Dev Amrit raj the surname says it all it is the name of kings , with a word like Raj which means Rule in Hindi attached ton your name , it goes without saying he was born to rule .His father a big landowner in Kerala owned many restaurants and coconut plantations near Cochin. The family clout of the Amrit raj clan spread far and wide across the state right to Tiruvantapuram . Dev was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and he being the eldest son in the family got all the attention and love of his doting parents . Our Amrit raj junior was spoilt rotten he went to school in a Cadillac gifted to his father by the British who were his fellow spice traders . The family had actually made its riches first in the trading of spices first to the Spanish , when Vasco de Gamma and company arrived at the ports of Cochin . They came is search of new land and in India they found their gold . Spices of the region and the coffee on the hills of Kerala began to be sent to the west where it was sold in the open markets as exotic herbs and blends that could cure remedies and where good for health . The trade became profitable almost instantly money started pouring in . Cochin’s shores and ports where the safe landing places fro ships from Europe to start a trade of spices , coffee , fruits , oils and silk these items were in great demand and it is by trading these with the Gora Sahib’s the Amritraj’s amassed their wealth and family clout . Our Dev was always made to feel like royalty thus , with Aya’s to tend to him after school , he had a special tutor all to himself who would teach him maths and sciences . The evenings consisted of playing tennis or playing with swings in the garden .
After the exhausting tennis session our Dev would get coconut water to have with ice , sometimes the whole coconut came with a straw . He lived in a sprawling bungalow with gardens , swings and many cars , his father gave attention to his mother but also had many keeps in near by towns that would keep him busy . Dev grew up a bit of a lonely child always aloof in his own dream world . He enjoyed the material comforts his father provided him but he was getting bored with them . He had many questions about his future in mind and did not know what course to take and what to make of his life . He had imagination and was eloquent in the languages he was dark of skin but was tall over 6 feet well built with broad shoulders and a splendid bushy moustache . He loved wearing sandals and silk dhoti’s with deeply embroidered Kurta’s . He had finished his education from the local Catholic college and was ready to go to an MBA institute near Delhi to do his masters in business administration .” You must learn business after all that is what our family are we are traders and land owners , you must study business administration and make sure you top in it .” His dad had given him strict instructions before he departed for his tiger studies . His mother was in tears she could not bear to see her dearest just walk out into the big world away from the shade and comfort of a homely life Dev had so far enjoyed .
A morning Arti took place where Dev was garlanded and set free to go do his MBA to return back and help in the family business .” You are going to fulfil a great wish of mine now you can stand tall amongst all the gora sahib’s because of your education , make us proud son .” His father kissed Dev and then ushered him into the car with the luggage .
Dev would be making a journey to Delhi to start his first semister at the institute . Dev could not sleep that night he was excited about the new journey in his life but also a bit apprehensive . He opened his trunks and pulled put old letters his father had written to him from his many trading and fishing expeditions when he was at sea . These brought him some comfort , he was not all alone the sweet memories and images of his home in Cochin would still remain with him . Yes he would have to make new friends , learn to stay alone with others , but he would also learn , think and grow during the eduction . Dev unfolded each letter that night and read it under the dim train lights. All the while he took deep sips of coconut water from his pealed coconut through the straw . He would miss Kerla coconut for sure .
MBA for Dev was a walk in the park he had brains and was a good student but what he most enjoyed was riding his bike The Bullet all around the campus roads , he was the biker of his batch with his brown jacket and black leather gloves he looked apart , being tall and well built he found respect management his peers and was always working for some college committee or the other . No Dev was not into grips he enjoyed marketing and brands the world of brands excited him and his enthusiasm for other subjects also remained .But his hap hazard and chaotic world would be hit by an ice berg soon . It was time for summer placements and every one wanted a summer job our Dev was no exception he had taken a bet that he would get a Job in a multinational ,” I am a Raja yaar ! Only the best for me .” Everyone new Dev would make it and he surely did he landed a summer job with Dunkin Donuts . Yes the food giant that sells donuts and coffee all around the world through their franchisee outlets .Dev would get a salary of Rs 5000 and work as in intern with the India Franchisee are of the mega brand .” Appa ya I got it a job summer job with Dunkin Donut’s , you no they sell sweet buns and coffee , America company Appa .” He told his dad over the phone way back in Kerla .” I see great sun maybe we can sell coffee to them also , like a side business but I am proud of you son , your mother is asking are you having your coconut water it is very hot in Delhi during the summers .” Dev’s dad sounded concerned about his health , but the family was joyous ,’ My son finny like a Gora sahib as I always wanted it to be , you know I was complexed as a young man I mean I was dark small in height I always thought the British were better then me , like a supreme race , I wanted my son to step out of those shadow’s and today he really has .”
