Section 36
Prem Ganapathy
Dosa Plaza · Nagalapuram, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu
- ₹1,000
- Money spent to start the dosa cart (besides cart rent) · 1992
- 43
- Outlets including franchisees, in India · 2012
The story
Prem Ganapathy came from a poor family in Nagalapuram, Tamil Nadu. After Class 10 he gave up studies to support his parents and seven siblings. In 1990, at 17, an acquaintance offered him a job in Mumbai. On arrival the man robbed him of the ₹200 he had and left him stranded at Bandra.
The next day he found work washing dishes at a bakery in Mahim for ₹150 a month, and slept in the bakery. For two years he did odd jobs in restaurants and saved. In 1992 he rented a handcart for about ₹150, spent ₹1,000 on utensils, a stove and ingredients, and started selling idlis and dosas opposite Vashi station.
He kept the cart clean and his team well dressed, and it became popular. In 1997 he leased a small shop with a ₹50,000 deposit and named it Prem Sagar Dosa Plaza. He invented new dosas, opened in a mall, and from 2003 began giving franchises while supplying the batter himself. By 2012 Dosa Plaza had 43 outlets across 11 states, plus outlets in New Zealand and Dubai.
Timeline
- 1990Arrives in Mumbai at 17, is robbed, and starts washing dishes for ₹150 a month.
- 1992Starts an idli-dosa handcart opposite Vashi station with about ₹1,000.
- 1997Opens Prem Sagar Dosa Plaza in a leased shop.
- 2003First franchise outlet opens at Wonder Mall, Thane.
- 201243 outlets including franchisees in 11 states; outlets in New Zealand and Dubai.