Success Story: How Vikesh Shah got the business idea of 99 Pancakes and earned ₹ 7 crore

Success Story of Indian Entrepreneur Vikesh Shah, 99 Pancakes Founder

With dedication and hard work, one can do anything. With the help of these two things, people build big businesses.

Vikesh Shah of Mumbai has set one such example. In 1985, at the age of 18, soon after passing 12th standard, Vikesh started working in a bakery to meet the financial needs of his family.

Today he earns up to ₹ 7 crore every year. Know how his entrepreneurial journey was.

Vikesh was weak in studies; he was never a good student and could barely pass. His father was a diamond merchant and he suffered heavy losses.

At one time, his family had to struggle even for two times of bread in a day. So his mother also started teaching tuition and he started working in a bakery for ₹ 700 per month. Vikesh also did jobs in a pubs, perfumes,  and travel agency.

Vikesh now feels that baking is his future. The first turning point in this entrepreneurial journey came in 1997 when Vikesh started the catering business.

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After running the business for ten years, he finally started his brick and mortar cake shop ‘The Happiness Daily’ in 2007, which continues to this day.

Entrepreneurial Journey from Cakeshop to Pancakes

Vikesh invested all his savings of ₹ 4 lakh in the business and borrowed money from friends and relatives to start the business.

No one was ready to cooperate with him. He only had the confidence he gained from years of experience. After the opening of the shop, orders started coming to him.

In those days, there was no social media to market the business. He put his contact details on JustDial.

Eventually he began delivering donuts, cakes, pastries, and other bakery products directly to customers. Then a few years back, Vikesh launched ’99 Pancakes’. It was a sweet twist in his entrepreneurial journey

Tours of European Countries

He visited European countries around 2014 and took details of the pancakes and waffles sold in the restaurants and streets there.

The concept of pancakes in India was quite new and many customers did not like it. But Vikesh felt that it had the potential to attract people.

After returning to India, Vikesh reached out to chefs who came up with high quality donuts, cakes, pastries, and pancakes.

Vikesh experimented by selling waffles, pastries, and pancakes with his repeat customers.  

Launched first outlet

In 2017, he launched an outlet in Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. But his first week’s earnings were only ₹ 500.

He started inviting his family members and friends to the shop; he requested them to spend some time. Vikesh offered a variety of desserts to his friends and family members. They spread the word among theirs family and friends.

In the next few days, the number of customers started increasing. His desserts instantly became popular, and since then, he hasn’t looked back.

His waffles, crepes, Holland pancake, and pizza become popular. From that disappointing start, today 99 pancakes is sold across 43 outlets across 14 cities in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu and earn an income of ₹ 7 crore per year.

Success Mantra

Vikesh believe that money should not be chased. Because numbers and figures don’t matter as much as the pleasure and satisfaction of operating a business.

Vikesh urges Indian young entrepreneurs to be patient. He has seen that young entrepreneurs often grow faster and make money faster.

But success can only be achieved through knowledge and patience. Today, infrastructure and technology have adapted too many aspects of the business. Only patience can help a business grow.

“No one should chase money. Numbers and statistics are not as important as the happiness and satisfaction of running a business.”

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We hope you find the inspiring story of Vikesh Shah who got the business idea of 99 Pancakes and earned ₹s 7 crore useful and inspiring through your entrepreneurial journey and will keep you inspired.

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So, we hope Vikesh will continue to shine in life even more and inspire the young entrepreneur.

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Website: 99 pancakes