By Prakash Ramchandani
CEO, India, Spuul
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed sprucing up a scrumptious meal for the kids. I developed a penchant for cooking, thanks to my mum, someone with a ‘unique’ sense of ingredients. It’s cool, fun and kind of inventive, be it grilling on the barbecue or doing an Indian/Italian treat. Though I have a lot to improve on my culinary skills, I see a lot of similarity between this hobby of mine and start-up experiences. As enthusiastic as I am to try out multicultural cuisines, I am hungry to learn about new stuff.
Is hunger the source of my start-up adrenaline? During my business school days, it provided an insight to scan the environment or make decisions personally or professionally. These are all techniques or tools, just like using the right pots and pans. The steps to follow are mentioned in the recipe and while not all chefs follow them to the T, it’s also backed by an intuitive approach. A balancing act, gut feel and desire to win are traits that founders/investors would expect from an individual and one needs to be driven intrinsically to ignite the fire.
You need capital to start up, just like fuel for the cooking process. The learning is slow and steady. Undercooking will be raw and amateurish, whereas over-heating will not extract the potential of the key ingredients, which in a startup are its founding team members.
What’s going to be plated up needs a plan depending on the complexity of the dish. At times, even the simplest of recipes miss the mark due to improper execution and attention to detail. Every course gets creatively more challenging.
The fun in cooking is exploring ways to satisfy the palette. It’s about trial and error. Just like a startup or any evolving industry, one figures out newer and effective strategies to meet the consumer. We’ve heard stories of large traditional brands being recently disrupted by new thinking and great execution. Nay-sayers will help you think harder and failures will teach the ultimate ‘what not to do’. Experiencing both are equally important. Don’t we occasionally add spices, increase the flame to hasten the process or even burn our fingers! Big deal - be positive! It’s a creative process and will get better the next time. Keep your finger on the pulse and move logically in the right direction.
Let’s not forget its presentation. Do focus on the look and feel, which is the first impression of your creation. I love it when the kids react with a ‘wow’ at the dinner table. It’s straight from the heart and the feeling is priceless. This sort of a reaction is what we would expect from consumers. It makes us think about being different and standing out in a competitive environment, especially when one procures raw materials from the same marketplace. The customer will pay for premium value if he likes the free sample. Having said that, the overall experience offered needs consistency. Timely response is a cherry on the top that further sweetens this experience. Let’s keep in mind that the content of the main dish needs to be absolutely mouth-watering to create that buzz.
With a hope to taste success and fulfilment, I would say ideate - enjoy - contribute and learn with one underlining flavour of passion!
Feedback: prakash@spuul.com
