Tag: rags to riches

Story of P Rajagopal: Cleaned tables as a boy, now owns restaurant chains around the globe

Born into a terribly poor family, the man had tasted hardship of financial crunch very closely since he was very young.

Born into a terribly poor family, the man had tasted hardship of financial crunch very closely since he was very young. He was born in a remote village with no road connectivity, not even a bus stop. Somehow, on a half-filled stomach, he could study in his village’s government school till STD 7. But his home needed him more than his classroom.

To add to his family income, he was forced to leave his studies midway and turn towards city. To provide at least two meals to his family members, he took up a job in a restaurant where his job was to clean leftovers from the tables after customers left.

While working in the restaurant, P Rajagopal learnt to prepare tea. He felt a little better about himself and switched to working at a grocery store. He was a keen observer and picked up an idea. He wanted to set up his own store but had no money to fuel his dream.

He turned to his father and elder brother for some support and took a leap. He opened his shop in KK Nagar of Chennai and gradually turned it into a tea stall. The business did well and money started seeping in day after day.

He did a survey of the nearby area and found out there was no decent place for people to eat and launched a restaurant named Sarvana Bhawan in the year 1979. To everyone’s surprise, P Rajagopal became the founder of one of the most popular restaurant chains in the world.



In those days, the restaurant culture had not made its way in the country which is why Rajagopal thought it was thought it could be a game-changer to venture into this area. In the initial years, he was very particular about the quality of food Sarvana Bhawan provided and that too at an affordable cost.

This intent incurred him a loss of Rs 10,000 every month but the approach had given him one edge. He became popular among the people of Chennai and had their trust.

Now Sarvana Bhawan is a brand in itself but many don’t know that it is also popular for taking good care of its employees. Rajagopal’s consistent approach has made him the founder of this chain restaurant which today has nearly 60 outlets around the world with a turnover running in crores of rupees.





From a door-to-door salesman to becoming Director of Porsche – the story of Pavan Shetty

From being a door-to-door salesman to taking over as Director, Porsche, Pavan Shetty traces his professional journey.

The Economic Times details the rise and rise of Pavan Shetty, Director, Porsche India. From being a door-to-door salesman to taking over as Director, Porsche, Pavan traces his professional journey. When Pavan completed his bachelor’s degree in Commerce in the late 1990s, he was faced with a difficult personal challenge. He had to nurse a close family member for a prolonged illness. This meant full-time attention at home and not much time for further studies or to look for a job. A year went by, and though things didn’t get better on the personal front, the graduate decided it was time he found a job. Starting from being a door-to-door salesman, selling newspaper subscriptions to becoming Lamborghini’s first hire in India, Pavan has come a long way.

1999 Financial Express, sales person, 1999

This job made me an extrovert. I saw an ad in the newspaper and applied. I think this was my most difficult sales (job) because there is nothing more difficult than changing a habit. I was selling from door to door and walked about eight kms everyday. I did it for six months.

2000 HSBC, Human Resources, 2000-2002

At this point, I wished to get into banking. When I joined, I was a part of the generalist resource because I had no specialisation. By this time, I decided to do my masters. I cleared CET with 98th rank. I got through Mumbai’s Sydenham College on a merit seat. This was very important because I had to ensure that the cost of my education was not too much.

2003 Castrol India, Intern, 2003

This was my introduction to the automobile sector. I worked on tractors in Sunder Nagar, Gujarat, for over two months in between my MBA.

2004 Tata Motors, Product Account Manager, 2004-2007

On campus, like most others, I wanted to be in FMCG. When HUL came to the campus, I couldn’t utter a word. I was under stress. So, yeah, I missed it. The next day, I came back with a vengeance and wanted to crack the next company. That company was Tata Motors. My journey with Tata Motors began. My experience with Tata Motors was with commercial vehicles, not cars. Commercial vehicles was really tough and I was in Mumbai, handling the biggest dealers. Some deals would be about 100 or 150 trucks. I was always on my toes.



2007 Ford India, Regional Sales Manager – West, 2007-2012

I had a friend who pulled me in. Ford offered me an assignment in west India where for two years, I did sales and after that, both marketing and sales. It gave me exposure to cars. This customer and his expectation was different from a truck owner. Then I had a challenge in Gujarat where Ford was not the strongest. I, with the help of the team, turned it around.

2012 Lamborghini India, Head-Operations, 2012-2015

I was not too keen to move out of Mumbai at this point. There were family issues. And there were more opportunities coming from Ford Delhi than in Mumbai. Lamborghini happened through a consultant. He asked me, ‘How about a business that sells only 12-15 cars a year?’ When I went for the meeting, my jaw dropped when I heard the brand name. This gave me a chance to be a businessman without starting my own business. I was the first guy to be recruited and I set up everything.

2016 Porsche India, Director, January 2016 – present

This was the most natural progression. Here, you are not setting up but taking it to another level. I had handled P&L, marketing, sales, PR, dealers, everything for Lamborghini. When you know it all already, where you could go next is ideally a big, but not too big, a brand, but where volumes and products to be sold are more. It just makes you stretch more.

This article was originally published in YourStory