nayar launched Nykaa back in 2012, she was sure of one thing: her startup would be a destination store for all things beauty.

Global IndianstoryFalguni Nayar: The entrepreneur helming Nykaa, India’s only profitable unicorn to go public

Entrepreneurship

Falguni Nayar: The entrepreneur helming Nykaa, India’s only profitable unicorn to go public

Written by: Global Indian

(August 11, 2021; 7 pm) When Falguni Nayar launched Nykaa back in 2012, she was sure of one thing: her startup would be a destination store for all things beauty. Over the years, the e-commerce platform earned a loyal fan following and is now one of the most successful beauty stores in the country. From curating a range of beauty and wellness products to introducing some of the finest luxury beauty brands to India, launching several successful offline stores and now racing towards filing an IPO, Nykaa has come a long way. And former New York investment banker Nayar is being heralded as the game changer for the country’s women entrepreneurs.

While it may not be the first startup to go public this year, it will be groundbreaking as it is the first woman-led startup heading for an IPO and is one of the first profitable startups to be listed in the public markets. It is also one of the few startups in the country where the founder is expected to have a strong control over the company compared to other Indian startups also heading for a public listing. Nayar and her family own over 54% stake in the parent company. According to Bloomberg News, the company which filed preliminary documents for an IPO this week, could be valued at more than $4 billion.

Falguni Nayar with her husband Sanjay and kids

Journey to the top

Born in Mumbai in 1973, Nayar’s father ran a ball-bearing business. She went on to graduate from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics before doing her MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. Nayar then landed a job at AF Ferguson & Co where she worked for eight years, before moving to London in 1994 as Head of International Business for Kotak Securities. Three years later, Nayar was heading Kotak’s international business department in New York, where she worked for four years, before moving back to Mumbai as director and head of Kotak’s Institutional Equities Business.

In 2007, Nayar took over as the Managing Director of Kotak Investment Banking, a job that she quit four years later to dive headlong into the world of entrepreneurship.

Nykaa signed on Jahnavi Kapoor as its brand ambassador

Entrepreneurial journey

When Nayar founded Nykaa, the segment was relatively new and not as popular as it is today. Until then, naysayers were of the opinion that e-commerce and beauty retail don’t work in India. However, Nayar was confident of her venture and had done her market research before testing waters. Soon, the e-commerce platform gained popularity as it began bringing luxury beauty brands to Indian shores such as Charlotte Tilbury, Farsali, Chopard, Chloe, and even top Korean skincare brands such as Laneige and Sulwhasoo. In an interview with YourStory, she said,

“I felt that there is a lot of early-stage value creation by entrepreneurs, and yet, there are several naysayers. It was the entrepreneur’s drive and belief that intrigued me, and it was something that I wanted for myself.”

The idea for Nykaa came about from Nayar’s observations of how in the West, entire floors of high-end stores were dedicated to beauty products. In India, however, it was usually the neighborhood variety stores that women turned to. With limited choices and poor displays, Nayar was ready to change the beauty business – her goal was to create a slick shopping experience where women could also get first-hand tips from celebrities and beauty influencers alike.

For women by women

Falguni Nayar and Katrina Kaif

At the heart of the business was Nayar’s missions to help Indian women look after themselves. In an interview with The Print, she said,

“Our message to women has been that the spotlight of her life should be on herself. You are important in your story and should feel no guilt at being center stage.”

Nayar’s vision soon had the company grow from strength to strength and Nykaa introduced its own product line under Nykaa Cosmetics, Nykaa Naturals, Nykaa Man and Kay Beauty with Katrina Kaif. Today, the platform has close to 4,000 brands and has processed 19.5 million orders until March this year. Nayar also ensured she tapped into the power of influencers and Nykaa has a network of as many as 1,300 influencers from across the globe to help drive sales.

What the IPO means

According to YourStory, women-led businesses usually find less funding when compared to those led by men with the former raising only 5% of the total funding between 2018 to 2020. Nykaa’s IPO therefore, will be a huge leg up for India’s startup ecosystem, especially for its women entrepreneurs. The success of this IPO will draw more investor attention to women-led startups and attract more women to entrepreneurship.