Dev was gifted a new Bike for his success in the summer placements , life for him was about to change for ever but as of now he had no clue .
It was Dev his first day at the job he was the first one at the reception all decked up in a sharp tie a while shirt and a dark blue suit .” Kya Hua sahib office starts at 10 you are early .” The peon sitting next to the main reception door enquired ,” You know Bhai ! First impression is the last impression .” Dev gave him a two thumbs up . Soon the office opened and Dev was assigned to a senior manager who would be his mentor a man named Sandeep Kunwar .He was a real terror a fat man almost 98 kgs and short of height just above five feet , He had a a grey French beard and floppy grey hair this man was the terror , his favourite words “fuckers I will chop your balls off .” Sandeep used the word fuck like no one else .” Baby you have come but it is me you have to handle , Agni pariksha her bacchey .’ Kunwar grinned as if he had been handed a new genie pig by the management .” I had been begging the HR department for months to be given a trainee finally I have you my south Indian man Dev Amritraj , don’t worry I will not cut your balls not as of now .” Kunwar opened his hot water bottle as he sat on his sliding leather chair infant of his glass desk . He was the GM operations and he had earned this position he had been in the company for 10 years , he knew the business like the back of the hand . It was Sandeep who had driven the Donut business across the north and west of the country , his success had been acknowledged by the management .He had got the CEO’s award three times in a row for best achiever in terms of sales numbers .
“ So you want to learn how to market sweet buns , well all are products are trademarked and are built to certain strict quality standards here is the ISO book read it in your spare time .The factory in the suburb makes the dough for the bread and buns a lot of the items like the sugar , chocolates , gems and frills come packed to us . The Doughnut operation works on a assembly line just like Fords cars were made , just plug and play as Steve Jobs would say .” Sandeep got very excited when he talked of Doug-nuts , I was sure he loved what he was doing . Sandeep had two daughters who went to school and his wife ran a crèche .” See these is Tina my eldest and this is Sara she is three years old .” He held his mobile phone and showed me their pictures , he was trying to form an emotional bond with me now .’ What about you , I see you are from Cochin , south they have a lot of coffee there and no doubt you will get a lot of coffee here .” He smiled . Such was served in the office canteen as we kept our conversation going .” We have expanded very fast we have over 100 outlets now and our infrastructure can’t cope with the pace , you know Indians love anything new and foreign we have always been complexed with the white man .” Sandeep said this as he took a bite of his puri aloo man this man had a appetite I have never seen anyone finish a butter chicken plate like him .” We have reached a turnover of 1000 crs but the boss wants us to double that this year so lot of pressure on us , especially operations .
Dev was getting used to corporate life after all he could make a life for himself here .He was also enjoying his new mentor Sandeep who was a straight talking man Dev felt , a companies man . He had been assigned to the Dunkin Dougnut outlet at Vasant Kunj and our man would drive every morning in his new Bullet Bike to be the first man to open the store . It was simple everything was standardised and had a process to sit , weather making coffee or serving the dugout , follow the procedure be nice and smile a lot at the customers It was a simple business idea now making mega bucks Dunkin was household name in the US and even in Europe .” Yeh! Hei tho mazza hei , you need a simple yet powerfully differentiated idea that can be scaled up standardised and packaged to the world . I would have start3d my own business if I had one , but till then I am the GM here .” Sandeep spoke to me as if I was a child who needed some care .”
