THE SWEET RECIPE OF LOVE
Mumbai entrepreneur Vikesh Shah and his better half Binita on the many flavours of love, togetherness and partnership. To say nothing of their fast-growing QSR chain 99 Pancakes that goes from strength to strength on the back of word of mouth. With over 20 outlets in Mumbai and 40 plus across India, their success is based on a simple formula: consistency, commitment and communication. In life as in business.
Conversation and communication are of the essence. It’s important to talk things out and appreciate the other person’s viewpoint even if we do not necessarily agree with them
- Vikesh Shah
Binita and Vikesh Shah on vacation
A typical day for Vikesh Shah would be closely monitoring the workings of their QSR chain 99 Pancakes-and its myriad offerings of pancakes, waffles, pizza, cake & macaroons. The market is as demanding as it is exciting and customers, discerning. But Vikesh is up to the challenge.
Starting off as a home baker, he knows what it takes to deliver quality in every bite. “It’s a hectic, demanding business but well before we started our outlet in Kala Ghoda, I had been making corporate deliveries of cakes and pastries-and so yes, the experience counts,” he says.
Meanwhile, the finance and other nitty-gritties are handled by his significant half, Binita. 20 years of togetherness and friendship are evident-even as the couple negotiate each demanding day. “Our style and approach to business are completely different,” she smiles. “But as they say, opposites attract.”
Evidently, they also grow, bond and work together.
Back to the beginning
This love story got off the ground in early 2000 when the young couple met through common friends. At that point in time, both were starting out in their respective careers: he was working at a cake shop while she was giving choreography tuitions.
And while it was love at first sight for Vikesh, Binita took her time getting to know him. But from the word go, there was something striking about the young man with big dreams and tons of determination. “I was pretty impressed with the way he presented himself. All of 22, he nevertheless had a lot of plans, and lots of dreams. Hard-working and determined. I was amazed how sorted he was,” reminisces Binita. Bit by bit as the conversation and friendship grew, he encouraged her to follow her dreams and up the ante. “I took more training, became more serious and focused about how I wanted to take it forward,” she says.
Different personalities both: he’s patient while she’s effervescent and extroverted, their differences merely complemented the relationship.
Their families were far from pleased though. Despite their common Gujarati background, she is a Vaishnav and he, a Jain. “They are a very orthodox community and her parents had lots of reservations,” shares Vikesh. “It was quite a confusing time. We took each day as it came, determined to be together, come what may.”
As the status quo refused to budge, the duo took matters in their own hands-and got married. “It was a completely unplanned and spontaneous move. In the morning we didn’t know we would marry by afternoon, but that’s just what we did,” he smiles. “We simply trusted our gut-and it all worked out.”
Both families eventually gave the young couple their blessing.
The building blocks of marriage
Post-marriage, Vikesh busied himself with his baking and catering business, while Binita was a much-in demand choreographer. Two lovely girls-Khushi (18) and Yashvi (16) followed in due course. Life was moving ahead on a steady keel-but then Vikesh with his inbuilt Gujju entrepreneurial gene decided to take the plungeand start the first of their outlets 99 Pancakes, a quick service restaurant with a young and happening vibe and a menu featuring an assortment of classic bakes with the choicest ingredients.
Luckily, the market accepted them and the sweetness only spread with new outlets all over the city. As things got more hectic, Binita joined the business. “Her ideas are different. But she’s my lucky charm; she has a certain vibe that says yeh ho jayega-and luckily, it pans out seamlessly,” says Vikesh.
Clearly, theirs has been a self-scripted love story with much confidence in each other. So, what as per them, are the building blocks of a relationship?
“Conversation and communication are of the essence. It’s important to talk things out and appreciate the other person’s viewpoint even if we do not necessarily agree with them,” says Vikesh. “We are both different personalities, but both bring something unique to the table that strengthens the unit as a whole. We approach situations differently; I am patient, while she is far more spontaneous. But it works for us,” he says.
Fights and arguments are part of the story and have to be taken in due stride-with minimal fuss. “Absolutely,” laughs Binita. “We have a simple, workable deal. He says sorry even when I am wrong.”
But in his own quiet way, he does explain his views and how things could have been done differently. “The message is usually on point,” says Binita.
“I truly believe that one person must come down a notch when the situation demands it. My views may be a bit old-fashioned, we both belong to traditional joint families, after all. But compromise and gentleness work in most situations,” he adds. “Far too many good and talented people have parted ways simply due to an unwillingness to accept any viewpoint or stance other than their own.”
Even as work progresses, life is rewarding and minichallenging by turn, with the couple making time for each other and family, amidst increasingly tough schedules. “All of us love to travel and explore new experiences and different cuisines together. So that’s how we spend quality time,” says Binita. “Besides, no matter how busy the day has been, Vikesh and I make it a point to share a meal-and possibly even share the same plate.”
THE MANTRAS OF A MARRIAGE
- Working towards a dream
- Communication and conversation
- Celebrating differences
- Appreciating each other’s strengths
Bringing up two teens
Family values are key, even as Vikesh and Binita bring up their girls Khushi and Yashvi. “He is more relaxed, whereas I am the stricter parent,” says Binita.
At the same time, both are open to new ideas and firm believers in allowing the children to grow at their own pace.
Even as Vikesh chips in: “We want them to enjoy life, experience different things, learn new skills-be it swimming, skating, painting and evolve as well-rounded people. But balance and a sense of responsibility are important. Luckily for us, they are gentle, reasonable girls and do not react negatively when corrected.”
And thus their little world continues to grow, brick by brick, flavour by flavour-99 and counting.