Food is a driving force for many and when we say that we mean so many people. It also comes first on the list with regard to our basic amenities. Well needless to say but waiting for food is something which every foodie hates. When they are hungry they need it right away. While some get irritated waiting in queue to order food. Others just can’t help but keep calm till their turn comes. However there are another lot of people who find a solution to this eternal crisis and create a platform to do away with the hurdles to a happy meal.The Painted Goyal and Panka Chata are such names who have been successful in doing that and at the same time helping food lovers across the world reach out to their one and only that is food. Well, if you did not guess it right till now that let’s unfold the mystery. Today, we are talking about the success story of food surgeons in zoomatic and it won’t be wrong if we say that this is the Google of food.
The thought to build up a brand like Zumato came from Bain and Co’s new Delhi office. Deependar Goyal was working as a senior associate consultant and Panka Chata was working as senior analyst at Bay. They are both graduates from IIT Delhi and while working for Bay. They saw people wait for long hours in the food court to get a glance of the menu card. Therefore, one day they thought of finding a solution to this and the idea thought germinated in the form of Foodie Bay. They scanned copies of the menu and uploaded on the company’s private network. Soon the employees started using the facility.
Thus saving their time and in turn bringing traffic to the website.Soon this internet base service was made public and the menu was no longer confined to the cafeteria but extended far and wide. The first restaurant menu they uploaded on their portal was those belonging to in Delhi. After Delhi they casted their ratar over major cities like Kolkata and Mumbai. Their services were used by thousands of users and the number has only multiplied ever since.
Foodie Bay was getting recognition as the services it was providing was unique. Prompting the founders to take this project to a pan India level. It was then that they chose to revamp the name in order to make it more captivating and easy to remember. And also to avoid any confusion with the popular website eBay. And ends in November 2010. Foodie Bay came to be known as Zomato.A name that fits the belly perfectly. With the extensive utility of this website to locate restaurants and scroll through the menu cards. The builders of Zomato thought that they should make it easier for people to access. They then assured in the thought of building a mobile application for this website. So that people can benefit from it on the go. But with the broadening of this idea the need for funding was felt and as usual if you have a great idea with awesome founders.
Funds just come in. Zumato interested Sanjeev Vik Chandani who is the founder of Nokri. com as he applied to invest in the startup. Thus in 2010 he provided seed funding of one million dollars through his company Info Edge India. Well after this there was no stopping to Zumato and Deep Indar Goyal as in the next round of funding. Same finances provided them with the fund of 3.5 million dollars. Later in 20 30 Zomato received a whooping 10 million dollar funding from Info Edge India. Making it a holder of more than 50% stakes in the startup. Other investors of this enterprise includes Sikova capital, VY capital and Tima Singh. Well after that so just kept receiving funding and by now Zomato has raised a total funding worth two 25 million dollars.
With the injection of funding the company was now focusing on expansion plans. While it was running successfully in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune. Zomato launched coverage in other three major cities in India including Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad by twenty11. Moreover Zomato later expanded beyond Indian borders by launching its services in Dubai in September 20 12. This triggered a C of expansions into Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Philippines, South Africa, New Zealand and Turkey.
With 90 million registered users. Zomato is a platform where one can get in touch with foodies around the world. Taking advantage of this. Big restaurants place their ads on this website and this is how Zomato makes money. Another way in which this portal generates revenue is by the sale of tickets of food festivals. However, the journey to the top was not that easy for Zomato and Deepender Goyal. The most important task the company had is to figure out how to cover all the streets in major cities. So that the people who rely on them to not miss out on the best eateries in the town.
This hurdle was there when Zumato was in its early stages and it still poses to be a challenge. But the founders along with the team members are putting in all their efforts to make it better. Well recently when they launched their website in Dubai. The co-founder Panka Chatta himself went out in the scarcing heat of the summer to take up the details of the restaurants. Well even today the challenges faced by Zumato are nothing less.
They went on an expansions free in India without even analysing if those markets are ready for it or no. Eventually had to shut down their service in Lucknow, Kochib, Indoor and Coimbatore. However, within eight years of Zomato’s Envision the company has marked its presence in 22 countries and is looking to expand to forty countries by the end of twenty sixteen. Today Zomato is the only unicorn company to have broke even in several big markets across the world.It now covers more than 1 million restaurants and receives over 25, 000 orders everyday.
Zomato is in no mood to **** its growth and is hoping to be at par with global players present across the world. Both Dependar Goyal and Panka Chatta are leaving no stones under it and this is the reason behind the company’s startling growth. Undoubtedly Zomato has evolved itself to be India’s first global application and yet it does not wish to sit back and relax. Tired up stories wishes Zomato and its founders Panka Chatta and Dependar Goyal all very best for their future endeavors.
