Sanjith Konda House would have finished his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at a top Australian university and applied for a white-collar internship in the real world.
A comfortable corporate position, however, became a distant memory when the 22-year-old chose to become a “tea-seller,” or “chaiwala,” as he prefers to be known.
Melbourne, famed for its coffee fixation, is now bingeing on tea and samosas as Nellore-born Sanjith has converted his initial start-up venture, ‘Dropout Chaiwala’ into a million-dollar (Australian) firm in just over a year.
It’s a busy Sunday morning on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne’s CBD (Central Business District), and Indians, native Australians, and a few Hispanics are enjoying their favorite morning poison: a warm cup of tea.
The luminous sign ‘Dropout Chaiwala’ attracted the curiosity of an Indian traveller who came by for a quick second look. If you’re wondering what’s in a name, think again, because a little tea shop has become one of Melbourne’s favourite hangouts for the Indian diaspora.
“I came here to study a Bachelor of Business Administration at La Trobe University but didn’t finish.” “I dropped out of college and then wanted to start my own business,” Sanjay explained.
“I’ve always been fascinated by tea and came up with the idea for Dropout Chaiwala.” My parents were initially surprised that I had dropped out, and they are now concerned that I intend to start my own business. Melbourne is the world’s coffee capital, and I intended to build a tea shop.”
The firm said on Instagram that the 22-year-old was motivated by his mother’s love of “chai.”
“When she came down to Melbourne, they were struggling to find homemade chai. This was the place where the idea was born,” the post stated.
When Asrar, an NRI, believed in his concept and chose to become an angel investor, his dream came true.
“I believe our revenue will be around 1 million AUD (about Rs 5.2 crore) next month after tax deductions and paying all overheads.” The profit margin should be around 20%. If your concepts are in place, conducting business in Australia is simple,” Sanjith remarked.
When asked how his parents reacted to his achievement, he said, “They are really proud now of how I started and where I have reached.”
On the work front, Sanjith continues to import tea from India in order to introduce people to Indian tea.
“The ‘Bombay Cutting’ is popular among the Indian community, and Australians enjoy Indian’masala chai’ and pagodas.” We are preparing to launch our second location in Melbourne,” said Sanjith, who has hired Indian students who work part-time to augment their income.
“However, in order to attract new customers, you must innovate, which we have done with our fusion green tea and chaipuccino (dubbed the tea’s version of cappuccino).”
When someone asks him jokingly if dropouts are favoured when he recruits for various professions, he bursts out laughing.
Melbourne, famed for its coffee obsession, is now bingeing on tea and samosas as Nellore-born House, with his first start-up ‘Dropout Chaiwala,’ has transformed his firm into a million-dollar corporation in less than a year.
While the ‘Bombay cutting’ is a hit among the Indian community, Australians like the ‘masala chai.’
The income of ‘Dropout Chaiwala’ is around Rs 5.2 crore.
“I believe our revenue will be around 1 million AUD (approximately Rs 5.2 crore) next month after tax deductions and paying all overheads.” The profit margin should be around 20%. “There is an ease of doing business in Australia if your ideas are in place,” House remarked.
Dropout Chaiwala imports from India and employs Indian students to augment their salaries through part-time work.
His current goal is to finish his social work degree. He also wants his mom to pay him a visit and provide comments on his tea.