In India, we often think that studying engineering is essential to succeed in life. We have one of the highest engineering graduates in the world.
Shankar, from Tirunelveli, dived into the world of engineering hoping to make a dent in the universe. However. he soon realised that he had an urge to be an entrepreneur. Soon, the engineering graduate, along with his two brothers – Swornakumar and Vignesh – went on to open a restaurant, ‘Madrasi Biryani’, at Kilambakkam and Alwarpet. His restaurants have a theme on ‘engineering’. Hence, engineering formulas and other such kits adorn the walls of his restaurants.
Shankar tells News Today, “I always wanted to start a business. When I came to Chennai for a job in 2015, I saw Ola and Uber creating a revolution in terms of booking a taxi through apps. Since I was interested in creating apps, I wanted to start a similar model for food delivery. At the time, Swiggy or Zomato were not there. I approached many restaurants and spoke to them about my model but everyone rejected it, saying it will take time for a food delivery model to grow.”
Nevertheless, Shankar was determined that his food delivery business would work. He rented a kitchen in Sholinganallur and started Madrasi Biriyani in 2016. “I targeted IT employees,” he says. “Within six months, we made 250 to 350 packets of biryani every day.”
However, within a year Swiggy and Zomato came in. Shankar decided to let go of his delivery model and roped in Swiggy.
In 2018, Shankar decided to embark on a franchise business for his restaurant. “We opened the first outlet at Kilambakkam and the second, at Alwarpet,” he says.
Shankar thanks his brothers for their support. He also reveals that his parents were apprehensive in the beginning. “But they are quite happy with what we do,” he adds.
Shankar aims to set up 50 more outlets across Chennai and has plans to venture into the southern districts.