GOA BUZZ

The world of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved over the past decade, to become an integral part of corporate governance. The World Economic Forum (WEF) defines CSR as "a social policy that aims to improve w e l l - b e i n g a n d e c o n o m i c development in society". Copperleaf team, under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity, was fortunate to participate in Our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of a TB-free India by 2025. Ni-kshay Mitra - Mr. Vishwanath S. Pai Bir, D i r e c t o r / C O O o f Vishwamukta Pvt. Ltd. U n i t C o p p e r l e a f provided nutritional baskets, as nutritional support to TB patients, to Medical Officer Incharge Dr. Atul Pai Bir, CHC Sankhali in the presence of Honourable Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, at C H C S a n k h a l i , o n September 22, 2022. We thank Dr. Atul Pai Bir for recommending this Abhiyan and getting us on board to provide nutritional support for 10 TB patients. We thank c e n t r a l a n d s t a t e governments for encouraging private organisations to be part of this Abhiyan. We hope all stakeholders will work together to make TB-free India by 2025, five years ahead of the globally set deadline of 2030.

Goan Greentech Company Celebrates Success of IPO on BSE SME Platform

To attain a cleaner, greener and safer future EP Kamat Group has been redefining eco-friendly solutions by offering green products, which are transforming Goa and helping community to reduce their carbon footprints a n d c o n t r i b u t e t o w a r d s a sustainable environment. With a vision to be one of the most c o m p e t i t i v e a n d p r e f e r r e d Greentech companies in India, EP Biocomposites Limited' s IPO (Initial Public Offering) met r o a r i n g s u c c e s s w i t h a n increasing public t r u s t i n t h e company since i t s l a u n c h . T h e r e f o r e , t o m a r k t h e u n m e a s u r e d success of the EPBL's BSE SME I P O , a n d t o i n s p i r e m o r e SME' s to take this route, EP Kamat Group had organised a celebration at the D'Lila Banquet Hall, Mulgaon, Bicholim-Goa on 13th October 2022, in the glorious presence of Chief Guest, Hon'ble CM of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, Keynote speaker Mr. Ajay Thakur - Head, SME & Start-up, BSE India, G u e s t o f H o n o u r a n d D r . C h a n d r a k a n t S h e t y e , M L A B i c h o l i m . M a n y g r e e t i n g s , appreciation and applause captured the highlight of the event of the growing success of EP Biocomposites Limited's BSE IPO. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest Hon'ble CM of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant said; “It is wonderful to see such promising prospects emerging from our s t a t e . W i t h a g r a n d a n d Swayampurna vision, EP Kamat Group has yet again taken Goa forward towards making it a model state of the country. EPBL's IPO success is a proof of the trust and credibility the company holds and I am certain with such dedicated efforts, in near future we will witness a much cleaner and greener state.” As the celebration continued, G u e s t o f H o n o u r , D r . C h a n d r a k a n t S h e t y e , M L A Bicholim, poured out his thoughts and gratitude and appreciation for the launch. “EP Kamat Group has been doing a wonderful job in helping the state with ecofriendly products and services. I am happy that they are emplying more than 85% locals in their factory. EPBL's BSE IPO is the way forward to many other SME Entrepreneurs too.” To w a r d s t h e e n d o f t h e celebration, Mr. Rajkumar Kamat the CMD of EP Kamat Group, took t o t h e s t a g e t o s h a r e h i s experience and aspiration for the s t a t e o f G o a . “ I a m t r u l y overwhelmed with such a great response to EP Biocomposites Limited' s BSE IPO. I thank the investors for their confidence in the company and the prospects of the business. This reaffirms the reputation and goodwill that our company has earned in the past. I a m c e r t a i n t h a t w i t h o u r dedicated efforts EPBL will create sustainable business models committed towards a clean, green and safe planet.” He also emphasised that there are bright prospects in the market segment in which the company operates in manufacturing environment friendly and protective products and services. He further added "We at EP are now able to offer the right solutions to various needs of the community today. We are working on a cost effective solution for the Beach shacks, as well as containerized STP's for builders and housing societies on a l e a s e b a s i s , b e s i d e s decentralized STP' s in small places for municipalities and panchayats. In addition to bio digesters for individual and small buildings, I am happy that engineers in Pollution Control Board besides other departments have realised the positive impact the low cost Biodigester tanks create from an environment point of view vis a vis the traditional septic tanks. Our focus would be not only on supplying but also operating and maintaining the p l a n t s s o t h a t t h e p r i m a r y objective of getting recyclable clean water from waste water is achieved thereby helping the environment and community at large". W i t h a p r o m i s i n g s e r i e s o f products in the future, EP Kamat G r o u p s t a n d s t o p r o v i d e sustainability, promote a better economic growth, improve quality of life, protect our ecosystem and preserve resources for future generations.

