Business is about minimising mistakes, not avoiding them: Ajay Mariwala
Mariwala, the founder of VKL Seasoning and Food Service India, on why one doesn't need to burn money to build a business in the food sector
He doesn't believe in mincing words. He doesn't like to garnish truth however bitter it might be. "If you're avoiding mistakes, you're not doing anything in business," reckons Ajay Mariwala, the founder of VKL Seasoning and Food Service India. "There is no need to throw money and build a food business," says the third-generation founder in a free-wheeling interaction with Forbes India. Edited excerpts:
On The Slow & Steady Way Of Building Businesses
One doesn't need to burn money to build a business in the food sector. A lot of outstanding food companies and brands in India have been built by business families that have done it in the traditional way—patience, unit economics and steady growth. They've taken a whole generation to do it, so, there is no need to throw money and build a food business. It does not happen that fast.On Entrepreneurship
It’s not about what your balance sheet or net worth are. These are incidental and nonsense. The biggest satisfaction for a founder is in winning the hearts of the employees, customers, and stakeholders.On Foodtech & Loss
The era of cheap money is over. Everybody is now working rapidly to turn their businesses around and make them cash flow positive. Many of them will succeed and some of them may not. It will boil down to how much fuel is left in the tank and how consolidation happens. But it's impossible for anybody’s business to keep pumping money. If you are depending on funding, at some point you either shut down or you have to take a call and start to take decisions to turn the business around. First, fix the unit economics, then fix the scale economics and then fix the overall business economics.Also read: Ajay Mariwala 2.0: Spicing it up with a secret sauce
Last Updated :
June 15, 23 10:27:43 AM IST