Ashneer Grover’s business partner and co-founder of Third Unicorn, Aseem Ghavri, said that his entrepreneurial adventure began in 2009 with an investment of just 8,000.
He shared the same on LinkedIn. Mr. Ghavri said that he has always aspired to be a businessman in order to “break the ceiling.” “I started my first entrepreneurial stint back in 2009 while I was in my college. Since my early childhood days, I was sure that I want to become a businessman, I think being from a service-class family and seeing cost-cutting all my life made me think that job will not help me to break this ceiling,” he said.
Mr. Ghavri went on to say that he didn’t know where to start and that the money he had was all his savings. “But the million-dollar question was how to start. I had only 8,000 rupees saved from my pocket money and money I got from relatives at various festivals,” he added
However, one day he noticed a waggon and had an inspiration. “One day looking at the Kwality Walls ice cream cart, an idea came to me to create a hot food cart. So I designed and worked on fabrication, tested a few food products and zeroed down on hotdogs and hence the first cart was ready.”
However, establishing a business proved to be quite tough for him. He was intimidated not just by his neighbours,but also by “municipal cooperation goons” and police. “But the journey was not easy! Since it was a cart, I was heckled by the policemen. Intimidated by municipal cooperation goons.”
Mr Ghavri added, “Initially, I could not afford employees so I had to make hot dogs and serve them to my customers in their cars. Engineering students serving food in cars was not conventional. I remember my neighbour aunty walking up to me onto my cart asking if everything is fine at home, or do I or my family need any monetary assistance.” Mr Gharvi said, “even my parents were embarrassed in front of friends and family”. However, this did not stop him.
He said that the meals sold out entirely in the first two days. “The response was crazy! We were scaling month on month. With whatever money I was making, I opened a few more carts in Chandigarh.”
Learning from his experience, the Third Unicorn Co-founder emphasised that as an entrepreneur, one must “keep his ego aside.” “I did not shy away from serving food to the customers. My neighbours and relatives judged me for it but that did not stop me. You always start small. And that’s totally fine. What’s more important is that you take the plunge to move out of your comfort zone and put your best foot forward,” he concluded.