This week we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Ashwin Kashyap Raghuraman for an interview with us to understand more about his entrepreneurial journey. He is the Founder and Proprietor At BowChow SuperDog. Let’s learn more about his exciting journey, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
Where did the idea to start something like this come from? Please also talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur;
After over a year of scouring the internet for a recipe and discussing with vets understanding how a dog’s digestive system works and what are all the ingredients that aid in growth and development and more research, I officially launched BowChow SuperDog on March 2017. At launch, we only had a hand full of clients, all in the known circle of friends and family. At inception we were a subscription-only model, it proved very challenging for us as people would not prefer subscription for themselves let alone for a dog food startup. Several changes in the original plan had to be made to ensure our continuity and sustainability in the pet food startup space. Today we serve our yummy chow to several pets across the country. Bowchow SuperDog was started with the idea of providing best and natural nutrition to our pets using only real and whole ingredients, competing and popular brands not only lack nutrition but also use inferior quality ingredients in them.
Being a pet lover myself (I have 3dogs) I set out on a mission to figure out what was the best way to feed my pets. Then I came up with the idea of BowChow SuperDog (best chow for your best friend).”
Coming from an orthodox TamBhram vegetarian family my first challenge was to figure out how to handle meat myself. Then understanding how and why it was very important to our pets. During the initial days, I had the help and support of a dear friend Raghuraman uncle (not my father) who taught me everything I need to know about cooking with chicken for pet food. After several months of trial and error and multiple recipes, we locked on to the existing recipe which every pet now loves.
Trying out recipes from home and delivering them to approximately 29 dogs across the city in Coimbatore was the first challenge. And that too daily, and follow up phone calls to find out if the pet liked the food, understanding whether there was any change in its daily activity. The vigour in which it ate the food, to understand the palatability.
The second was If one of the pet refused to eat, then we had to come up with an alternate recipe. So I would figure out how to improvise on the previous recipe.
After close to a year of research and development we locked on to the existing recipe, next challenge was obviously scale, luckily I came across a friend who knew about food processing technology and told me about the current technology we are using, which does not involve any chemical or preservatives, it just uses temperature and pressure to sterilize the sealed pre-cooked pouch thereby giving us the desired shelf life.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
To be honest, I was addressing an issue I faced as a pet parent. The lack of good quality food for your dog made me start my own dog food company, and therefore I’m on this entrepreneurial journey.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
I have had pets all my life, Presently I have 2 dogs at home. When I found out what goes into making the food we feed our pets I started feeding them homemade food. Once a friend’s dog was refusing to eat kibble/dry food, so I sent over some of my homemade food and the pet ate it off completely. As a joke, my friend said I should start a dog food company, and here I am.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
I believe if you do what you love the most, it gives you the motivation to get out of bed every morning. Luckily for me, my passion for dogs and my zeal to be an entrepreneur clasped hands, in this Journey called BowChow SuperDog.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
Boarding, health care, training and grooming have huge potential in the Indian pet industry, while products such as pet food are met with huge competition by giants in the industry. Although being a completely different form (wet Food) and a better product we are and will be constantly compared to Kibble (dry food). But eventually with more people entering the space awareness will hopefully be created.
Tell us about the uniqueness of your startup, please;
One of the main principles we follow here at BowChow SuperDog is,
“PETS BEFORE PROFITS”
BowChow SuperDog is made by using only good quality ingredients sourced from trusted suppliers. In spite of that, we are the most affordable, wet dog food company that offers completely balanced nutrition for pets that comes along with the supplement packet delivered to your doorstep across India.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
There are 2 things that I believe anyone should invest in,
1) Themselves. I wake up early in the morning around 6-7 am I go for my run and some workout.
2) Good People. I have been fortunate enough to have the company of an excellent team.
These are the 2 things that I believe will help one handle any amount of pressure or stress. And I have been lucky to be blessed with friends and family who have been a guiding force for me during such times.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
Never be complacent. As a person or a startup, I believe you should continuously be growing.
ALWAYS, SET TARGETS AND WORK TOWARDS ACHIEVING THEM.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Since the inception of Bowchow SuperDog, I have been firm on a few things.
1) NEVER COMPROMISE ON QUALITY.
2) TREAT ALL CUSTOMERS RESPECTFULLY
3) HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
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Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
