People in their 20s have big dreams. It is also a time when we have a greater degree of financial and personal freedom, with the energy to explore new avenues, venture into uncharted territory, and build the foundation for future success.
While the road to building a successful company is difficult, many people have braved the storm and become an inspiration to the next generation.
While most young people their age generally believe in “taking it easy,” these entrepreneurs decided to burn the midnight oil to push themselves and create success.
SMBHistory lists five entrepreneurs who started in their 20s and are now making an impact.
Chai Sutta Bar
Like most parents, Anubhav Dubey and Anand Nayak parents encouraged them to explore options such as CA, CAT, MBA, UPSC and others as they outlined their career path.
However, none of them worked. After failing these competitive exams, the duo returned to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
“We were filling our bikes with 50 liters of gasoline and wandering the streets looking for ideas when we realized the demand for chai in the country,” says Anubhav SMBHistory.
This was the turning point for the duo. Seeing “chai everywhere and everywhere”, the two friends decided to start a coffee shop chain in Indore in 2016 with a starting capital of Rs 30 lakh.
They decided to give their chain an unusual name — .
From a retail outlet in 2016, young entrepreneurs have come a long way. Over the years, CSB has expanded to more than 200 outlets in 100 cities in India. Of these, 195 are franchised models and five are company-owned.
Read the full story here.
Malabar Gold and Diamonds
Born into a family of merchants and landowners, ahamed parliamentarian He began his entrepreneurial odyssey at the age of 20 by establishing a spice trading company in 1979. He used to trade cardamom, pepper and coconut to retailers in Kozhikode (now Calicut) in Kerala. However, he soon realized that the trading business would not grow.
Ahammed thoroughly researched the market and realized that one of the main unorganized industries that people bragged about was jewelry. And that’s all he took. Gathering all his courage, he decided to set up a business in the industry and promote his hometown of Malabar. However, he did not have the funds to take such a big step.
His relatives raised around Rs 50 lakhs to invest in the business, which laid the foundation for Malabar Gold & Diamonds. So, in 1993, the company started in a small 400 square foot store in Calicut. Ahammed started out by buying gold bars and then having the jewelry made by goldsmiths.
What started in 1993 with seven investors now has 4,600. In fiscal year 20, Malabar golds and diamonds recorded a turnover of Rs 27,000 crore.
Read the full story here.
Chaiwala MBA
Neither it is Prafull Billore He is not a foodie or cook, but he still built a multi-million dollar business selling chai (tea) throughout India.
“I wanted to be a great man. Bachpan se bahut tang samay dekha tha (I have seen hard times since childhood), so my only passion was to earn more money and live a comfortable life. My parents thought that if I did an MBA, I would get a well-paying job and my life would be fixed. But that didn’t happen. I failed the CAT entrance exam three times despite my hard work,” says Prafull SMBHistory.
Hailing from Dhar, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, Prafull had lost his passion for an MBA, which he had been studying at Ahmedabad University since 2017. What kept him motivated, however, was reading books and absorbing the famous business leaders quotes
Fast-forward five years, the 25-year-old is now a billionaire entrepreneur who has built an Rs 4 crore turnover business with 50 pan India outlets.
Read the full story here.
vahdam teas
Coming from a family of tea exporters, sardinian bullet growing up in an environment that led him to gain a deep understanding of the tea industry was inevitable.
In 2015, at the age of 23, Bala founded in New Delhi, a digitally native, vertically integrated global wellness brand that ships teas all over the world.
Although Indian teas are in high demand, Bala felt that India, as a brand, is not positioning itself efficiently in foreign markets. He started out exporting tea to the US after passing USDA certification and non-GMO verification.
“Not many brands take the initiative to promote Indian tea by launching a local brand in foreign countries. You see Starbucks introducing turmeric latte. It’s the Westerners who are touting the benefits of our homegrown produce, so why shouldn’t we? I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and retain the value at source,” he explains.
In addition to the US market, Bala subsequently explored Canada, the UK and Germany as potential markets.
Vahdam is now available in over 1,000 physical stores in the US. It claims to be one of the first Indian brands to be listed in premium and legacy retail chains in the US, including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Currently, it has around 175 SKUs, including pyramid tea bags, superfoods, gift sets, assortments, teapots, and tumblers. In FY20, the company booked Rs 145 crore so far. Bala says that Vahdam has about 1.5 million customers in the US.
Read the full story here.
Boldfit
Being fit is important to everyone. twenty five year old entrepreneur Pallav Bihani he realized this very early on when he suffered a herniated disc while at school.
“I weighed 105 kilograms and realized that I needed to start an exercise regimen to stay healthy. In my first year of college, I went to the gym and started taking health supplements. It took me a little time and I was able to lose weight. But there was one thing that stood out to me: the affordability of fitness,” says Pallav. SMBHistory.
He explains that fitness is not affordable in India. From health supplements and fitness accessories to immunity boosters, people cannot afford such high costs.
He found in Bangalore in January 2019 to make fitness available to everyone. He started the health and fitness e-commerce brand D2C after taking a loan of Rs 8 lakh from his father.
Since Pallav was short on money, he decided to start small and started with yoga mats.
Starting with a single product, Boldfit it now has 30 SKUs in categories, including fitness and yoga, nutrition, and health and wellness. Within two years, Pallav claims to be posting an annual turnover of Rs 30 crore as of December 2020.
Read the full story here.
