Starting Up, the Expat Way(1)
Their geographies -the US, France, Italy and South
Africa -are as diverse as their ventures. From dirtying their hands on a
poultry farm to trying to crack the rented car market, expats are getting into the
toughest -and most exciting -of businesses
You know that India is in the midst of a startup
boom when a motley bunch of foreign entrepreneurs (and non-resident Indians)
band together to form an Expat Entrepreneurs Circle (EEC) for, amongst other
reasons, to lean on each other in their quest to get a business going in an al
ien country.
EEC was born some three years back in -where
else -Bengaluru to provide a platform for exchanging business ideas, access to
information and resources, networking opportunities and training from those
who've met with reasonable success in India's startup ecosystem.
To be sure, expat entrepreneurs, particularly
those who first came to India as tourists and returned to stay in the coun try
for good (or bad), could do with all the handholding they can get.
“Bureaucratic red tape and bribery in government offices affect all of us. The
worst hit are those from the hotel and restaurant industry who are required to
acquire and renew various licences. There are so many un planned and unofficial
expenses which increase the cost of doing business,“ says Ema Trinidad, an
expat from the Philip pines who has lived in Bengaluru for several years, runs
a high-end spa and is an active member and cofounder of EEC.
Such challenges are just another day at the
office -or on the farm, as you will find out -for the expat startup artistes
pro filed in the next few pages. They've come from all over -the US, the UK,
France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia -and their ventures are diverse. From
a Mexican food chain to a French patisserie, from a rent-a-car venture to event
transportation solutions, these expat entrepre neurs are giving it their best
shot in a land where opportunity beckons everywhere and hope springs eternal.
Read on:
1.
Nursing a Drink
Although Michelle Bauer has a background in
marketing and advertising, and found a job in Pune after she moved there with
her architect husband in the summer of 2011, she didn't shy away from exploring
a business opportunity when she saw one. “My husband had opened an office for
his landscape architecture practice here. We quickly recognised that there was
a gap in the premium packaged beverage market -especially given the heat, the
culture of entertaining at home and the emergence of organised retail chains,“
says Bauer. Armed with her own experience in shopper marketing, she started
researching and looking into the possibility of launching a niche beverage. And
within two years Bauer launched Good Juicery, which manufactures natural juice
drinks, in partnership with friend Julia Madlener, a product developer based in
South Africa. The facility in Pune manufactures around 30,000 cans per month
and has the capacity to scale up rapidly.
“Our Good Juicery sparkling range contains no
preservatives, no artificial flavours or colours and is 40% fruit juice. They
are lightly bubbled and make a great pairing with food and a healthier
alternative to a soft drink while on the go,“ she proudly says. Three flavours
-sparkling passion fruit, spar kling pink guava and sparkling apple -are on the
shelves and new variants and a new range are in the works.
Establishing a distribution channel has been a
big challenge for Bauer and she has to travel a lot across the country to
expand it. Good Juicery products are now available at retail outlets across
seven cities in India, besides Pune. And she thinks the decision to settle down
in Pune has been a very good one. “For an expat, everything you need is in
close proximity; it is easy to get out of the city on the weekends and the pace
is a bit slower,“ she says.
2.
Betting the Farm
Looking for Roger Langbour? Get on to the
Dehi-Jaipur leg of Na tional Highway 8, get off it near Manesar, hit a narrow
dirt track and head to the French Farm -and if you're having trouble finding
it, just ask locals the way to the `buttakh' (duck) farm.
For over 20 years now, the retired French air
force officer whose last assignment was at Delhi's French embassy, has been
raising premium livestock and growing exotic organic vegetables on his
three-acre farm for the Delhi-NCR market. “Initially, the top hotels were my
largest clientele; but now there are many well-heeled individuals, niche retail
outlets and upscale restaurants who source fresh produce directly from my
farm,“ says Langbour, who is hands-on on the farm, personally overseeing all
the work. In a few weeks, French Farm will open its first branded outlet, in
south Delhi.
Over the years French Farm, which started with a
few poultry products, has expanded its portfolio to specialised items such as
Muscovy duck, quail, guinea fowl, pheasants, turkey and premium pork products.
Exotic vegetables including baby carrots, savoy cabbage, fennel, rocket leaves
and different kinds of lettuce are also raised at the farm.
“Unlike Europe, the Indian government doesn't
provide enough incentives for young people to take up farming. It is essential
to provide knowledge and education in this sector for farming to grow in a big
way in this country,“ says Langbour, who himself went back to France after his
stint at the embassy to learn farming techniques before coming back to start
his own venture.
Passionate about livestock and farming, Langbour
finds it unfortunate that urban Indians don't take up the activity themselves.