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Published on 11, Aug 2021

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Nithin Kamath: How this fintech entrepreneur went on to become one of the richest Indians

(September 7, 2021) He was all of 17 when he was first introduced to the world of finance and trading. Rather taken in by the whole concept of trading, Nithin Kamath spent the next 12 years doing just that. By the time he had graduated from engineering college, he’d earned a sizeable amount of wealth... only to lose it all soon after. Refusing to give up, he soldiered on and continued to trade during the day and worked at a call center during the nights. The tide finally turned when he met a high net worth individual who handed him a cheque and asked him to manage his money. [embed]https://twitter.com/Nithin0dha/status/1433061564865646592?s=20[/embed] By 2010, he’d garnered enough confidence and funds to launch his own startup – Zerodha, a retail online stock broking company – in association with his brother Nikhil. Ever since, the startup has been changing the way young India invests in stocks. The Bengaluru-headquartered company offers retail and institutional brokerage, currencies and commodities trading, mutual funds, and bonds. With an active client base of over 3.5 million, Zerodha is the largest retail stockbroker in India, beating even traditional brokerage firms such as ICICI Securities and HDFC Securities. In 2020 Zerodha became one of the rare profitable fintech companies to

ve client base of over 3.5 million, Zerodha is the largest retail stockbroker in India, beating even traditional brokerage firms such as ICICI Securities and HDFC Securities. In 2020 Zerodha became one of the rare profitable fintech companies to attain unicorn status and the 42-year-old Nithin made his debut on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest. His net worth is estimated at $1.55 billion.

[caption id="attachment_9567" align="aligncenter" width="453"] Indian entrepreneur Nithin Kamath Nithin and Nikhil Kamath founded Zerodha[/caption]

Journey to the top

Born in a Konkani family in Shivamogga, Nithin was raised in Bengaluru by a veena teacher mother and a Canara Bank manager father. Growing up in a neighborhood filled with active traders, Nithin was first initiated into stock broking at the age of 17. He was rather taken in by the whole system of making money through stocks and soon realized that he had a penchant for it too. He began actively trading ever since and continued to do so through his college years Bangalore Institute of Technology. By the time he’d graduated he’d earned a handsome profit. But that’s when things went south.

[caption id="attachment_9566" align="aligncenter" width="547"] Indian entrepreneur Nithin Kamath Zerodha in its early days; Nithin Kamath (extreme left)[/caption]

He’d borrowed money to trade and ended up blowing his trading account and lost a lot of money. To make up for the debt he took up a call center job that he worked at for four years even as he continued to trade during the day. On his website, Nithin writes, “I quit my job when I met the first person who asked me to manage their portfolio.”

By 2006, he had become a franchisee of brokerage firm Reliance Money to start a formal advisory business. Around this time, he was joined by his brother Nikhil, who Nithin claims is a better trader than he was. With Nikhil handling trading, Nithin figured he could set aside some time to build a brokerage firm that they wanted. When the markets crashed in 2008, several people suffered heavy losses, but Nithin had managed to make some money. By 2010, the brothers took the plunge and set up Zerodha.

Hustling to succeed

The idea for the startup came about when Nithin felt the need for a platform that offered people a seamless trading experience. He also believed that people needed a platform to educate them on the different investment options available. “With Zerodha, we were the first to introduce a flat fee model (a maximum of ₹20 per trade), helping traders save upto 90% of brokerage charges compared to the exorbitant percentage fees which was common at the time," Nithin writes on his website, “In addition, we offered this single pricing plan to all our clients unlike the then incumbent players who had opaque offerings for different groups of clients. While we started from zero, this transparency slowly got us attention on online communities and via word of mouth.”

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2eMIWDzuM0[/embed]

The operations which initially focused on day traders have now evolved to cater to long-term investors. The company began as a completely bootstrapped venture and has so far not required any external funding; it has been thriving despite the pandemic with people making a conscious effort to begin their investment journeys in these uncertain times. The platform has seen a 100% growth in concurrent users and won the NSE Retail Broker of the Year in 2018.

In addition to this, Nithin and Nikhil also founded investment management firm True Beacon which is aimed at ultra-high net worth investors and operates on a zero-fee model.

Giving Back

To empower retail traders and investors, Zerodha runs a number of open online educational and community initiatives. Varsity, is a learning module to educate young investors looking to explore the world of trading; it also has an active forum (Trading Q&A) for traders and investors to discuss stock ideas.

