“When I was in college, I had a burning desire to do something massive, meaningful, and perfect. This mindset of mine started during my college days, when I was unanimously elected as the secretary of my batch. This led me to develop my entrepreneurship skills. My journey as an entrepreneur took place during my first business venture, which was leasing my college food court. This experience taught me everything from cooking to decision-making, to strategizing and preparing quality food. I made a decent amount, and I became independent from a young age.

Driven by passion and love for business, my brother pursued an MBA. During those times, his friends, he and I found it challenging to download movies. My brother, Pradeep and I saw an opportunity to develop a platform for streaming Tamil movies online. We started ‘HeroTalkies,’ and we learned how to scope the business, the transactions, the business model, hire the proper tech team, marketing, operations and all that entrepreneurs should be aware of. Though we had debts and loans based on covering up for movies, we kept managing the cycle of spending & revenue.

Our hard work paid off, and we generated a million-dollar revenue in 2017 with 15k users from over 85 different countries. We even had a competitor approach us to buy our company. And yes, we did sell our first company with great down heart as that was our first startup but were happy with the work and result we produced.

After this success, I was eager to start my next business venture but had no clear idea initially. It was just before the pandemic that I decided to start a cooking channel, which ultimately led to the founding of ‘Cookd.’ I always believed in working hard to earn recognition and appreciation, and I wanted my recipes to be my customers’ love and satisfaction.

Favourably, I wanted to create a PAN India brand that excelled in providing the best products, and I knew that food was the best way to do so.

I believe in the concept of ‘Sumaar Idea, Great Founder’ where building a brand starts with the founder. In the beginning, irrespective of whether the idea is mediocre or great/bad, we were confident that we will end up building a large brand. I founded Cookd with this principle in mind, and I named it ‘Cookd’ after my wife’s suggestion. It started with publishing recipe videos on social media which evolved into a consumer brand now. We created recipes and layered some of our own recipes which got converted to Cookd products. Our goal was to create the most loved food brand and provide the best possible recipe content to not just our consumers but to the world.

We worked tirelessly to perfect our products and create a strong brand image. Eventually, for our recipes, we used our own made products. And we hired people to cover areas where I lacked expertise. Our efforts paid off when actor Keerthi Suresh became one of our investors, and after looking at how perfect and quality-made our products are, she has now turned out to be our brand ambassador.

For me, the most important aspect of entrepreneurship is to have pride in the products I create. I only sell products that I am proud of, and that is why quality is always our top priority. Our products are created with the next-generation mindset in mind, where quality is preferred over everything else.

As a young entrepreneur, I have never been afraid of failure because I believe in my efforts and work. I know that there is always a possibility out, as long as I work hard and stay positive. My journey as an entrepreneur has taught me that success comes from hard work, consistency, and a purpose.

I am grateful for my experiences, both good and bad, as they have taught me valuable lessons that I can use in all aspects of my life. As an entrepreneur, I believe that anything is possible as long as you have the courage to pursue your dreams and work hard to make them a reality.

If you think you’re stuck somewhere, remember that there’s always a way out.”