For Indians, Tea is not a beverage but an emotion. We feel our day would be empty without drinking Tea. Some rely on it to gain energy and power back after a long tiring day. Chai ki tapri is our favorite meeting place. No fancy and big restaurant can ever replace it. Sitting with your friends on a chai tapri, chit-chatting, and having heart-to-heart conversations are some of the best moments of our lives. Nothing can match the joy.
Arpit Raj took it as an inspiration and founded Chaai Seth. A place where people create memories while drinking Tea. They started from one outlet and by investing 70 mere thousand and picked up the pace.
Recently, they have reached 47 outlets, and the number is still counting. From one tea outlet to 47, how did he do it? To know the answer, we got connected to the founder Arpit Raj. Let’s know his journey in this interview.
Aashna – Arpit, tell us more about yourself.
Arpit – I’m Arpit Raj. I am basically from Bihar, born and raised in Patna. I belong to an upper-middle-class family where everyone talks about having a good, well-paid job. People told me to follow the same route. That’s why, in 2015, I shifted to Shillong to complete my bachelor’s degree in management. Then I began to work with a food startup.
Aashna – When did the idea of becoming an entrepreneur come to your mind? You were doing a job, then what changed your mind?
Arpit – In 2015 August, I was sitting with my friends on a Chai Tapri, conversing about things going on in our daily lives. They said, ‘Tea is close to our heart. It connects people. Chai Tapri is the common place where everyone meets to share their daily life. We should do something in this area.’ At that time, I had loved the idea, but I didn’t ponder over it much.
We shrugged it off and moved on with our lives. However, the idea never left my mind. With time, I began to develop an interest in entrepreneurship. In 2018, I started working with a startup, and while working, I realized that I should work on the idea. That’s how it all started.
Aashna – Then how did you take it forward? Tell us more about your journey.
Arpit – The most challenging part was finding business partners or co-founders. Selecting them wasn’t easy at all. You have to find a trustworthy person with whom you can connect properly. Communication is a must, and it is essential to have a similar mindset to work together.
Fortunately, within two to three months, Mr. Prateek, Mr. Prem got involved as co-founders and R.K. Kala as a dedicated team member. We invested a substantial amount from our savings. In 2019, I quit my job and began working for Chaai Seth only. From one cafe to another, we kept growing and evolving.
Within 10-11 months, we opened five outlets, connected with uncountable customers, and generated good revenue. Recently, we have booked 47+ outlets till now. Most of them are waiting for the lockdown to get over!
Aashna – What is the specialty of your Chaai Seth? How is it different from other tea outlets?
Arpit – We have 25 varieties of Tea, right from typical adrak wali chai to paan tea, mango tea, pineapple tea, etc. We maintain proper hygiene, and we work according to the set recipe pattern. So our taste is always the same. It doesn’t depend on the cook.
Aashna – How are you dealing with the pandemic loss?
Arpit – Pandemic has affected the food industry so brutally. Many of our outlets aren’t functioning like before, and people have stopped eating outside. Apart from it, the continuous lockdowns have affected our revenues and growth negatively. However, we are still trying our best to recover the losses and come back to the ground. I believe a positive approach and hope will get us out of the situation.
Aashna – Do you have other businesses? Or is Chaai Seth the only one?
Arpit – Apart from Chaai Seth, we have Wynswell, a Business and Management Consultancy firm co-founded by a set of lawyers, chartered accountants, and some ex-Big four employees.
Through Wynswell, we help new and budding startups and firms in terms of company incorporation, Taxation (direct and indirect), Softwares, Accounting Outsourcing, vCFO, Digital Marketing, Business, and Startup consultancy, Licensing, and all professional services.
In 2019, we luckily engaged ourselves in the A2Z medical and surgical business, which is the 3rd venture. Mr. Chiranjivi heads it. We have 120+ A2Z medical franchise outlets, and we are now planning to expand it on the PAN India network.
Aashna – What were the problems you had to face as an entrepreneur?
Arpit – Entrepreneurship isn’t what is portrayed on social media or movies. It’s way more complicated than what meets the eye. Indian mentality is the biggest issue. I had to convince my family to let me pursue entrepreneurship. I had a well-paying job, so leaving it behind was a considerable risk, and initially, they weren’t in favor. When I insisted, they agreed.
We were then finding co-founders, land, investment, marketing, and many other hurdles in your way. In India, finding skilled labor is also a challenge. We didn’t have any knowledge about the food industry. We didn’t know how to cook, so selecting and making recipes, recruiting chefs, cooks, and other staff, deciding layouts and the outlet’s interior was tiring and tricky tasks. We went through it all by working daily and continuously. We took baby steps to reach our goal.
Aashna – What are your future goals?
Arpit – We are planning to open 300 outlets by the end of 2025. Planning is going on. Let’s see how it turns out to be.
Aashna – What is that one mentality which motivated you throughout the journey?
Arpit – People and their life motivated me throughout the journey. During my job tenure, I used to notice others very keenly. One emotion was common on everyone’s face; dissatisfaction from the job. They seemed disappointed, uninterested, exhausted, as if they didn’t like what they were doing. As if they regretted not following their dreams, not doing what they always wanted to do.
That dissatisfaction on their face added fuel to my fire. It worked as an energy tonic. Whenever I lost hope throughout the journey, I reminded myself, ‘Arpit, if you don’t continue, if you don’t work hard, you will have to live the life they are living right now. So work hard, choose wisely and focus on your goal.’ That’s how I pulled it.
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