[embed]https://twitter.com/Nithin0dha/status/1433820768597516291?s=20[/embed]

In January 2021, Nithin set up the Rainmatter Foundation for which he set aside $100 million. The Foundation supports grassroots individuals and organizations working on solutions for climate change. A special emphasis is also laid on afforestation and ecological restoration activities. In an interview with YourStory, Nithin said, “I have had a problem with the concentration of wealth, where a small bunch of people have access to a high amount of wealth. It is time that these people do something to give back to society.”

Reading Time: 5 mins

Foodpreneur Gaggan Anand gave Indian cuisine a makeover with his dramatic style. Here’s how

(July 14, 2021; 4 pm) When Gaggan Anand launched his eponymous restaurant back in 2010, it was more out of frustration because “businesses didn’t want something different”. Ever since, the Bangkok-based Gaggan restaurant rose almost meteorically; it was repeatedly featured in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and named Asia’s best in 2015. With two Michelin stars, the restaurant was one of the most coveted dining destinations where patrons loved seeing the dramatic Anand stir up things in the kitchen. Curiosity about its 25 course-long menu inspired by emojis had the waitlist run up to at least two months. Dishes such as the space cookie, chocolate golgappas, and his signature yogurt explosion were unheard off, especially from an Indian kitchen. Gaggan was on a mission to break stereotypes. Making Indian food multi-dimensional [caption id="attachment_4870" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Food served at Gaggan Anand[/caption] Anand’s take on Indian food was almost like art. A tiny eggplant cookie for instance was his interpretation of the traditional baingan ka bharta. The vegetable was mashed and charred in the tandoor before being freeze dried and compressed into cookies that were then sandwiched with onion chutney. Then there was his take on the Bengali paturi; mustard wrapped sea bass cooked in cedar wood and charred with a flourish at the table, according to a report in The Hindu. There’s a reason the chef was so hugely popular – nobody else interpreted or

trast="auto">Making Indian food multi-dimensional

[caption id="attachment_4870" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Celebrity chef Gaggan Anand gave Indian cuisine a makeover with his dramatic style. Here’s how Food served at Gaggan Anand[/caption]

Anand’s take on Indian food was almost like art. A tiny eggplant cookie for instance was his interpretation of the traditional baingan ka bharta. The vegetable was mashed and charred in the tandoor before being freeze dried and compressed into cookies that were then sandwiched with onion chutney. Then there was his take on the Bengali paturi; mustard wrapped sea bass cooked in cedar wood and charred with a flourish at the table, according to a report in The Hindu. There’s a reason the chef was so hugely popular – nobody else interpreted or presented Indian food the way he did. His melange of molecular gastronomy, authentic Indian flavors and the Japanese pursuit of perfection set him apart from contemporaries.

But did you know the famous chef actually wanted to be a musician? On his website, the 43-year-old Anand says,

“I dreamt of being a professional drummer in a band, but one day, as a teenager, I realized that my economic situation would never improve as a musician, so I went to the next thing I knew best: cooking.”

From Kolkata to Bangkok

Born in Kolkata to Punjabi parents, Anand went to IHMCT, Kovalam in 1997, following which he worked with the Taj Group as a trainee. He then pursued a catering career in Kolkata’s Tollygunge area before he relocated to Bangkok to work at Red, a contemporary Indian restaurant. Anand’s flair in the kitchen got him noticed and he was picked up to work with Ferran Adria’s research team at El Bulli (it was judged the world’s best restaurant for a record five years, before Adria decided to close it down in 2011) in Catalonia, Spain. To Gaggan, food is the ultimate pornography. In an interview he said,

“The sensuality of food invites your mind to eat it. You look at the food, you take a picture, hashtag it and then you eat it. To me, that is the most important part of cooking today; the experience.”

By 2010 he had set up Gaggan and things seemed to be going really well. However, when he won his 50 Best Restaurants award in 2017, he announced his intention to close his eponymous restaurant by 2020. People wondered by the Indian chef would not want to set up a global Gaggan empire? In an interview with The Hindu, he said, “When people go out, they usually eat a cuisine. At Gaggan, you eat the chef’s journey. The chef’s personality. That is why I am wearing out... I don’t know if everyone can have the same vision. You have to burn out or walk out. El Bulli taught me that. It’s every chef’s nightmare — burning out. So this is how I’m controlling my fizz.” He also wanted to work on his next project in Japan with his friend and collaborator Chef Takeshi Fukuyama.

