Mr. Tejus Chandra is CFO of Mountain Trail Foods, parent company of Chai Point, a Chai (tea)-on-call delivery service Startup launched in 2010. Mr. Chandra has also worked at Ernst & Young and Goldman Sachs and holds a CA and IIM degree.
Chaipoint has grown to 19 outlets in Bangalore and 3 in Delhi. From ensuring that the tea tastes just right, to maintaining the quality for 60 minutes to ensuring delivery within 30 minutes, Mr. Chandra has a lot to share from this 4-year execution journey.
“Chaipoint.com – The Power of Execution” was a session that dissected the Chaipoint case-study – a retail outlet and delivery chain that sells mainly freshly brewed Chai (tea), to the white-collared Indian worker. The Startup launched in 2010 and now serves more than 1m cups of tea and adds 3-4 retail outlets a month. The company took a simple, well-understood concept of “Chai” and achieved it’s current scale through relentless execution.
Key takeaways:
1) An idea without execution only remains an idea; Intellectualize, but start executing quickly to enable market validation and fine-tuning
2) Aim for profitability right from the beginning
3) How quickly you assimilate your learning into your process is also a reflection of your potential scale
4) Defining process and detail that can be used to train employees should be a key focus
5) Appropriate use of Information Technology and adaptation over time should be a hygiene factor
6) Open communication channels with employees and a flatter organization leads to quicker problem resolution as they arise
