Scott Hinton
I never treat myself as a boss rather I always treat myself as a leader, friend, mentor when I deal with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers.
Subhash Rana is an innovator and entrepreneur experienced in the aspects of business formation, operation, finance, and management. Visionary product developer with deep experience in Tech as well as marketing. Effective communicator and motivator who identifies and leverages assets in teammates to reach organizational goals. A relentless optimist who believes there is no failure, only feedback.
Currently working on his dream project named Petuk Ji (Brand Name) Food Ordering & Delivery Market Place that will solve many problems that exist in the existing market e.g. By using the App, service food joints can save 100% delivery commission without hampering our revenue.
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Subhash Rana: Currently, our entire focus is on our First Product/Service named Petuk Ji (Online Food Ordering & Delivery Market Place) which is the latest entrant into the growing online Food ordering industry, but with a difference.
In this project, we are solving real market problems like Food Quality, Higher Price, Huge Commission, Low ROI of Promotion & irrelevant Promotions Many More. We are providing a system where the Delivery commission is down to 0% without hitting our revenue. Scientific methods of promotion to increase ROI, Lower Food Price in the Market, AI System etc. that will increase Revenue of Food Joints to focus on good quality food production, Only relevant Communication, Get Food at lower price etc.
The Market Acceptance testing has already been done.
Currently, we are going to do a soft launch in only 1 city i.e. MEERUT in Uttar Pradesh, INDIA by the end of June 2021 after that launch our focus is to streamline all processes into one qty than multiple our business in multiple cities. At present, we are targeting to cover 2 to 5 Cities in 1 year depending upon various factors.
Also, we have a target to generate 50+ employment in our first year and to raise at least INR 2Cr for rapid growth.
Achievement as founder:
- Completed our planned 2 Phases of Business i.e. Conceptualization and App Development including testing before 2 months from the budgeted time frame.
- Saved Cost for software Development around ~63%
- Market Acceptance Sample Test has been done 2 months ahead of stipulated time.
- Ready to go to the Market 1 month ahead of the stipulated time.
- Complete in-house App development, leading to complete control over architecture
- Developed self IVR system with almost Zero Cost and own auto Chat bots to reduce call center load as well as to optimize cost related to services.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Subhash Rana: In Dec’ 2018, despite having 15+ years of experience in IT & Product Marketing, I lost my job due to a merger of two big companies. At that time many talented people lost their jobs, I don’t know if I was talented or not 🙂 but I think I was a talented employee of that company because I served there for 8 years and also got promotions. Now back to the point 60% of surviving people were not as capable as others who lost their job.
That was a turning point in my life. I took feedback on why this happened and started my journey as an entrepreneur to make an organization where people can work with their knowledge, not by policies.
Due to having a good interest in the food sector, I chose to start my restaurant with a vision to make a chain of it that resulted in the launch of my first restaurant named Smugglers Aroma Cafe & Restaurant in Jan2019.
In One Year we started 3 cloud kitchens as well named biryani graam, Thali bank & Tandoori Knights and start approaching people for frenches we found few people who showed their interests as well but again BAD LUCK or GOOD LUCK don’t know what kind of that luck 🙂 but COVID BABA came and all got to vanish. End of Restaurant journey due to various factors.
Again at the same place.. Did I fail, I thought BIG NO, it has to be like this, maybe this is happening because my fortune is somewhere else.
Again I took feedback, found mistakes that I did, did a market survey and after getting anything done I found reasons why restaurant owners are surviving to run their business. Why my business shut down, despite low orders and the bad market, still food aggregators are generating revenue.
After doing deep market research I found what I need to do and why I can do it in a better way.
As I already said there is no failure but the fact is that there is no failure if you think you have not failed yet. Hence with the same mindset, I started the journey in broadway and started One17 Technologies that deals in Food Ordering & Delivery Market Place that is our product cum service and apart from this we also deal in app development and digital marketing.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Subhash Rana: Mistakes are nothing but a way to learn. Mistakes are necessary to grow faster. I made tons of mistakes but gained a lot of experience.
Few mistakes I would like to share that any new entrepreneur usually makes.
Run to get funding from the market and get disappointed while they don’t get it.
Suggestion – don’t run for that, keep in mind only 2% of people get funding from investors. You need to pitch at least 200+ people, you have to see 100+ rejection in the first shot. That is a way you will learn how to pitch to get funded but my friend do all these once you are there into the market with some traction. No issue there is loss or profit. Focus on what you are doing. Keep trying to the incubator at first then slowly start approaching investors but not like a mad
Despite focusing on business, the major focus goes to the pitch deck.
Suggestion – don’t run how to make a pitch deck, no pitch deck is perfect, it’s you that makes it perfect. It’s your capability to convince a person in the first 3 slides and in the first 3-5 min if you get a chance to demo.
Entrepreneurs think without having experienced people & enough money that they can’t get the work done.
Suggestion – this is not the truth, it’s upon you how you take it. There is everything you need to explore. You won’t believe that I got my project done with interns. 16 odd people were working with me at that time. And trust me there was a big monetary loss when the restaurant shut down. I had nothing except my laptop and me. I started and completed 30% of my project on my own by seeing that people started joining me. Later on, I became successful in arranging some money from small projects. so keep trying even after you don’t have anything
Has the pandemic and transitioning into mostly online shopping affected your company positively or negatively?
Subhash Rana: In First CORONA Wave I lost everything in terms of business but that helped to get a rise with bigger things and I came up with Petuk Ji Food Ordering & Delivery Platform. Nowadays when there is a corona wave again, we have to delay our launch due to lockdown and all but this wave came up with some positive things for us and negative for our competitor.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Subhash Rana: Our Vision & Values make our company stand out from the competition.
See our competitions are working only for their revenue and database..
We believe in growing together hence in the first product we are providing options like delivering food with Zero commission without hitting our revenue and will enhance the revenue of food joints resulting in food quality food delivery and social growth. This is one we have more for let grow together.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Subhash Rana: My strengths are I never treat myself as a boss rather I always treat myself as a leader, friend, mentor when I deal with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers. I always try to teach something with fun and also learn from them. Due to having friendly and supported nature also due to having a straightforward kind of nature people started liking me and opt me easily.
How important do you think it is for a leader to be mindful of his own brand?
Subhash Rana: Leadership means you must know more than your followers and they must think that as a leader I know higher than anyone. being an own-brand concern a leader must know each and everything with clarity. Because the leader is only one who has to take the final decision and the final guidance use to come from there
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What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Subhash Rana: First, calculate strength and weakness. But don’t demotivate yourself that you don’t have enough talent or money.
After knowing your strengths and weaknesses, find some doable project that is in your interest area and solve a unique problem of the existing market.
Make a complete road map by researching once you decide 2 to 3 options that you want to do.
Choose one from them that is more feasible as per data.
Make a small PPT and approach incubators.
Simultaneously start working on that idea. Don’t forget to build a good team if possible.
How would you define “leadership”?
Subhash Rana: Leadership is a process to improve and influence people and the leader himself as well with a friendly and mindful supportive nature.
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What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Subhash Rana: “There is no failure, only feedback & Everything is possible if wish & action accordingly”
Only by this philosophy, I achieved everything in my life. Few Examples are poor financial conditions(my father’s salary used to be INR 1900 from which we had to pay 1000 as a home rent) . During my childhood I did an expensive computer course and bought a brand new computer.
Only Before a few years ago, with INR 50k, I built my own home worth INR 50Lac+ today. I started this company. People dragged me back by saying this kind of work can be possible with too much money but see I am still growing.
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