Gaggan leaves Gaggan

[caption id="attachment_4872" align="aligncenter" width="608"] Celebrity chef Gaggan Anand gave Indian cuisine a makeover with his dramatic style. Here’s how Gaggan Anand at work in his new restaurant[/caption]

However, in 2019, he abruptly walked out of his business following a falling out with the shareholders at Gaggan. The move shocked the culinary circles and patrons alike. Just a few months later in November 2019, Anand along with a lot of his old staff launched Gaggan Anand, his newest playground, a mile away from the original. Here they only served 50 diners each day (now 25 in keeping with Covid protocol) and reservations can only made online. Things began looking up again, with the new restaurant clocking in a waitlist of at least six months. Takers for his elaborate 25-course emoji menu are just too many.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and hit the hospitality industry hard: it led to a paring down of this elaborate menu. According to 50 Best, as it stands today, Gaggan Anand runs a nine-course lunch menu for 2,000 baht ($70). The tasting menu, previously priced at 12,400 baht ($400), is now 4,300 baht ($140) and the current average spend on a la carte in the restaurant is 3,100 baht ($100).

Star Wars theme

Most diners flock to Anand’s restaurants to watch him cook – it is no less than a performance. According to Anand, he along with his team act out a fantasy at the core of which is amazing food. Earlier this year they had a Star Wars themed experience that ran at the restaurant till June and here the chef let free his creative genius. He told 50 Best, “Just because we’re doing a Star Wars menu doesn’t mean I’ll be dressing like a Jedi or using plates shaped like Yoda. Yes, there’s a light show, yes, there is illumination and we are blowing a few things up, but my ideas for the food come from all aspects of the five decades of Star Wars.” The first course was a space cookie, the next was set in The Dune Sea and Jabba’s Palace. The dinner was served on a table strewn with moss to represent the planet of Endor.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbSpg9NL20A[/embed]

Dining out post-pandemic

Anand is mindful of the fact that a post-pandemic world will also bring about an upheaval in the way fine dining restaurants will function. He believes that going forward it will be small tables, small restaurants and chefs’ counters that will dominate the culinary scene. Which is why he doesn’t worry about losing money as a restaurant owner. Bagging the Highest New Entry award this year was proof enough that he is headed in the right direction.

Editor’s Take

For a long time, it was perceived that Indian food was not tailor-made for fine dining. But Gaggan Anand set out to change that, and change he did. He took Indian food beyond the usual curry-centered. There is a reason the chef’s restaurants see long waiting lists: Much like him, his food has a touch of drama - dishes such as the baingan-bharta-on-a cookie, chocolate golgappas, and his signature yogurt explosion are testimony of just what’s possible with Indian food. Within a couple of years of him launching his latest restaurant it has featured at No 5 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and bagged the Highest New Entry Award. Indian cuisine evolves and adapts with time and foodpreneurs such as Anand are key drivers of change.

RELATED READ: Indian pharmacist takes MasterChef Australia by storm

Reading Time: 10 mins

India’s Unicorn Boom: How startups are changing the game

(May 11, 2022) In the last few years, India has emerged as the third largest ecosystem for startups globally with over 66,359 DPIIT-recognised startups across 642 districts. With many global leaders looking to invest in Indian market, the country is witnessing a boom in the number of unicorn companies - privately held startups with $1 billion valuation or above. Interestingly, India’s startup landscape has seen close to 100 unicorns being added since January 2019. Furthermore, the country is expected to birth more than 250 unicorns by 2025, according to the Iron Pillar report ‘India Tech Trends'. As the technology ecosystem continues to grow, Global Indian turns the spotlight on five companies, who recently made it to the country's unicorn club. MindTickle - Krishna Gopal Depura, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali In 2011, three Pune-based techies - Krishna Gopal Depura, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali started a group to take part in gamified knowledge-based treasure hunts as a hobby. The idea was not only to do something interesting, which could be at the intersection of fun and learning, but also transform the mundane life of corporates. Intrigued with the possibility of making a business out of their passion, they approached investors

orm the mundane life of corporates. Intrigued with the possibility of making a business out of their passion, they approached investors in 2011, pitched them MindTickle, and positioned the startup as a gamification platform for corporates.

