Chai Story by Samocha Founder Shivendra Gupta
Becoming an entrepreneur is one of the toughest jobs that we can do. But it is also true that hard work, determination bundled with innovation and a desire to give our best to society can give not just good but great results.
This is the story of Shivendra Gupta whose love for a good cup of tea took him to build a business around it. The journey for the business called Samocha (combining two words Chai and Samosa) has its own tough moments. But, when the time gets tough the tough get going, and Shivendra has successfully built a business that is rapidly growing day by day.
Shivendra is a Founding Director at Samocha Ventures Private Limited. The company runs specialized tea cafés under the brand “Samocha: Stories Around Chai” and tea retail brand for organic tea blends under the brand name “Tea Origin”.
How it all started
Shivendra and his school friend Akash were in college when they first got the idea behind Samocha as the two found it hard to get fresh and hygienic tea and snacks when leaving their residences.
Time passed, and the problem moved with it. Shivendra and Akash finally resolved to make a difference.
As we just said, Shivendra has built Samocha into the rapidly growing business that it is today. But, building a business is not child’s play and that was true even in Samocha’s case.
Shivendra says, “There have been multiple times when I felt low and completely broken but kept on going.” He mentions a few incidents for you to get an idea about the tough times he faced.
The journey so far
Shivendra says, when he left his job and thought of opening the first Samocha outlet with limited savings, he couldn’t find space for the first 3 months. Shivendra felt as if he took the wrong decision to startup. He used to go to different localities in Kanpur to find the commercial space within budget along with co-founder Akash. That was a difficult time for Samocha. Shivendra and Akash met many people who told them they should move back to jobs and a concept like a tea cafe won’t work in a city like Kanpur. But, the two friends kept going to find space for around 3.5 months till they found one, finally.”
Shivendra says, “Since we were from non-food backgrounds, we faced a lot of difficulties in creating a clear-cut menu for Samocha, understanding costs and developing recipes. While our initial menu was very small, with most of the dishes being ready-to-eat, it took us around one year and a lot of effort to work fully with a chef and develop our own comprehensive menu and recipe manual. But since we were deeply involved in recipe creation, we got a very clear idea of food costs, and we’re proud of that.”
Shivendra also mentions one more incident. He says, Samocha opened its 3rd store in Feb 2020, and COVID hit us the next month. While its first two stores were badly hit by COVID, Samocha could never reopen the 3rd store as rentals were too high. The business was only allowed to provide deliveries/ takeaways service which wasn’t enough to sustain the store.
Shivendra recalls, “We had to sell out the equipment. That 2020-2021 period was the most difficult part, but with team efforts, we managed to survive. Started with zero again and now we are at 10+ stores.”
Shivendra believes that struggles help us learn and grow
He says, “Difficulties would come, as they are part of life. But if you believe in your idea, and can do whatever is required to make that idea successful, you should keep going. Hard work is important but perseverance is one thing that makes you successful.”
In another incident, Shivendra says he and Akash were new to F&B where managing the kitchen team is the most difficult part, and it’s one major problem the whole industry is facing. People keep changing jobs frequently. At a time when Samocha were growing and establishing its name in the city, all the staff at our first store left the business together with just a day’s notice.
Shivendra recalls, “It was a very difficult time and I still remember how we managed those 7 days with no staff.”
When COVID hit us, Shivendra says he and Akash went back to their homes. Stores were closed with expenses going on. The two friends decided we’d do our best to survive till we have budgets. Lockdowns kept on getting extended, and Samocha’s budgets were almost over. The business was about to close operations.
Shivendra says, “While we were fortunate enough to have bread and butter on the table, we were seeing news on a daily basis about the difficulties of our countrymen. There were people who didn’t have anything to eat while many were losing jobs.”
The above incident changed Shivendra’s and Akash’s perspectives about life. The two thought they were lucky enough to have food and sit comfortably in their homes. They decided to bounce back, give their whole heart to revive and start operations again.
Shivendra says entrepreneurship is not just business, but job creation too. Their staff is committed with them to giving their best in these times. This led to two things – growth for Samocha outlets and the start of a new brand Tea Origin – www.teaorigin.in
What motivates Shivendra to work so hard
Shivendra says it will be a proud moment for him when he will see people thinking of Samocha when they think about a fresh and hygienic cup of chai. Starting from Kanpur, Shivendra says he wants to take this tradition to as many places as possible. He wants to create a lot of jobs through this as well, he says.
Shivendra says, “This motivates me to work hard every single day.”
What Shivendra wants to say to the youth
Shivendra has several messages for the youth.
He says while there is no age for starting up, he advises the youth to start early, do mistakes, learn from them, and improve. Shivendra says, with growing responsibilities, the ability to take risks decreases with increasing age.
He also says the youth should not prefer startup over the job, or vice-versa.
Both have advantages and disadvantages, and Shivendra advises the youth to choose the one where they like to work.
He says the youth should remember the good times and fantastic experiences they had, get some bravery, and begin working for their objectives.
Shivendra says, “Start from zero or from where your left. There is nothing permanent in life. Everything changes with time. Bad days don’t last long.”
He also says, in today’s time, not doing wrong to anyone will be the base. Anything you do beyond that is great.
Shivendra ‘s passion for life
Shivendra is passionate about life. He says, “I don’t want to have any regrets about not trying the one thing that I wanted to do.”
Shivendra wants to live life to the fullest and give his hands on what’s there in my mind. He says it can be anything like switching jobs or starting something or just travelling to a place he always wanted to travel to, irrespective of what people say.
Shivendra says, he decides what is best for him, after taking input from others
Samocha: Stories Around Chai:
Shivendra and Akash founded the tea shop franchise in December 2017, and it has already expanded to over ten locations.
Samocha believes in offering fresh, hygienic tea and snacks in a friendly setting at a reasonable price for the young.
Samocha has a strong presence in Kanpur and has grown into a few locations outside of the city.
With a viable franchise model, the brand hopes to build 50+ locations by the end of the fiscal year 2024-25.
Samocha’s cafés encourage people to interact over a nice cup of tea, and we want to bring this concept to the rest of the globe.
Samocha is a terrific place to have cheerful talks over a freshly made excellent cup of tea and tasty appetizers.
You can get more details about Samocha: Stories Around Chai by visiting their website
Tea Origin:
Tea Origin is all about sustainably sourcing whole leaf teas from Indian tea estates and creating them into unique mixes for you to enjoy in your tasty cup.
The expert team at Tea Origin selects the best teas from India and crafts them into one-of-a-kind mixes using all-natural and organic components.
Shivendra says, “Our teas are hand-picked whole leaf teas that are naturally fragrant and nutritious. To add flavour to our teas, we use a range of spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, saffron, and others. Tea Origin also offers organic herbs such as Jasmine, Chamomile, or Lemongrass for those interested in more caffeine-free options.”
Shivendra invites you to pick from Tea Origin’s amazing collection of teas by visiting www.teaorigin.in
Storyofsouls.com is a proud partner with TEDx Moti Mahal. One of the eminent speakers is Mr. Shivendra Gupta.
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