Street Smart

This is an excerpt from the chapter ‘Street Smart’.

Chapter Introduction

He came to Mumbai like millions of others, in search of a better future. Inspired by McDonald’s, Prem Ganapathy has risen from humble dishwasher to owner of the fast food chain ‘Dosa Plaza’, with 26 outlets across India.

“Mera English bohoth accha nahin hai,” says Prem Ganapathy, the very first time we speak to fix up the interview.
Kehne ko to Hindi bhi perfect nahin hai – the thick Tamil accent makes it hard to follow, at times.
But there is one language where Prem Ganapathy is completely at ease, and that is the language of business.
Branding? You bet, I need it!
Costing? Always keep an eye on it.
Customer satisfaction? Usse badkar to kuch hai hi nahin.

Prem Ganapathy (PG) did not have to go to a B-school to learn all this. He found knowledge, outside of college, on the hot and dusty streets of Mumbai.
Starting his career in the ‘restorent line’ as a dishwasher, PG worked his way up doggedly. From tea stall to roadside dosawallah, to running a small food joint near Vashi railway station – that would have been achievement enough for most people.
Not this man.
Prem Ganapathy went on to open a counter at New Bombay’s first mall – Center One – and has not looked back since.
Today there are 26 ‘Dosa Plaza’ outlets all over India and a franchise even in New Zealand.
It has not been easy but it is possible. Prem Ganapathy’s story gives you hope, that yes, anyone can achieve anything in this country. We can have a hundred Dhirubhai Ambanis. And we must have a million Prem Ganapathys.

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Excerpt

The year was 1992. Prem went to his village for a vacation, and came back to Mumbai with a small loan from an uncle, and a younger brother in tow. With a capital of some twenty thousand, Prem Ganapathy set up a roadside stall of his own.
Business was good, but the neighbouring housing society was making life difficult. Tired of the daily ‘kit-kit’, Prem bought a haathgaadi and set up shop near the bus depot. That venture too was short lived.
But call it ‘never say die’, or no option but to get up and keep walking. Soon enough Prem found another spot, this time in Vashi’s Sector 17, and set up a ‘south Indian’ stall. He did not know a thing about making either idlis or dosas. The batter he procured from the homes of south Indians living next door; the cooking he learnt by observation, trial and error.
“Soon I realised the quality of the atta was not good enough. So I bought a grinder and started making it myself.”
Prem Ganapathy’s dosa stall flourished from 1992 to 1997, outside the Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank.
“Kaafi achha mera naam hua.”
And the money was good too. Prem Ganapathy was making Rs 20,000 per month – as profit.
Not that any business is trouble free.
“Us samay starting mein CIDCO aata tha, bhaagna padhta tha. Baad mein municipality aaya. Municipality ke logon ne bhi kaafi takleef diya hai.”
You learn to have a ‘setting’, of course.
By this time Prem Ganapathy was living in a rented house in Vashi’s Sector 11. The house served as the ‘kitchen’ from where all the chutneys, potato bhaji and dosa batter was prepared every morning. The stall needed round the clock attention – two more brothers joined in to manage the operations.
But why was the tiny stall so successful? Idli and dosa is available at Udupis across Mumbai. Why then did people flock to this vendor on the street? Because it was ‘different’.

“I put a lot of emphasis on hygiene. Unlike other roadside dosawallahs we always wore shirt and pant, not lungi. We wore hairbands, and we kept the cart ekdum clean. Ekdum achha aur fresh cheez banta tha. Achha dhak ke rakhta tha.”
“Prem Ganpathy South-Indian fast food” declared a board, in bold blue and white lettering. The ‘branding’ was clear and concise – right from the start.
Not only was the stall popular with the aam junta, plenty of car owners stopped by. Including the ‘bade log’ in Mercedes. And yet, the food was economically priced. Two idlis at Rs 4, masala dosa for Rs 10. Far cheaper than the popular Navratna restaurant in the vicinity.
By 1997, Prem had managed to save a couple of lakhs. With that capital, he put one of his younger brothers into a kirana shop business in Chennai. Prem could have worked another year or two and headed back home as well. But in January 1998, he took a big gamble.
Prem put down Rs 50,000 as deposit and Rs 5000 per month as rental for a shop next to Vashi station. Thus was born ‘Prem Ganpathy’s Prem Sagar Dosa Plaza.’ And here begins the journey of a brand.
How Prem Ganapathy came up with the name ‘Dosa Plaza’ makes for an interesting story. At the time Prem had a roommate who was an NIIT student. This chap created an email id for Prem and taught him how to surf the internet. Between 3-6 pm, when he enjoyed a breather, Prem would go to a cybercafe, log on and ‘search’.
“Kaafi main food ka bare mein sochta tha ki kaisa kya hota hai. McDonald’s, Pizza Hut sabka baare mein idea aaya mujhe.”
Prem realised that he was ‘famous’ for dosas. Hence his name should reflect that. Like Pizza Hut, known for its pizzas. He considered several names – Dosa Palace, Dosa Park, Dosa Inn.
Around the same time he also came across the story of the Coca Cola brand name. Apparently, they had added the term ‘coca’ before cola because it sounded good. Rolled off the tongue easily. Surely he could find a word to add some zing to his ‘dosa’?
Now ‘Vashi Plaza’ is one of the oldest and most famous buildings in New Bombay. Prem often went there on work. And one day it struck him – ‘Dosa Plaza’ – it had a ring to it. Yes, this could be it!
“Phir maine ek din ‘plaza’ ka meaning dictionary mein dekha. Toh open building ko; open space building ko ‘plaza’ bolte hain.”
Since he too was operating from an open space, the name was perfect: ‘Prem Ganapathy’s Prem Sagar Dosa Plaza’.
Prem even built a website for his open air eatery – the first dosa shop in the country to do so, I think! But, there was more to come…