How A 23-Year-Old MBA Student Plans To Build A Gol Gappa Empire!

Follow your passion - This is one of the most cliched yet compelling pieces of advice that we all have received at some point in our lives. However, how many of us have the courage to take the plunge? Besieged by our comfort zones, venturing into uncharted waters is a call too big to make for most of us. But for Yukta Rajpal, an MBA student at Masters' Union, choosing passion over a seemingly stable career was not a hard decision. And that’s how her brainchild, Soul Gappa- an exclusive and hygiene-centric fusion Gol Gappa startup, was born. 

From an epiphany to a flourishing business 

Pursuing her MBA from the Masters' Union, Gurgaon, Yukta doesn’t believe in running the rat race. With a clear ambition etched on her mind, Yukta was always on the lookout for new ideas that she could turn into a business. Technology did entice her, but she didn’t find her calling in it. And then as fate would have it, a big mistake led to the idea she sought. 

“I was doing my MBA and everything was going as expected until one day, I decided to indulge in some Gol Gappas from a local street vendor. And I repented it soon after. I got super sick and ended up missing my classes for weeks. However, it was during this time, I had an epiphany. We have exclusive food chain brands for burgers, biryani, and even chai. So, why not have an exclusive Gol Gappa brand that holds hygiene above everything else? And there it was - Soul Gappa.” 

A meticulous journey towards actualizing a dream

India’s Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.8%. So considering the scope, Yukta had actually found the right fit. But setting up an exclusive brand amongst big names such as Haldiram’s is not a cakewalk. 

“I was onto something, and I knew it well. But the actual story had just begun. I had to research the market before making a niche for myself. So while managing my MBA classes, every evening I went for market research. I spoke to numerous Gol Gappa vendors to take stalk of the market situation. I gathered enough data that made me confident about the feasibility of my business idea.”

Yukta began by standardizing the recipe. To get honest reviews, she made her hostel mates taste different versions of her Gol Gappas before finalizing the recipe. Once this was done, it was time to face the real test. Yukta started out by putting up a stall at her college fest and it was a hit. In fact, she had the chance to get the product tasted by renowned people such as Pratham Mittal, the founder of Masters' Union, famous creators like Ranveer Allahbadia and Tanmay Bhatt, and everyone's favourite Shark and Boat’s founder, Aman Gupta.

Check it out! Aman Gupta's reaction on Soul Gappa's specials

With her confidence level pumped up, Yukta’s next stop was the Worldmark Gurgaon, where she put up a pop-up store along with her friend. Outcome - INR 50k in just 2 days!  With the stage already set, the time was ripe to take the final leap- her first permanent outlet. 

“I launched my first permanent outlet in Sector 56, Gurgaon. To help me in my endeavour, I got pre-seed funding from Masters’ Union twice.” 

Slow and steady, Soul Gappa is gaining traction. Gol Gappa lovers have started flocking to Soul Gappa kiosk in massive numbers. Further, the brand has been featured on Humans of Bombay, Ranveer Allahbadia podcast & even on Masters' Union Placement Report. 

The sugar and spice of every venture

Moments of success are the much-needed bursts of motivation for every new entrepreneur. But these moments are flanked by hard challenges, blatant judgments, and harsh prejudices that may make one doubt their own potential. Yukta had her share of these but she knew how to navigate through them. 

“I have a favourite book called Start With Why by Simon Sinek where he talks about how your ‘Why’ of starting something should be very strong. Having found my ‘Why’, I was determined to not stop till I make it big. I started out with no background in this industry. As much as I was excited, I was equally scared when things didn’t go my way. I often doubted myself. A lot of people didn’t take me seriously because of my age. On top of it, my staff ditched me twice. But a strong ‘Why’ and impregnable family support helped me ignore every setback or sexist remark that I encountered during my journey.”

Yukta considers her father, as the biggest inspiration and source of motivation during her Soul Gappa journey. Apart from family, Yukta was lucky enough to have met mentors like Pratham Mittal (Founder, Masters’ Union), Prachi Pawar (VP, Sequoia Capital) & Apurva Chamaria (Head of Start-ups & VC, Google India) who guided her at every critical step. 

Started around 6 months ago, Soul Gappa is steadily growing as a business and placating people’s taste buds with new and fun-filled versions of Gol Gappas. Yukta Rajpal is passionately working to further her brand’s reach and hopes to turn it into something that McDonald's is for burgers. 

If you too have a dream and a solid WHY, then this is your sign to make it happen. Yukta not only serves the nation's favourite street food but is also an inspiration to young guns looking at making it big!

For more inspiring stories, stay tuned to Unstop!

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