What makes you an ideal Entrepreneur? Is it intelligence? A good chunk of financial backing? Or just perseverance? Yes, you guessed it right, it is just the right amount of ‘Perseverance’. This is what Sushil Kanugolu believes in and following the belief, he founded Fipola in 2016 – a revolution in traditional meat shopping. Fipola is based in Chennai, from where it delivers meat of Goat, chicken, fish, lamb, etc across Chennai. Started with a usual but hygienic meat shop, Sushil now has 14 stores of Fipola in Chennai.
Sushil shares the ups and downs in the life of an entrepreneur in a candid interview with Kenfolios.
The Making Of An Entrepreneur
Sushil’s family has been in the seafood export business for the last four decades, they exported seafood in three different countries. It is where he got the right amount of knowledge of the food sector. Coming from a business family, Sushil always had the leadership skills, in his school as well as college days. He used to be the head of various activities or events that happened in his college. After completing B.com, Sushil did a master’s in supply chain marketing. After getting done with it, he took up a job at a food service company and pursued that for almost a year. He never got that salvation with Job as he grew up watching his family make decent profits with business and that is why the business was in his DNA. So he got back to the family business and started contributing in the same. He worked there from 2007-2014 which helped him learn the tactics of business.
‘It was all going great until I realized that why not scale this business a step ahead?’ Said Sushil.
Sushil was highly influenced by the development of Western worlds, he researched about the markets of the US, Europe, and several other countries.
The Journey From A Single Outlet To 13 Outlets Of Fipola
After extensive research and development, Sushil opened the first outlet of Fipola. The concept was appreciated by the audience as the Shop was extremely hygienic and the meat, fresh. As it gained an appreciation, Sushil gradually went on to open 13 different stores of Fipola in Chennai.
“Every industry in India has evolved, From vegetable stalls to supermarkets, from Kirana shops to online delivery portals like Grofers and Big Basket. Only the wet market was yet to be evolved, which I feel I did. We are much ahead in terms of hygiene than the usual butcher shops and that you get the privilege of fresh meat delivered at your doorstep.” Said Sushil.
Especially, in such times when people are highly concerned about the safety and health measures because of Covid outbreak, Fipola’s business model is tailor-made for success.
Sushil feels that customer satisfaction is the reason that the business is surviving on good revenue. Also, it’s of utmost importance to also keep your employees satisfied the same way. On this, Sushil says, ‘Handling over 240 employees isn’t a cakewalk. With time, I realized that employees should be hired to do something that they love, obviously except the monetary perks.’
Even in such hard times, Fipola does a business of Rs 4.8 crores a month. Sushil aims at making fresh meat available all over India and by November, he is targeting a revenue of Rs, 7 crores a month and planning to open four new stores of Fipola by August, 2020.
The Secret Mantra That He Believes In
“Every aspiring entrepreneur needs to master the art of patience and perseverance. None of the business has been successful within a month or two, you should give yourself time. It is okay to fail several times, it teaches you to stand up and fight again, with the learnings from the previous failure.” Said Sushil.
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