FEATURED ENTREPRENEURS – ASHWIN, NIKHIL, & HARIPRIYA – BREKKIE

Ashwin Chandra, and his two partners, Nikhil Behl & Haripriya Raja, started Brekkie, which is this amazing business of delivering breakfasts to your doorstep or work place. First of all, it’s very convenient, the food tastes great, and it’s healthy. Ashwin, and the Brekkie team, was nice enough to take some time off from their really busy mornings, to tell us about starting the business, some of the challenges they overcame, and the joy of cooking.

DREAM:IN: Hey Ashwin, Nikhil, & Haripriya! Thank you for taking some time from your busy mornings to speak with us today. As a personal customer of your great breakfasts, we wanted to learn more about Brekkie and how it started. So, let’s start there, how did you come up with Brekkie? What was your inspiration to start a breakfast food service? How did it first start out? What were the steps you took to get it going?
Ashwin: Our daily breakfast routine is something that the three of us have been complaining about for quite a while. I guess the first time we had a “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” conversation was way back last year. Everyone thinks they’re a ‘Richard Branson’ after their third Friday evening beer. It remained just a conversation until this summer. We heard a lot more people echo our frustration with what’s available in Bangalore and thought, “Screw it, let’s go for it!”. We started experimenting with different ideas at home, happened to find both a place and a cook a month later and before you knew it Brekkie was up and running! It’s been about two weeks now.

DREAM:IN: Did you have any challenges when first starting out?
Ashwin: Most definitely, nothing is smooth sailing. Honestly though, we’ve so far been lucky enough that a lot of our setbacks have been blessings in disguise. For example, we almost got an awesome place in Koramangala to use as our kitchen, it didn’t work out in the last minute due to the landlord having a change of heart – ended up finding a place ten times better in Indiranagar.

Basil Tomato Sandwich

DREAM:IN: How do you come up with the menu items for the daily breakfasts? Do you have a process of discovering new types of breakfasts to distribute?

Ashwin: We constantly try out new things (one of the reasons we’re closed on weekends – need some time to get some more stuff on the menu). We also love getting feedback, every time we send something new out, we make it a point to give people a quick ring and get their take on things. It’s easy to love your own stuff, it’s important that others do too!

Chickpea Salad

DREAM:IN: So what’s special about Brekkie breakfasts? Why should customers order food from you?

Nikhil: First and foremost, because our food is tasty, it’s different and it’s freshly made. Secondly, because it’s convenient. It’s grab and go, mess free and we even deliver it right to your doorstep.

DREAM:IN: Do you have a favorite chef, or a chef, that really inspires you?

Ashwin: With respect to celebrity chefs, we’re big fans of Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo (Check out Jamie’s foodtube on youtube, it’s a gold mine!). Especially with Gennaro, it’s just great to see how much he loves food – and his improvised English is quite a laugh at times as well! But truth be told, there’s only one right answer – mum. Be honest, is there ever a better chef?

Cinnamon Roll

Fruit Salad

DREAM:IN: What are some of your favorite types of breakfasts?
Ashwin: There’s no one real favorite. It’s nice to have something different every day. Hint hint, nudge nudge. 😉

DREAM:IN: What is it about cooking, that you enjoy so much?
Haripriya: At the risk of sounding overly deep and philosophical – it’s really liberating. It’s fun to try out new stuff and just see how it comes out. Granted, there is a logic behind cooking – there’s some things that you just don’t do, but overall there’s a lot of freedom to experiment. Plus, the eating part isn’t something to complain about either.

DREAM:IN: What time, do you start in the morning? When does the breakfast start cooking?
Nikhil: Glad you asked, because this is quite possibly our greatest achievement to date. The three of us combined have probably seen 5am a half a dozen times in our lives. That was pre-Brekkie. Now we’re up and out of the house by 4:45, and in the kitchen prepping by 5:15. The first batch get’s done by around 7:15, and we keep cooking till 10:30.

Sample Menu

Sample Menu

DREAM:IN: How many drivers do you have at the moment? How long does it take to get all the breakfasts delivered?

Ashwin: We’ve recently (as in this week) hired two people to help out with deliveries, but we still do a lot of them ourselves. It’s a great way to be close to your customer and get a pulse of how your breakfast is being appreciated. Plus, cycling around Indiranagar is a few hours of solid cardio – guilt free cookie snacking for the rest of the day!

Short Bread

DREAM:IN: Do you think becoming an entrepreneur was a good career choice?
Ashwin: Depends on the definition of “Good”. We’re having a really great time doing it, but time will tell how economically successful this venture is going to be. The early signs look positive though.

DREAM:IN: What was the most enjoyable highlight, since starting Brekkie?
Haripriya: It’s hard to pick out one stand out moment, but what really sticks in our mind is the conversations we have with people that we serve. It’s great to see people take a second or two out of their busy mornings to chit chat about random stuff with us!

Stuffed Idli

DREAM:IN: How would you like to see Brekkie grow in the future? Where would you like to see Brekkie in a couple years? Do you have any plans to expand to lunch, or dinner? Or even, international-style breakfasts?
Haripriya: We’re constantly on the look out for new things to do, the kitchen is always in experiment mode. Right now we’d like to really make a name for ourselves as THE breakfast people in Bangalore – that’s where the focus lies. A greater variety of international breakfast dishes is definitely on the cards though.

DREAM:IN: If our readers want to give Brekkie a try, what’s the best way to get a hold of you, and order some breakfast?
Nikhil: Give us a buzz on 9008504094, drop us a line on whatsapp, shoot us a message via our facebook page (facebook.com/BrekkieBlr) or tweet at @BrekkieBlr. Isn’t technology great? 🙂

Tossed Idlis

DREAM:IN: It’s great that you started your own business. Do you have any tips for other dreamers or budding entrepreneurs who want to start/work on their own venture?

Ashwin: Ask tough questions. Find the right people to work with. Embrace mistakes. Go way out of your comfort zone. Smile. Talk to anyone and everyone. And most importantly, don’t do anything on an empty stomach.

Veggie Poha

DREAM:IN: Thanks so much for the great answers (and the great breakfasts) Brekkie Team! Excited to see what tomorrow’s breakfast will be! All the best!

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