[caption id="attachment_24360" align="aligncenter" width="699"] Krishna Gopal Depura, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali[/caption]

Ten years later, it was valued at $1.2 billion by SoftBank Vision fund, making it a unicorn company. Though MindTickle had its share of teething troubles, the founders never gave up on their vision. During an earlier interview, Krishna shared that though they were able to grab the attention of marquee venture capitalist (VC) fund Accel in 2012, over the next five years the business kept trickling in.

They had their eureka moment in 2015, when the founders realised that they were trying to sell their product in the wrong market. To set things right, MindTickle team used LinkedIn to gauge the need for training for sales executives. After realising that their product suited the US market, they focussed sharply on solving the pain points of business leaders who were looking for sharper and ready sales staff for their business.

Soon MindTickle started striking multi-million dollar deals with single customers. In 2017, MindTickle raised $27 million. Two years later, came $40 million in a series C round. Next to follow was a hefty cheque of $100 million from SoftBank Vision Fund in November 2020, which made MindTickle SoftBank’s first software-as-a-service (Saas) investment in India.

The startup now claims to have over 250 customers, and gets 80 percent of its revenue from the US, with the rest coming from Europe and Asia.

Follow MindTickle on Twitter and LinkedIn

PharmEasy - Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Siddharth Shah, Hardik Dedhia, and Dharmil Sheth

The pharma industry has never been an organised sector in India. However, a six-year-old company changed the game by bringing together patients, pharmacies and diagnostic centers on one platform. In 2015, two young Mumbaikars – Dharmil Seth, an alumnus of IMT Ghaziabad, and Dr Dhaval Shah, an MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, came together to digitalise the medicine industry, so that one could order their medicines from a wide range of e-commerce medical stores online and get them delivered online without any hassles.

[caption id="attachment_24361" align="aligncenter" width="741"] Dhaval Shah, Harsh Parekh, Siddharth Shah, Hardik Dedhia, and Dharmil Sheth[/caption]

Since then, its B2B business has grown manifold. In 2019, PharmEasy merged with Ascent Health, to form API Holdings, which brought in three new co-founders on board – Siddharth Shah, Hardik Dedhia, and Harsh Parekh. In 2021, the startup joined the unicorn club and became the first e-pharmacy to do so with a valuation of $1.5 billion.

However, PharmEasy has its share of challenges, including the supply chain logistics. The biggest roadblock initially was the lack of digitised records. To overcome this, the founders ensured that every retailer they work with has digital records and a proper system by offering inventory management and accounting tools.

Today, the B2B pharma distribution business connects over a whopping 100,000 retailers to around 4,500 distributors. Furthermore, PharmEasy is looking to expand its diagnostic business which has witnessed a massive surge in the past year.

Follow PharmEasy on Twitter and LinkedIn

Moglix - Rahul Garg

Backed by Ratan Tata and Accel Partners, Moglix was launched in 2016 by an IIT-Kanpur and ISB alumnus, Rahul Garg. Headquartered in Singapore, its mission is to tide over the gap between B2B merchants and consumers, and develop an exclusive digital-trade ecosystem, tailor-made to satisfy the diverse needs of buyers and sellers.

[caption id="attachment_24362" align="aligncenter" width="655"] Rahul Garg[/caption]

One of Asia’s largest and fastest-growing supply chain services companies, Moglix joined India's unicorn club in May 2021 after raising Series E round funding of $120 million that boosted the company's valuation to surpass the $1 billion mark. However, the company did go through some tough time during the global pandemic. In the wake of the massive global supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19, Moglix looked to partnering with enterprises across industry verticals to map their supply chain requirements and provide technology-enabled solutions that are customised and scalable. They even provided PPE, medical kits, cleaning and housekeeping items, and surface agents at economical prices through its e-commerce portal moglix.com.

At present, the company claims to provide solutions and industrial products to more than 500,000 small and medium enterprises as well as to over 1000 large manufacturers across India and the UAE. It has a supply chain network of over 16,000 suppliers, and operates across 40 warehouses along with an in-house logistics infrastructure.

