Everyone has dreams, but very few individuals materialise them. For that, we have to push ourselves outside our comfort zones. Neelam Singh, who was not satisfied with her job, realised that her dream was holding her back. So, she struggled hard to make it come true. She established a 40 crore turnover firm in four years, operating in almost all cities.
Family and Educational Status
This strong woman came from a middle-class background in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Her mother was a housewife, and her father served as the college’s principal. She earned her secondary education from Delhi Public School in Agra in 2008 and her BBA from Dayalbagh Educational Institute in Agra in 2011. In 2013, Neelam completed her MBA in Marketing from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), Hyderabad.
Dream
Neelam observed that there were no student-friendly restaurants in Agra when she was a college student. She intends to open restaurants in small towns that are student-friendly in the future. Neelam is passionate about becoming an entrepreneur at that time, but her father wants her to take post-graduation and then enter into a job.
Experience
Neelam had the chance to test her business skills during her MBA programme by setting up a food stand with her friends and turning over Rs. 100,000 throughout a three-day campus event. She was ecstatic to have made a 10,000 investment and made such a profit. Thus she was confident in her achievement.
Corporate Career
Before joining ICICI Lombard, Delhi, Neelam started her career as a Business Analyst at Genpact, Bengaluru. She cut costs wherever she could by routinely missing meals, travelling locally, and taking money out of her daily budget. In 2014, Neelam was married, to Mr Nitesh Dhankhar. She never thought of requesting money from her parents or anyone else. Neelam was left with no choice but to save her own money. After quitting her job in 2017, she eventually relocated to Gurugram with her spouse for his job.
The Burger Company
As a result of her persistence and hard work, she established The Burger Company in Gurugram in 2018. For the first few months, Neelam had to work with a single employee due to a lack of working capital. Neelam enthusiastically completed all the tasks of her outlet without any hesitation. Slowly her outlet moved in the path of progress.
Post-Covid Growth
The outlet was closed throughout the Covid ban. It was a situation of uncertainty. She had to utilise her whole savings at that time, but it was not enough. Thus she took a loan and pledged her gold to raise money. For completing her dream, to reach out to all cities, Neelam came up with the franchise concept. After the lockdown, in October 2020, she established her first franchise in Delhi. Today, it’s one of the fastest-growing modern casual dining chains of cafes that exist to delight passionate American cuisine lovers. Her husband Nitesh, an MBA graduate, also joined the company in 2021.
Delicious Items
The Burger Company offers a variety of veg and non-veg burgers, pizzas, crunchos, pasta, nachos, fries, coolers, shakes, and more, with costs ranging from Rs. 39 to 239 per item. Every six months, a new product was added and dropped those items, which weren’t doing well.
Neelam, who enjoys trying out various cuisines, had the goal of opening restaurants that catered to students in local towns. As the years passed, she set aside money for her dream while balancing her corporate career and family responsibilities. Neelam took the first step towards realising her dream in 2018 by opening an outlet in Gurgaon and putting a lot of effort into making her shop successful.After the pandemic, she considered starting a franchise and increasing her exposure to a broader audience. The company directly employs a total of 20 people and franchisees employ 1,000 people. Apart from being a successful business leader of a fast-growing firm, Neelam is now a perfect housewife. She has established her business in hundreds of cities and hopes to become the largest domestic burger brand by December 2023.
Credits and References
https://yourstory.com/smbstory/gurugram-fmcg-the-burger-company-mcdonalds-burger-king
https://www.theweekendleader.com/Success/3154/the-daring-entrepreneur.html