GOABUZZ Kineco Group Celebrates The First Anniversary of Its Joint Venture in India

Kineco Exel Composites India Private Limited a Joint Venture established by Kineco Group, India's leading company in the Advanced Composites industry and Exel Composites Oyj, a Nasdaq Helsinki listed, world' s biggest company in pultruded composites industry, marked its first successful year on 14 October 2022. This Joint Venture, headquartered in Goa was established on 14th October 2021 with a vision to build a world class enterprise and develop the Indian pultrusion market together and has since then garnered the confidence of many Indian & International customers. While Goa based Kineco, provides advanced composites solutions f o r m a s s t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , a e r o s p a c e , d e f e n s e a n d infrastructure sectors across the g l o b e , E x e l C o m p o s i t e s , headquartered in Finland has Sales, R&D, and manufacturing footprint in almost all continents in the world and is globally highly recognized by its customers across a wide range of industries. Kineco Exel Composites reflects Kineco ' s and Exel Composites' shared commitment to be a technologically differentiated player in India and accelerate the growth of pultruded composite structures, especially in the large and growing industries such as wind power, transportation and telecommunications. Celebrating the first anniversary of this JV Partnership, the Founder and Managing Director of Kineco Group and Managing Director of Kineco Exel Composites India, Mr. Shekhar Sardessai said, “I am extremely happy to mark the first anniversary of our Joint Venture w i t h E x e l C o m p o s i t e s a n d c e l e b r a t e o n e y e a r o f o u r successful partnership. With K i n e c o G r o u p ' s l o n g a n d established leadership position in the Indian Composites Industry and Exel Composites' world class technological expertise and c o m p o s i t e s k n o w - h o w , particularly in Pultrusion, we envision our Joint Venture 'Kineco Exel Composites India emerging as India's foremost company for specialized Pultruded Profiles & Products for critical industrial a p p l i c a t i o n s s u c h a s telecommunications, wind power & transportation in India and key overseas markets. Over the last year, Kineco has thoroughly e n j o y e d w o r k i n g w i t h E x e l Composites. Kineco has always strived to be trustworthy and dependable partner for leading international companies for their business pursuits in India. We look forward to celebrating many milestones together with Exel, while creating long term value for t h e s h a r e h o l d e r s o f b o t h C o m p a n i e s , a s w e h a v e successfully accomplished in our o t h e r s t r a t e g i c l o n g - t e r m partnerships with global leaders. I congratulate the entire team of Kineco Exel and wish them all the very best in making the most of an exciting future that beckons for the JV”. Further commenting on the o c c a s i o n , A d i t y a R e d d y , C h a i r m a n o f t h e B o a r d o f Directors of Kineco and Joint Managing Director, Indo-National Ltd. (a majority shareholder in Kineco) said, “I congratulate the management teams of Kineco a n d E x e l C o m p o s i t e s o n demonstrating a successful partnership over the last one year. I am certain that like Kineco and Exel Composites, our JV 'Kineco Exel Composites India' too will prove to be a widely recognized brand in the composites industry for innovation and technology and emerge as the leader in the Indian Pultrusion market. We look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship and extend my warmest wishes for the years ahead.

