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Founders of Food Rider launch Zeal to nurture other startups, "To help them go the next level"

Arunangshu Nag was born & raised in Silchar, Assam. Like thousands of his generation, he too moved outside Barak Valley for higher education, completed my B. Tech from SRM University, Chennai & MBA from Delhi. After completing his education, he joined an MNC and worked there for more than five years. “Life was smooth & peaceful. However, staying far from closed ones was not easy and always troubled me,” says Nag.

That trouble triggered him to start looking for opportunities in Barak Valley. “But, hardly I could find anything suitable and exciting,” he shares. The employment opportunities in Barak Valley are few and far. However, there are 40 lakh people residing in this valley making it a lucrative market. “I started looking for business opportunities in our valley though my family has never been into any business. Throughout the process, I identified some of the problems of our Valley and then tried to bridge the gap by starting few initiatives like Food Rider, cloud kitchen concept & now startup consultancy named Zeal,” asserts Arunangshu Nag.

Zeal is a startup for startups. In the last few years, many like Arunangshu Nag returned resigned their jobs and returned home. Some are still living in Bangalore, Pune and other metros or mini-metros but operate a startup in Barak Valley. The reverse migration and urge to ‘Startup’ has resulted in the launch of many ventures. Zeal is a startup targeted at entrepreneurs who have the Zeal to take their business to the next level. In an interaction with Barak Bulletin, Arunangshu Nag shares his vision with Zeal…

How will you define Zeal? What is its purpose?

We most often spend our valuable time searching for suitable jobs but, we hardly think about creating one right? It’s high time now and we should work towards being independent.

We believe that starting a business is a risky affair and there is no guarantee for success. But, there is no guarantee in any other job either. Now, suppose you have an idea and want to build a startup. But, don’t know the first step to take. Here, we come into the picture and we will help you shape your dream into reality. An idea that is at the nascent stage, we will convert this to a viable business model by doing a SWOT analysis.

Why do you think the startups in Barak need nurturing? Do you see growth in the startup culture?

In any field of work we choose, the guidance of a mentor always makes the job a lot easier and better. Startups in Barak Valley are no different and they too need nurturing so that they don’t end up going in the wrong direction.
If you ask me, I would say yes, we see a lot of startup opportunities for Barak Valley as we are still in the developing phase and there are many problems lying unaddressed. We can convert these problems into business opportunities.

Most startups today are based on the digital ecosystem, do you think these needs special guidance?

Nowadays, the digital ecosystem is an integral part of a startup. However, firstly, we should identify the problem or need the startup will address. Secondly, choosing the right approach and required skill set. Only after that, we can design our digital ecosystem. Experienced mentorship can make the entire process effective, efficient, and a lot easier.

How can startups associate with Zeal and what would be the nature of association?

Anyone with a new idea can associate with zeal. The nature of association can be customized based on the nature of business and personal requirements. Along with new startups, we are also mentoring the ongoing business ventures as and when required. You may reach us anytime at 08826560214 as and when required. We are always happy to help.

 

Founders of Food Hunter

 

Will you guide the startups at every level, from registration to funding?

Yes, we will guide them throughout the process. We will help them understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. We will create a road map for them through proper market research & digital promotions. We can be their management advisor as well.

Can you provide services like accounting, filing financials at ROC, GST… or will you simply guide the startups by informing them how to do all that?

Once the idea is finalized and the road map has been set, we will help them get done with all the legal requirements.

Will you help startups raise funds?

We believe it is a myth that without raising funds we cannot initiate a startup. In Barak Valley, there are many startups performing excellently without raising any external funds. We may need to raise capital while expanding but initially what we need are a solid idea and a proper road map. We can help them to start on a small scale first and then expand. In this way, we can minimize the adverse effect of failure as well.

Why should startups trust Zeal as the consultant? Who all are the minds behind zeal?

We the founders of Food Rider which is Barak Valley’s first organized food delivery service started back in 2016. As a startup mentor, we should always trust a person who has himself/herself gone through this entire process successfully. Food Rider was one and only food delivery provider in Barak Valley when it was founded but after a couple of years many local and renowned delivery partners entered into this space. The presence of world-class players like Swiggy and Zomato could easily disrupt the business model of a local food delivery service like Food Rider, however, even after five years, Food Rider is growing speedily and steadily. This would not have been possible without a solid mindset and proper planning.

We are now targeting to exchange our expertise and experience with the youngsters who are full of energy and have dreams to live life king size. This was the motto behind creating our new initiative called ZEAL. We also believe that with the help of ZEAL we can create not only self-dependent individuals but also create employment opportunities in our valley.

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