“Some years back, I was in talks with a big corporate group to sell a majority
stake in my farm. But when I realised that they had no real interest in
farming, I didn't pursue the deal any further,“ he says. In peak season, the
weekly sales turnover of the farm tots up to `12-15 lakh. “But it's hard work
and I like to personally get involved in all aspects,“ says Langbour, who
spends only the weekends away at his apartment in Gurgaon. And while he is
looking forward to the opening of the farm store, he can't yet think of
expanding beyond NCR because of the lack of resources. For now, he is happy to
be on top of every small detail at French Farm including special feedstock for
pigs, hatcheries for turkeys and the olive trees that have recently been
planted.
3.
Bien, Gracias
Burritos, rice bowls, tacos, nachos all in an
assembly line format -not in Oaxaca or in Merida but in good old Bengaluru,
thanks to the efforts of a 21-year-old student who pined for Mexican food as a
student in Jaipur for six weeks during his graduate studies in public policy
some five years ago.
After graduating from the College of William and
Mary in Virginia in the US in 2010, Bert Mueller made the long trip back to
India. He may have had a hard time laying his hands on the carnitas and
enchiladas, but what was immensely easier was spotting business prospects.
“It [the lack of Mexican restaurants] sparked
the idea of setting up a casual Mexican chain in India. I was also excited by
the sheer number of entrepreneurial opportunities here,“ says Mueller.
In 2012, Mueller along with two friends from the
US, Dharam Khalsa and Gaelan Connell, flagged off California Burrito, a
fast-casual (a position between fast food and casual dining) Mexican food
chain. It now has eight outlets in Bengaluru and will open soon in Chennai.
From huge amount of paperwork required for government clearances to language,
Mueller was clearly up against it. But it was the youth and energy of India's
IT capital that kept him going.“Bengaluru was a big draw because of the
presence of a large number of MNCs with young professionals who have been
exposed to cosmopolitan lifestyles as well as the startup energy,“ says Mueller
who doesn't quite relish the prospect of driving around the city. But he has
little choice when he has to move around supplies and stocks to different
outlets. That's when he gets behind the wheel of his Maruti Omni. There were
other challenges too, like finding the right people, and training staff “to
enable us to prepare food consistently at each outlet. It is also challenging
to adapt to the paperwork required to set up everything,“ says Mueller.
On the personal front though he finds Bengaluru
a wonderful city, it's tough to build a regular social life as friends keep
moving back to their home countries. “I appreciate being able to interact with
people from all walks of life and being in the restau rant industry really
allows this. From wealthy investors to young people who are in a big city for
the first time, I get to interact with many,“ says Mueller. Ultimately, the
entrepreneur must supply the energy that drives the business forward, he says.
At 26, he can keep at it for more than a few years to come.
4.
Fusion in Unison
Roberto Nieddu is Italian and Cathy Canadian,
and the twain met one fine day in Jodhpur in the late '90s. They've been living
in that city since then and flagged off a clutch of businesses.These include a
product design and fusion architecture firm for interiors, both for the Indian
and overseas markets; a travel company that specialises in designing trips
around Rajasthan; and most recently production of musical programmes by
bringing artists from around the world to Rajasthan to perform with local
artists.
“Running my own design business out of New York,
I visited India between 1987 and 1993 a lot, to source jewellery, vintage
furniture and objet d' arts,“ recounts Roberto.Those frequent visits ended up
in a love affair with India, a meeting with Cathy, their marriage and
eventually settling down in Jodhpur. “India is a highly inspiring country with
its old-world ways and it has been interesting to be here throughout the
changes towards modernity,“ Roberto says. Cathy, a textile designer, started
her own textiles business in Jodhpur before the two started their first joint
company Via Jodhpur, selling decorative ironware, later morphing into a
furniture design firm.
“From 1993 to 2008 we only designed for the
export market. Now we also work in the Indian market with a focus on hotels,
restaurants and private homes,“ says Roberto. He expresses himself in a
creative way in finding ways around challenges in India. “Having to resolve
problems and find alternative ways to make things happen results in something
very unique. Our life in Jodhpur is exactly that -unique and full of wonderful
experiences,“ he says. And the biggest advantage, he says, is his small but
efficient team.
Another passion that Roberto has is fusion
music, which has now translated into the annual Jodhpur Flamenco & Gypsy
Festival ( JFGF). “I started to experiment with different music forms and the
local Rajasthani music, bringing Flamenco groups to India,“ he says. With time
there were enough musicians from both Spain and India to sustain the annual
festival. “Our aim is to eventually open a cultural centre to help promote and
study the origin of the gypsies and trace their heritage back to India,“
Roberto says. For now, he is already busy planning next year's festival.
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Ishani Duttagupta
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ETM24MAY15
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