Goa's First IT Developers Summit Held in Ravindra Bhavan Margao

The Summit was a massive s u c c e s s w i t h o v e r 1 0 0 0 I T professionals, Govt IT staff, final year IT students & an array of IT Stake holders in attendance. This Summit was organised in collaboration with Govt of Goa to give thrust to CM Dr Pramod S a w a n t s e n d e a v o u r o f Swayampurna Goa 2.0 with focus on Skill development, Infusion of latest IT technolgy, employment for the youth & Bridging gap between Industry & Academia. There is a huge scope for IT related jobs in Goa specially in Full Stack technology, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile applications & B l o c k c h a i n . R e n o w n e d speakers guided the delegates & relevant panel discussions were held. CM Dr Pramod Sawant was the Chief guest . GCCI President Mr R a l p h D e S o u s a , M r N i t i n Kunkolienkar, Mr Milind Prabhu & Mr Sanjay Amonkar DG- GCCI were present on the dais. Hon CM praised the efforts taken by GCCI to organise the summit & suggested that this be made an annual event. In his inspirational speech Dr Sawant said that Goa has its own dynamics for excelling into the world of Information technology. The huge presence here in large numbers itself is a sign of golden days for IT in Goa. It shows immense drive and passion to be the best in this field that is having immense potential. Hon CM further said 'if you c o m p a r e s a l a r i e s o f t h e d e v e l o p e r s i n t h e l a t e s t technologies such as blockchain, AI then it will be many fold c o m p a r e d t o t h e b a s i c technologies. We want to give you access to be able to learn these technologies and be aware of the right path to get started in making a strong career in IT. Even the corporates are sometimes not aware of how to approach projects in the latest technologies and only a strong exposure can help Goa to become a hub for IT industry.' 'The Govt will ensure a constant set of activities to provide necessary exposure to the IT fraternity in Goa. With a proactive s e t o f s t e p s f r o m t h e I T department envisions Goa being in the top 25 startup destinations in the world by 2030. Goa has the most promising IT and startup policy that is helping the startup culture flourish in Goa, creating large employment opportunities. You can look forward to becoming a tech entrepreneur with Govt funding support from the startup policy. Govt of Goa has a dynamic staff supported by the SPC, startup promotion cell working tirelessly to help startups grow in Goa' he added. Dr Sawant also launched the first ever IT Directory complied by GCCI during the event along with the IT vision Document for Goa. * In his welcome Mr Ralph De sousa thanked Hon CM for gracing the summit & suggested that a high l e v e l I n d u s t r y A c a d e m i a Committee be formed to review the IT curriculum on a perptual basis to keep students abreast of the latest technology & increase their employability index. M r N i t i n K u n k o l i e n k a r a l s o requested infusion of latest IT trends in in the curriculum. There a r e p a r a l l e l b u s i n e s s i n conjunction with IT which are also in demand & can be exploited by young entrepreneurs he added. The Summit was inaugurated jointly by Dr Vivek Kamat Dir of Tech Education , Mr Pravin Volvotkar Dir IT, Mr Dipak Dessai, Dir Skill Dev along with Dr Nina Panandikar Principal Don Bosco College of Engg. Mr Milind Prabhu & Sanjay Amonkar DG GCCI were also present IT minister Mr Rohan Khaunte addressed the delegates through Video Conferencing. The plan is to make goa the most sought after IT destination . He said that IT policy of Goa has been a great success & many IT & startups have been incentivised by the Govt. The process will continue to attract more investors to Goa.