I picked up the business fast and was also able to offer my own ides for improvement , most of my ideas were promotion and sales related .I was the MBA here and everyone in the staff looked to me for advice .Sandeep was happy with my progress ,” This boy will go far only needs a direction and an idea of his own he has business in his blood , his family big people in kerla .” Sandeep explained to Madukar the marketing head of the Doughnut chain ,” Good young man heard a lot about , your The Diwali pack ad idea was great .” He shook Dev;s hand as he said this . The office was a regular now with glass cubicles , lots of laptops and computer monitors . The employees got coffee on the house and everyone ha d beer before going home on Fridays .It was a office office thing to do .
One morning Dev walked in Sandeeps room and saw him try to attempt a head stand , but he was failing miserably with all his weight he could not even bend let alone do a head stand .” Man you cross 40 and then see what happens to you , I cant even move all I do is sit on this chair the whole day dreaming of sweet buns and their colourful toppings .I have got diets and hyper tension , I am trying to do head stand to give me some comfort .” Sandeep explained . “ Boss head stand tho meeting main yoga we are down on sales numbers across the country we need a new bait to get customers , it’s time for our meeting with the agency .”Dev pulled Sandeep from the floor ,” Give me some time need to wear my belt .’ Sandeep looked around his office in haste and tried to pick up his white short lying on his chair .”
“ We are going to get rogered by the Boss today in the meeting for lack of sales numbers we need to execute our advertising plan .’Dev tried to brief Sandeep before the meeting . All meetings were the same only one person spoke in them the CEO Sam Balsara who was keen to get the Brand moving ,” We need to increase our spend and latch onto cricket this will get us the youth especially the teenagers who would enjoy the new flavours of Donuts we have to offer in the market . Coffee sales by the cup are using the figure from North are fantastic so I am not much worried about that . We still have some B towns we need to start our home delivery service that will be our edge and our new Ad campaign must highlight that point , drive it home in the consumers mind .” Balsara as usual choose his words carefully and drove his point across to the management team . Dev was assigned to take the min of the meeting and look after the snacks , somehow interns always get the job and Dev had to do it with a smile .Sam was very tall man a Parsi very fair , he was like school master rallying the troops and driving operations and marketing , he was a hard task master but yet had the human touch in him . Sam had. Ask informant of him double the sales of Doughnuts in one year as simple , he would be given all resources to achieve that target .
For Dev it was also Baptisim by fire to be thrown into the rough and tumble of corporate life , be a part of it also make some history with his own ides and suggestion’s . He would often call up home from the local PCO and inform his parents how much he had been enjoying the summer training selling bread to all India .” Lots of fun Appa I enjoy it , I am an expert myself and my boss Sandeep he is looking after me the people are good and the job keeps me going , take care and yes I am having coconut water here also .” Dev would tell his folks and they were satisfied he had settled into a good routine .” He will take over all Gora Sahibs my son will shine he is a Raja a King after all with his own Raj , were ver he will go people will salute my boy Dev .” The father clapped and praised his son Dev Amritraj from the clan of Amrtiraj the spice and coconut traders of the south .
“ You are not a distant cousin of the famous Vijay Amritraj , you know the brothers who also make Hollywood films .” Sandeep jibed Dev .” Oh no no I am a spice traders son they make double x movies ” Dev affirmed .
‘ Did you get your stipend collect it from Cash today and I have given you a bonus for your marketing ideas keep it up .Sandeep was all praise . But behind the charade of a happy Interns life in a dream company something was biting Dev inside , he had been reading a lot on the net about start up companies and CEO’s show re even younger then him . His father had pushed him a a lot ,’ You have to be better then the Gora Babu .” He still remembered his fathers words they were ringing in his ears . He could not sleep for a few nights , something was not right. He wants to break free . I mean what would I corporate life give him where was the adventure the thrill of branching out , why not do itn ow why wait , why not now all that was a expandable idea , simple find the need gap and fill it with a product that is also a solution package it process it and sell it for a price . But what the hell could that product , idea or service be .