Follow Moglix on Twitter and LinkedIn

CoinDCX - Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal

Even though the world of crypto is still volatile with no clarity on the legality of the digital asset, two college friends- Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal – pooled in all their life savings to start cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX in 2018. Unfortunately, it was the same year when Reserve Bank of India issued a banking ban on crypto transactions. Several crypto startups had to shut shop or continue operations while navigating numerous roadblocks. CoinDCX, too, decided to fight the uphill battle and was among the few players that contested the regulator’s ban in court.

[caption id="attachment_24363" align="aligncenter" width="707"] Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal[/caption]

In March 2020, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on cryptocurrency exchanges and one-and-a-half years later, CoinDCX became the first crypto startup to enter the unicorn club with a $90 million funding led by B Capital. During an interview, Sumit shared that the CoinDCX team has seen the total spectrum of fundraising in the space during their journey. What helped them was keeping their heads down and focusing on building their company.

With over 3.5 million users, CoinDCX is now aiming to make crypto more accessible in India and accelerate its efforts of bringing 50 million Indians into the crypto fold.

Follow CoinDCX on Twitter and LinkedIn

GlobalBees - Deepak Khetan, Nitin Agarwal, and Supam Maheshwari

Based on the Thrasio model, e-commerce startup GlobalBees was founded in May 2021 by FirstCry founder Supam Maheshwari and Edelweiss’ former President Nitin Agarwal. The idea was to acquire digital-first brands across categories such as beauty, nutrition, food, fitness, personal care, lifestyle, home, sports and lifestyle, which have a revenue rate of $1 million to $20 million, and help them scale up and grow. In just seven months, GlobalBees made it to the unicorn list in December 2021, by raising $150 million in a Series A financing round led by FirstCry.

[caption id="attachment_24364" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Deepak Khetan, Nitin Agarwal, and Supam Maheshwari[/caption]

In the last few years, many ecommerce brands have cropped up in India, owing to the evolution of the ecosystem with better logistics, deeper internet penetration, and increased consumer interest and trust. However, what make GlobalBees different is their ambition to build the product and focus on innovation. The company acquires and partners with sellers on Amazon and equips them with capabilities across marketing and growth, technology, distribution, sourcing, branding, warehousing, logistics, R&D, product development, and operations — all things essential to rapidly scale the brands in the digital space.

GlobalBees has acquired 12 brands across categories, including The Better Home, Prolixr, Absorbia, Yellow Chimes, HealthyHey, and others. Presently, the company’s strategy is to work with these and build them up.

Follow GlobalBees on Twitter and LinkedIn

Reading Time: 7 mins

Grinding batter to entrepreneurial success: How PC Musthafa built a ₹2000 crore company

(November 1, 2021) PC Musthafa realised very early that being enterprising was the only way to ride out of abject poverty. He was only 10 years old when the realisation dawned on him. Hailing from a remote village in Kerala's Wayanad district, Musthafa's father worked as a daily wage labourer for less than ₹10 a day, and Musthafa gave a helping hand to his father in his work to earn a little bit. But he had a plan in place. After saving money for a long time, Musthafa bought a goat, reared it and sold it after some time. He used that money to buy a cow which became a source of income for the family. Musthafa had found a way to keep his family afloat through his venture. Musthafa, who founded iD Fresh Foods decades later, says that he may have had a very active mind, but he was weak in one area. "I was very poor in studies. Once I failed in class six and stopped going to school. I decided to help my father in earning a living," he says talking to Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_14691" align="aligncenter" width="730"] PC Musthafa is the CEO of iD Fresh Foods.[/caption]

="attachment_14691" align="aligncenter" width="730"] PC Mustafa PC Musthafa is the CEO of iD Fresh Foods.[/caption]

Musthafa's teacher, "Mathew Sir," saw a spark in the young boy and convinced him to continue his studies. It wasn't very comfortable for him to sit with his juniors, but somehow he developed an interest in mathematics. And there was no looking back.

Within a year, he was topping not only in mathematics but other subjects too. That, in a way, changed his life. "The lesson out here was when your confidence is low, take baby steps. Learn from your experience and slowly work towards your goals. That's when I started enjoying school a lot." he says. Later he did engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut.