ASTURI the flagship exhibition of the Women’s Wing of GCCI was organized on 11 & 12 October at Taleigao Community Hall in association with TARANG - a women’s group. There were a variety of local and national brands total numbering 107 stalls including Food stalls. Also, competitions like desserts making, painting, Akash kandil & Diya, and Cooking competitions were held on the sidelines. The chief guest of the closing function was Mrs. Sulakshana Sawant, and guests of Honour Mrs. Pallavi Dempo and Dr. Pramod Salgaocar. Also, the ASTURI Queen and runners up competition for all stall owners were held during the closing ceremony. Mrs. Pallavi Devkar was judged ASTURI Queen and Neha Keny - was runner up by the judges Ms. Rahila Khan & Dr. Pramod Salgaocar. The exhibition saw good footfalls for the 2 day event. Mrs. Pallavi Salgaocar - the chairperson of GCCI- Women’s Wing thanked all the stakeholders for collaborating with them for the event and said that this event was held to give women entrepreneurs and Selfhelp groups a platform to retail and markets their products. The chairperson of the ASTURI 2022 event was Mrs. Sonali Nagvekar who along with Mrs. Sweta Chari of Tarang and other core team m e m b e r s M r s . S h r e e m i Panandiker, Mrs. Gouri Joshi, Mrs. Asha Arondekar, and Mrs. Sandra Fernandes organized the event. The compere of the two day event was Mrs. Pooja Kunde. Also at the event, Mrs. Deepali Naik - Women & Child Development director was felicitated because of the immense work done by her in e m p o w e r i n g W o m e n entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups.

New Vrundavan Hospital At Dempo Healthcare

Hon Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and Hon Minister for H e a l t h , T C P & F o r e s t M r Vishwajeet Rane inaugurated New Vrundavan Hospital, in Dempo Healthcare premises at La C a m p a l a c o l o n y , M i r a m a r , Panjim. It was in distinguished presence of Mr Rajesh Dempo (Managing Director- Dempo Healthcare), Dr Digambar Naik (Director- New Vrundavan Hospital) and Mrs Bhakti Dempo. New Vrundavan is basically c r e a t e d a s a n e m e r g e n c y lifesaving hospital open 24X 7. All necessary specialists as well as emergency advanced equipments are available at the emergency and ICU level. A well-equipped OT is available all the time for any emergency surgery. It is also equipped with 3 new concepts like…. 1.Home hospital services to provide all possible medical services at home including a home ICU. 2.Plus 70 club to help people above 70 to live a longer and healthier life. 3.Express heart care to check the heart urgently at a very low cost, which includes doctor's checkup, an ECG and ECHO screening to diagnose a heart attack on urgent basis at a very low cost. N e w V r u n d a v a n H o s p i t a l specialises in kidney dialysis and other high quality medical treatment at an affordable cost.

Screening of The French Classic, Bande à Part

This Thursday, 22nd September at 6.30 pm, Sachin Chatte will host the screening of the French classic, Bande à Part (Band of Outsiders) as a tribute to one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Jean-Luc Godard, who passed away last week. Godard left an indelible mark on cinema, inspiring a host of filmmakers with his path-breaking style. Film: Bande à part (1964, French with English subtitles) Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard, Duration: 1hr 35 mins Based on a novel by Dolores Hitchens, Bande à Part is one of Godard's most accessible films. It has Anna Karina as a language student who becomes friends with a young man Franz, who, in turn, involves his friend and the trio plans a robbery. The influence of the film has been such that Tarantino named his company Bande à Part, after his favorite film. The dance sequence with Uma Thurman and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction was inspired by the Madison dance scene in this film. Godard described this film as "Alice in Wonderland meets Franz Kafka” Cinephile Film Club, Maquinez Palace, Old GMC Complex, Panjim, Goa.

The Pai Bir Family

A
BRAND
IN
THE
MAKING

by Rajesh Ghadge

Brands are built through dedication and imagination: you can imagine what you want to build, give your 100% and make it a reality. Copperleaf is a big brand in the restaurant industry of Goa born from the Pai Bir family consisting of Sachin Paibir, his father Shrikant Paibir and his younger brother Vishwanath Paibir.

Sachin is a computer engineer by profession and he started his career as a visiting faculty a t t h e G o a E n g i n e e r i n g College while his father was working at a State Bank of I n d i a . “ To d a y w e r u n a successful business but we come from a family that believes in service and a steady secure job. My father was working for the State Bank of India and I was working for a multinational company and later joined the

Goa Engineering College as visiting faculty. The business w a s a n u n e x p e c t e d opportunity that came our way and we grabbed it.”