He was late for work today all the thinking and lack of sleep had got his schedule screwed up .” Morning Sandeep I just don’t feel well these days overthinking .” Dev tried to explain for his lack of energy and drive .’ So what is it the moment of truth for you son , or you just over dosed on doughnuts .Sandeep trend to change the mood .’ No it’s just me I am not satisfied I want to do something on my own , build my own idea and product line be my own Boss and motivate others to brace out on their own . I want to be an Entrepreneur and I know I can , only I don’t have a fucking idea thats simple yet scalable .’ Dev explained what was on his mind to Sandeep who took out some pills from his drawer and gulped them down with hot water . “ But that’s my problem too , I know the operations part of this business like the back of a hand and you can do wonders with sales and marketing , all we need is the idea .” Sandeep looked disappointed ,” Maybe some inspiration will come to me like thunder .” Dev smiled and looked to the heavens .
Dev would often drive around the roads of Delhi for inspiration and fresh air on his bike with his trade mark brown jacket , he did look like a young biker hunk . His evenings were spent browsing the net and keeping abreast of all the latest Appa , he enjoyed reading blogs on biking and one of his dream was to buy his own Harley Davidson one day . Something in him yore to make the world a better place be of good to man kind and be totally independent of society and it’s many constrained . He was turning into a young rebel a supernova who wanted to chart his own course and his own road and finally it came to him dead in the middle of the night . Dev had been put up in company guest house and use too often pace around the halls when he could not sleep due to anxiety about his future or just plain restlessness .It happened that tonight he walked unto the fridge to have some water and from the fridge fell a green Kerla coconut , it fell plonk on the floor all the sweet water fell splash on the floor . For Dev this was the moment when the apple fell from the tree on top of Newtons head . This was his ver Eureka moment his moment of epiphany he had waited for like a. Email in his head the idea he had been looking for fell in his mind like a Mana for Heaven .He sat still in his dining chair just blank it was as if a door had opened and he could see Kerala coconut everywhere , the backwaters of Kerala flashed infant of his eyes he was in a boat and either side where coconut tress with lush green coconuts . Yes Dev had found his ticket to paradise and his own start up idea . Sell fresh coconut water with the coconut as Dhaap is sold near the sea shores . Yes sell fresh coconut water from the coconut with coconut cream and malai as an add on like a topping . Dev’s imagination had begun to expand we could mix syrups and make ginger water , orangeade with coconut water , melon water juice all these in a coconut and sell it with a straw and a cocktail stick , that would be some retail product , mean everyone loves coconut water especially in the summers and now you can have it clean in many colours and flavours to enjoy all fresh from the very coconut .” I have got it boss , Sandeep sir I have got my status idea and it’s called Dunk-in Coconut , yes Dunk-in Coconut .” Dev cleared his throat as he spelled out the name of his new company and trademark brand DUNKIN COCONUT , thats it we ill retail fresh from the coconut stare to the masses through a franchise model and use kiosks and stands in crowded places to sell this .” He was clear in his vision just like Sam Balsara he looked cool and compose as he narrated his start up idea to his mentor the fat partly Sandeep Kunwar who had dark spots on his face that made him look even more menacing then before .” Hmm good on nice we can expand on this type out a full report with execution plan and costings for the idea and also mention goto market time and the pricing model; you will be using . I think you can work one this , it seems you know what the future holds for you now .: Sandeep had a spark in his eyes he had likes Dev’s idea and through it was workable , but they needed money , funds and a lot of it if this baby was too take off .
Dev had a germ in his head it seemed and the idea had taken over his entire body and mind he was just thinking about his vision and his brand Dunkin Coconut , this would be his ticket to start up environment .He and started staying awake researching on the net , trying to get a struct=ture for his report , he wanted to get the vision and product right . This was not going to be a cake walk he trough to himself . I mean he was just an Intern who had learnt some tricks of the business , yes he had youth on his side and he had learnt a lot in his first year at the MBA university in Delhi .” Dunk-in Coconut thats my dream thats the vision all I need are the right people who agree with my dream and see it has value adding . He found his alleys in the office of Dunkin Doughnut itself .