Somewhere along the line, Musthafa's entrepreneurial drive got lost as he got busy with his education and then a job came his way. While working a 9-5 job in the Middle East, he realised that this was not something he wanted to do for long. Moreover, he was keen to do something for his village, especially its children. "There were many kids from my village who were way smarter than me. But like me they didn't get the opportunity. I wanted to offer them something," he says.

He decided to give in to his entrepreneurial yearnings, quit his job in 2003 and returned to India. Meanwhile, Musthafa did his MBA from IIM, Bangalore, and started brainstorming with his cousins to start a new venture.

One day, one of his cousins mentioned a local store selling dosa batter in plastic packets with a rubber band to hold it together. "The batter was in demand, yet people had issues about packaging. Some people were complaining about it being unhygienic. That's when we stepped in," Musthafa shares.

With around ₹50,000, Musthafa plunged into the batter business. Four of his cousins joined him. In 2005, iD Fresh Food rolled out from a 50 sq ft kitchen. The journey began with two grinders, a mixer, a sealing machine and a second-hand gear-less scooter. Musthafa and his cousins would go to the market every morning, buy rice, urad dal, come back, wash it, grind it, and put it on fermentation. The following day they would pack it and load it on the scooter to sell the batter packets. "It was back-breaking work. Our shirts were soaked in sweat, yet we enjoyed it a lot." he laughs.

[caption id="attachment_14690" align="alignnone" width="1200"] PC Mustafa preparing dosa[/caption]

It took them almost nine months to get 20 customers and sell 100 packets.

Today iD sells more than one lakh packets every day. "Idlis and dosas from batter feeds more than one million Indians everyday," says a proud Mustafa.

According to TiE Chennai, in 2018, the iD Fresh Food was ₹1,000 crore brand.

The company has its presence across South India and West India, Dubai and the US. With the backing of large investors such as Helion Venture Partners and Azim Premji's investment, iD Fresh Food is spreading its wings and reaching Europe. It has diversified its products with inclusion of filter coffee and others.

Talks are on with a few more investors for the next round of funding as iD plans to expand in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. "Our existing partner, Helion Venture is about to exit and we have more people interested in investing in our future," Musthafa informs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvvblHr9zok

With a team of 2,000 employees across the globe, iD Fresh Food is on a growth spree that few companies can match. Apart from its flagship batter, iD's other popular products include Malabar parotta, paneer, filter coffee and bread,

An early riser, Musthafa enjoys spiritual books during his free time. Though he enjoys all kinds of food, he claims he can't cook. "My dosa resembles Australia's map," he smiles.

Looking back at his life from a remote village to being one of India's most successful young entrepreneurs, Musthafa says, "The journey has been tough, yet very memorable and satisfying." But he has a long way to go and scale greater heights.

Follow PC Musthafa on Instagram and Linkedin

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Born in Chicago, settled in India, Anjum Babukhan set up a school that makes a difference

(October 7, 2021) Anjum Babukhan's is an unconventional story. Born and brought up in Chicago, she moved to India for her husband. But where she could've basked in the glory of her new life, she decided instead to channel her energies into branching out on her own. A keen learner herself, she found the education system in the country outdated and set out to make a change in her own small way. She founded Glendale Academy, a co-education school that laid an emphasis on holistic growth and a nurturing environment, in Hyderabad. The concept clicked and today, the brand has flourished into a chain of private schools that was ranked number 1 in Telangana and at number 8 in India by Education World. For close to three decades now, Anjum has striven to transform lives through education, which remains her top priority even today. Otherwise, the award-winning educationist can teach you a thing or two about martial art form like Tai Chi or Chinese exercise Qigong, show off her urban sketching skills and Yin-Yang art, display her Ikebana expertise, become a dance choreographer or wow people with her Zumba and Yoga moves. In everything that she does, Anjum sets the standards

e a dance choreographer or wow people with her Zumba and Yoga moves. In everything that she does, Anjum sets the standards high.

By leaps and bounds

“I do my best and let god do the rest,” smiles Anjum, settling down for an exclusive interview with Global Indian. Her desire to achieve and a passion to convert her dreams into reality led to the birth of Glendale Academy. She took off with one school in the early 2000s; 25 years later, Glendale has expanded by leaps and bounds.