Entry into the Business Arena

The story of their entry into the business is very interesting. “Whilst I was working at Goa Engineering College as a visiting faculty on a contract basis, I received a call from Tech Mahindra, where I had applied earlier. They were r e c a l l i n g p e o p l e a n d a position opened in Mumbai. During that time one of our relatives who ran a lodging business, Hotel Blessings, was struggling to run it and was searching for someone to m a n a g e t h e i r p r o p e r t y . S o m e h o w , I s a w t h e opportunity in that, although no one in our family was ever really business-minded. It was a risk, but one we wanted to take. At that time, my younger brother, Vishwanath, was still

studying and my father was working at SBI Zonal office. W e c a m e t o g e t h e r a n d decided to take up this opportunity. Goa was on the rise as a tourist destination and it was a wise decision for us to move into the hospitality industry. In March 2003 we entered into an agreement to run the hotel for 10 years.” This was the first business venture of Sachin Pai Bir along with his father and younger brother. “It was an 18-room hotel when it came to us and wasn’t in great condition. This was entirely a new field for us so was a mammoth challenge with a steep learning curve. We had to learn, on the job, about maintenance and manpower and we were illp r e p a r e d f o r c u s t o m e r demands but we did not give up and decided to face all the challenges one at a time. I was s t i l l w o r k i n g a t G o a Engineering College and the h o t e l w a s r u n n i n g o n

autopilot mode with the trained staff taking care of the day-to-day issues and we were providing them with instructions. We also divided our work: during the daytime my father used to look after the business and I used to join him after finishing my duties at GEC.”

Playing it Safe

C o m i n g f r o m a s e r v i c e background and entering into business is a big task but Sachin was aware of the risk and he did not want to put all his eggs in one basket, so he decided to play it safe. “I decided to keep my job since the business was something completely new for us and we didn’t know which direction it would take us. I wanted to keep my job for security purposes. ” he said. While juggling between the job and the business, Sachin received a job offer from Tech Mahindra in Mumbai and he decided to move to Mumbai. “It was a

new challenge for me but I decided to turn the challenge into an opportunity. While in Mumbai I connected with many travel agents and that helped a lot for our business in Goa. I tied up with half a dozen reputed travel agents w h o a g r e e d t o s e n d c u s t o m e r s o n a f i x e d commission basis to us.. In Goa, my father was trying to cope with the work but it was becoming difficult at times so that’s when I decided to move

back to Goa and instead of working for someone else decided to work for myself.” Handling the business from Mumbai was not possible and having placed the entire burden of the business on his father, Sachin decided to move back to Goa. “I wound up in Mumbai and moved back to Goa to dive into the b u s i n e s s c o m p l e t e l y . However, moving back to Goa and leaving that big fat job opportunity in Tech Mahindra was also a challenge and it was like swimming against the current. “Before moving back to Goa from Mumbai I got an opportunity to work as a lecturer at the Engineering C o l l e g e i n S h i r o d a a n d without a second thought I grabbed it. Maybe I was still not ready to take the full risk or maybe I did not want to give up on my experience that I had gained with a lot of hard work and dedication from the Engineering College.” So, to play safe once again, Sachin decided to stick to the secure job and look after the business which was already on autopilot mode after working hours. “It used to take around 1 hour to reach Panaji from Shiroda and I started taking care of the business after returning from my job. This continued for almost five years and during that time I also managed to do my masters in Information Technology from Padre Conceicao College of Engineering and during that time I was also elevated to the position of Assistant Professor. We had by this time, already completed 3 years in the business so it was time to expand.”

