Faasos

Before 2010, Jaydeep Barman's life decisions were tough in a first world way.
Should he take his family to Turkey or Spain for a vacation? Then he gave up the
cushion of his McKinsey job to co-found Faasos with his friend Kallol Banerjee. And
he faced real problems. At times, he and his wife wondered if they had enough
money for their daughter's school fees.
Barman, 41, holds an engineering degree from Jadhavpur University, an MBA from
IIM Lucknow and another management degree from INSEAD. He has five years of
experience of working at McKinsey. But he learnt the most in his own venture.
Faasos started as an idea over rum and cola at Barman and Banerjee's shared
apartment in Pune. Their wives were working abroad, in Glasgow and the US,
respectively, at that time. Today, the business receives over 10,000 orders a day. It
is present in 150 locations across 25 cities. And at a time when a majority of the
food start-ups are operating in a hostile environment, Faasos raised Rs 200 crore
and issued ESOPs and bonuses to some employees.
So we will start the interview:
Many food startups and the hospitality sector in general are facing a
financial crunch these days. What sets Faasos apart?
Faasos functions on an online-ordering model. We have created an environment
where a consumer is able to think foodfirst instead of restaurant-first. We are the
only food tech business in the country which built a full stack model by controlling
all the three pillars of business, ordering experience (platform), food variety and
quality and last mile logistics. This means that we started by building the business
and then developed technology to support the business as per the requirements.
The entire chain from click to tap (clicking to place the order to tapping on the
door for delivering the order) is seamless. This is what sets us apart. This also
means our burn rate is under control and we are in control of our destiny. The ability
to dole out bonuses and ESOPs has been in the culture since inception as we have
focused on sustainable growth.
Earlier this year, you decided to go app-only. And in the same year,
Flipkart reconsidered its decision to do so.
We launched our app in March 2014. Early 2015, we realised that 80 per cent of our
delivery orders were coming through the app. The sole reason being the overall
proposition; a dynamic menu which changes based on customer location along with
estimated time of delivery which is on a real time basis. This is not possible when
someone orders via a phone call or through a website. Food is a utility and
consumers don't want to spend 20 minutes pondering over what to eat.

How did you raise Rs 200 crore funding when other food startups are not
showing potential to investors?
We don't want to comment on funding as discussions are ongoing, but we have
enjoyed validation by investors. We started by building the business and then
developed technology to support it. Most players attempt to develop the technology
and then build the business around it.
What are the lessons your four-year journey at Faasos taught you that
your five-year stint at McKinsey didn't?
The biggest difference between working for McKinsey and at Faasos is managing
uncertainty. At McKinsey, I never had to bother if tomorrow would bring joy or
sorrow. That is not the case when you turn entrepreneur.
Your social media profile says you are "Pretending to be a CEO". What
does it mean?
See, I am a Bengali, so I am very lazy. From day one, I have looked for people who
can work their best. I am called the CEO, but it is a job well done by the team.
Investors say it is better to have multiple founders. Do you think starting
a company with a friend is the easiest choice?
We (Barman and Banerjee) work well together, we went to college together. We
fight a lot. I can tell him anything without worrying about any repercussions and
vice versa. A problem only arises when the two co-founders are taking on similar
responsibilities.
Many food startups are struggling in their operations. Tiny Owl just cut
about 100 jobs. Zomato is keeping its sales team on its toes. Do you worry
about Faasos' future?
It makes a lot of difference if you control the food that you are selling. From a
business model perspective, you have to tackle the differentiator. Even if you get
the food in 10 minutes and it is not good, you will suffer. Those who control food are
the winners. None of these guys are focusing on that. They are focusing on giving
discounts. One should build a business on the differentiator.
Recently, you said the name was taken from Burkina Faso, meaning The
Land of the Incorruptible. How does that work for a fast food company?

Well, all that was an upshot of a drunken conversation. So I don't really remember,
apart from the fact that we thought that would be an interesting story someone
might want to write about. See, we were not wrong