Jayanto was a bengali who had not got a promotion for few years , because according to the management , he was immature and very child like still and not fit for a sales manager post . Jayanto was always frustrated and fucked , he had even stopped working because hew as not getting promoted and all his peers had passed him over .” Bluddy hell make me sales manager now , I must be made a manager I have slogged my but for this bun tiikki company for years , Sala Kya bole ga is management ka ekdum bakwaas .” Jyanto thunders as he sat in the pit . The pit is the central area fo this office where all the sales guys of Dunkin sit , they gossip and abuse each other more like .” What shit you are a child you will never become a manger .’ Banik the stores guy tried to appease him . “ I will resign one day I ma telling you I am in very bad mood .
“ Jayanto wanted out of the rat race but had no options , I guess he needed the job but how long will he be able to hold on to it that was the real question .” Yes I have got my first recruit .” I clapped my hands aloud as I dropped my coffee cup into the bin .I walked unto him in the pit ,” Yaar just dreaming of your way out will not get you out from where you stand currently , you need a new vision something that will motivate you to greater heights , some with me chai lets change the world .” Dev took Jayanto by the arm to the dining room and they sat on the table together .” DUNKIN COCONUTS thats is the idea the company and the brand we will sell fresh coconut water straight from the coconut in different flavours through a franchisee model to all parts of India .” Dev narrated his idea clearly to Jayanto he was sure the latter would bite the bullet , he was too frustrated to stay in this company .” I am almost finished making our Brand and Company Vision report all we need is now the initial funding and some experienced and wise people who cans see this through with us .” Dev had his answers and his questions ready , he was serious this could be done , he had a gut about his state up idea and it was all over him like a rash .Dunk-in Coconut was eating into Dunk-in Doughnut .
Dev and plated the seed of disturbance into Jayanto’s mind soon he will also start living the idea and the two would meet on the office balcony and car park to expand on the vision of the company and brand . ‘ I will make the sales report on implementation and execution how to effectively sell coconut water and what USP to use .” Jaynato grinned he could see his way out of his miserable job and this was going to be his ride .Dev walked unto the front porch of the office and through hard what would be required of his now , he needed an experience guys now , some one with experience who the investors can trust for his age and experience .Dev’s eyes turned around as he stared at Sandeep sitting like a mountain gorilla on his chair .” Think of the devil my mentor what would we do without you .” Dev was swift with his move his strategy was clear in his head he needed funding and he needed Sandeep kanwars experience .
“ Are you kidding me my wife will kill me , I need to pay bills my daughter goes to school , I know job’s are not always nice but I am not falling for your idea , it is good but not for me , I cant quit my job on your Coconut idea .” Sandeep was agitated he was not having this .” You need to recruit some of your batch mates .” He said with a smirk .’ No I have decided to drop out , I am not Finishing my MBA I want to build my idea and my own brand , this is the start up generation dude you got to be with it .” Dev was reds to make his pledge his mind was made up but he needed support and money .Dev needed more convincing to get Sandeep on board his ship after all his mentor had a higher salary package and a lot more to loose .Dev wnet on his mission to sell coconut water to India and the world and his search on the internet got him what he wanted . Shraddha the CEO of story.com she headed a digital media company reporting on start up culture and success out of Bangalore .She was a women schuss story and an inspiration for women entrepreneurs . She was very popular in the business circuit , she knew all the start up funding companies and their bosses , she could be an handy alley to have if Dev had to succeed in his mission , yes Shraddha would bring in the cash . She would be Dev’s ideas honey trap a perfect foil to charm people out of their money .
“ Ya she was in KBNC first the news network then she branched out with story.com it’s doing well now after 5 years of capital injection .” Sandeep explained the inside story to me .” Yes she is a mover and shaker of sorts , you could approach her .” The boss had given the thumbs up to my recommendation and I was trilled all indeed wasa. Meeting and I could fly to Bangalore to see her with my detailed report which Jaynto had also prepared the stage was set for our Coconut factory .I booked an air ticket online checked out what type of hotel I was eligible to stay in according to company rules . My next destination was story.com where Shraddha was waiting to hear my grand plan and idea the seed had been planted and now it was time to spread it outside the office .