Entry into Food Business

The business and job were running side by side and both Sachin and his father were still working while looking after their business afterwork. “We w e r e p a r t t i m e i n t o t h e business and full time into our jobs and that was the time we decided to expand. In the year 2005 we got an opportunity to rent a place on Chogm Road i n P o r v o r i m . I t w a s a n unexplored location with not much lodging facilities around but at the same time it was booming with tourism and h e r e w e b o u g h t “ H o t e l Ashirwad” – a 16 room hotel- a n d b y 2 0 0 6 i t w a s completely operational. Now we had two hotels comprising of 18 rooms in Panaji and 16 rooms in Porvorim.” There is a saying that need is the mother of invention and many businesses have been setup on this concept. “While r u n n i n g t h e b u s i n e s s i n Porvorim we realised that there is a huge demand for a food outlet. As there were none around then, that t r i g g e r e d u s t o s t a r t a restaurant in the existing premises. It was again a completely new dimension for us and the restaurant business is completely different from running a lodging. In Panaji there were already a wealth of restaurants but that was not the case in Porvorim. There we had an entire ground floor empty which we decided to convert into a restaurant and that was the beginning of our journey into the restaurant b u s i n e s s . W e c a l l e d i t “Bhojan” and it was started in 2007 and after running it for almost two years I decided to quit my job and get myself involved completely into this business,” he added. Sachin finally quit his job in 2 0 0 9 a n d t o o k u p t h e c o m p l e t e r e n o v a t i o n o f Bhojan. “The food sector was booming and we had to expand it by occupying the rooftop space by transforming it into a hundred 100 seats from 40 that was catering to our in-house guests as well as walk-ins. Expansion was always on my mind and now I was completely free to give my 100% to this business and hence we decided to come to Panaji with the restaurant b u s i n e s s . W e s e t u p a restaurant, “Dawat” at Hotel Campal.” When I asked him why he did not name it Bhojan he said that name sounds like a veg restaurant. “Experience is key to success and when we setup Bhojan in Porvorim we were lacking the experience in this industry but by the time we setup Dawat in Panaji we were aware what difference a n a m e m a k e s . “ D a w a t ” couldn’t be registered since it was a common name and used by many outlets. Also it was just a five year contract

Image Credits - Copperleaf

due to end in 2014 and our lease in Porvorim was also about to end and the owner was not interested in renewing the same.”

Birth of the Copperleaf Brand

In the year 2015 the lease with the Porvorim premises ended and they started searching for a new premises. “We found out t h a t t h e r e w a s a l a r g e premises available on a long lease in Porvorim and I also many people were interested

but were put off by the fact that Porvorim was quiet during those days. But I always think differently and I decided to take over that premises,” said Sachin. In 2015 Sachin signed the contract with the owner and took over the premises on a long lease. “We renovated the entire premises- the ground floor was done first and on 17th January 2016 we began the Copperleaf brand in Porvorim,” he added. When I asked Sachin about the idea of Copperleaf he said, “By this time I had already learned how a name makes a difference in the business. The name needed to be impactful and fresh and it should not depict the category of the cuisine and Copperleaf had all those prerequisites It was f r e s h a n d n e u t r a l ( e v e n religiously) and mainly it was available to be registered for a Trademark,” he explained. The name Copperleaf started c r e a t i n g a b u z z i n t h e marketplace and people started wondering who owns this brand. “Most people thought this may be some international brand owned by people from Delhi or Mumbai. No one could imagine that

someone from Goa could setup such a big restaurant. By this time, we already wound up with Dawat in Panaji and Bhojan was also given up along with the Ashirwad Hotel to the landlord. The Panjim lodging was still with us but by 2018 we decided to give that up too since we realised that o u r e x p e r t i s e i s i n t h e restaurant business and we decided to focus only on that.” The bigger the business, bigger the responsibilities and that is what happened in the case of Copperleaf too. “The distinction between a job and business is that a business is a 24-hour job whilst a job is 9 to 5 and after that you are free to d o w h a t e v e r y o u w a n t . Running your own business means you stay connected even while you are sleeping and of course we faced many challenges for manpower and customer satisfaction but we managed to handle them all with complete dedication. Engineering played a great role in all my challenges. I looked at the situation from the customer’s point of view a n d w h e n w e s t a r t e d Copperleaf, I wanted to make sure that its ambience, staff,

food & service is of a standard that I would expect when I visit any high-end dining place. I visited many restaurants but the kind of thing that I was looking for, I never found so I decided to transform my vision into the experience that a customer would seek ”. The success of the Porvorim branch of Copperleaf led Sachin to work on opening new outlets. “Initially we decided to open one in Margao but later we decided to settle for nearer locations first. In Goa, the mindset of the customer plays a major role and since we are from north Goa it was difficult to judge the mindset of south Goa customer base so this made our decision easier- to open up in Panaj. After identifying a premises in Panaji, I decided to buy it outright since I worked very hard to build this brand. We cannot afford to comprise by setting up in rented premises, which is a kind of risk. We purchased this property in January 2020 and in February ,the interiors began and by March, Covid struck and we had to keep the premises closed for a long time.”