“We now stand as number 1 in Telangana and top 10 in India; we are known for our pedagogy – the art of teaching and holistic curricular approach more than anything else," informs a beaming Anjum, the Director of Glendale, as she looks back at her illustrious journey.

From America to Hyderabad

Born and raised in Chicago in the United States in a conservative family, Anjum is the eldest of four siblings. Her Indian Muslim parents immigrated from Hyderabad in the 1970s. "I keep traversing between continents, cultures and conditions. Whether it was adapting as a bicultural child of immigrants in the US to moving halfway across the world to India and adjusting to the social constructs of the society here, I pick out elements of what I choose to harmonize in my symphony of multi-layered and multi-cultural being," says Anjum.

She was a high honor roll student, who won several scholarships on graduating from high school before she went on to study Psychology in the honors program at Loyola University, Chicago. While in her last year at the University, Anjum met an international student from Hyderabad, Salman Babukhan, whom she married after college. Anjum moved to India in 1995 after pursuing her Masters in Education Administration and Instructional Leadership at University of Illinois.

Entrepreneurial journey

Within months of her settling down in India, she discovered the education system here was outdated and rigid. She wanted to change things, so Anjum set out on a mission. "We wanted to create nurturing spaces that develop every child's multiple intelligence spectrum, physical capabilities, creative potential, 21st Century life skills and multicultural awareness. At Glendale, our focus has always been and remains on cultivating competence and character," she informs.

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A lifelong learner, Anjum is not only keen on sharing her knowledge, but also adapts and evolves with the changing times. "Everyone changes and everyone evolves. From my teens, 20s, 30s, and now in my 40s, I have grown more effective in my career, confident in capacities, resilient in challenges and comfortable within my own being as time moves forward. In the biological paradigm, those who adapt not only survive, but thrive," says the mother of three.

Anjum has many feathers in her academic cap. Among them are the outstanding academic achievement awards in the Presidential Academic fitness awards program signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and President George HW Bush in 1990, as well as an "academic and leadership excellence" award presented by Hyderabad foundation of Chicago.

The eternal Global Indian

Describing herself as a Global Indian American Muslim, Anjum is constantly pushing the boundaries. Even now, she is strong in her academic pursuits in her quest for lifelong learning. With courses like Strategy in Action and Project Zero from Harvard, courses from Cambridge and recently a Design Thinking course from Stanford D school, she exemplifies her motto of learning every day. The visionary leader that she is, Anjum says she loves to learn anything that contributes to building her own multiple intelligence spectrum.

"One should explore their many sides across identities, capacities, cultures and ways of knowing the world. Every aspect one has in them can be channelized and optimized. There is no one like you and never will be. Be the best version of yourself always," she advises all those embarking on a journey. A globetrotter, Anjum says she keeps wanting to bridge the best of both worlds with what she likes and lives in both places. "I guess we are all travelers in this world," says Anjum, who is also a TEDx speaker.

Global Indian Anjum Babukhan

Staying true to her roots

With an experience of over two and half decades in implementing the best teaching methodologies, she has also authored a book, ABCs of Brain Compatible Learning, which is a guide for all educators.

The one Indian-ness, she says, that remains with her is the Hindustani language, be it Urdu or Hindi, which is a way to know, enjoy and be enriched by culture. "Nothing can be as colorful and vibrant as ethnic apparel and accessories. But even if I feel comfortable with the secular and pluralistic ideals of countries I call my own, my belonging may be questioned by the right-wing powers of the majority at times, whether it is in the US or India," says Anjum, who has won innumerable awards, accolades and recognition not just individually but for her institutions as well.

Anjum, who received an honorary doctorate in education by the National American University and National Institute of Education and Research, has an interesting take on Brand India. "As long as Brand India maintains its pluralism, secularism and humane values on which the nation was founded upon, it will grow stronger, taller and wider by harnessing the strength of unity in diversity. If it is inclusive, striving for justice and opportunity for all, Brand India will be a potent force like no other."

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Born in Chicago, settled in India, Anjum Babukhan set up a school that makes a difference

By leaps and bounds

From America to Hyderabad

Entrepreneurial journey

The eternal Global Indian

Staying true to her roots