Dealing with Covid

When I asked Sachin about how he dealt with the Covid situation and what his state of mind was when he realised that the investment of crores of rupees was going to be stagnant for long time, he said, “To answer this question I have to tell you a small secret. There is no doubt that this business is driven by us but in reality, everything that we do w e t a k e t h e “ P r a s a d ” (blessings with consent) from Godess Kamaxi which is our Kuldaivat and we believe that everything that is happening is given by the Goddess and we are just her servants. Nothing here belongs to us and we here just to take care of what

Image Credits - Aditi Malhotra

she bestows upon us and perform to our best capacity . When Covid happened we were sure that this is a call of the Goddess: that she has s o m e p l a n s f o r u s a n d everything will be fine at the end of the day and that is what exactly happened. The central government came out with various schemes to help people, EMI’s were deferred by the banks and guaranteed emergency credit lines were offered by the Government so we got all the required funds when we needed it the most.” When Covid started ebbing a n d b u s i n e s s e s b e g a n reopening, Sachin began home deliveries of food to

provide some relief to the business. “We could not start the premises but kitchens were allowed to run since food is an essential part of life and , by October we opened to the doors of Copperleaf to the public. We did not lay off a single staff but we did reduce salaries by 30 % and we provided them with the food and accommodations during Covid,” he added.

Expansion Plans

Sachin has big expansion plans for Copperleaf and the r e a s o n b e h i n d d o i n g trademarking of the brand is to open the branches and franchises across the nation. “The process is already on and soon you will hear some good news, ” he said. Vishwanath (Sachin ’ s younger brother) said that they are in the process of opening new places but the locations have not yet been finalised. “The plans are not only national but even to go international and in the next 10 years you will see us across the nation and globe and we have set this as our target.”

The Family

Sachin and Vishwanath live in a joint family and their father is

still the head of the family. “The family support has always been there especially during the initial stages. We used to leave home early and return after everyone had gone to s l e e p . I t w a s s o m e t h i n g unavoidable but everyone at home was very supportive and now over the period of time they are accustomed to our schedule. We have now put in a system wherein for the dayto-day operations, we are not required. This was something needed to be done if we have to expand. Today whatever time we spend is our time and we spend it the way we want a n d n o w t h e r e i s n o complaints from the family.” V i s w a n a t h P a i B i r , w a s working aboard and was not a part of the venture in the i n i t i a l d a y s s a i d , “ A f t e r finishing my engineering in 2005, I got a job in Cognizant through campus placement. I was placed in Bangalore and I could not be a part of the venture physically but morally I was always there whenever they needed me. In 2008 I left for the USA to work in a startu p a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t consultant, but later they absorbed me as a full time

employee where I worked till 2014.” Vishwanath said that the start-up that he was working for was acquired by another US based company for the sum of 400 Million USD. “It was a good experience working with the big company and they wanted us to move to their office at a different location, and during that time only I came down to India to attend the wedding of one of our relatives and we discussed the setting up of new outlets in Panaji and I decided to move back to India in 2019 and handle the business with my family.” A f t e r c o m i n g t o G o a , Vishwanath got involved with the day-to-day business activities. “It was completely new for me, I started meeting the team and understanding their roles and learning the food & hospitality business and currently I handle the finance part in the business while my brother is good in the o v e r a l l o p e r a t i o n s a n d administration. I also help my b r o t h e r i n r e c r u i t m e n t processes,” he said. “I want to say that in the entire j o u r n e y , r i g h t f r o m t h e

beginning, we always had the support of our parents in whatever we did and it is a blessing. I was not mature enough to handle the business initially and none of our family e v e r v e n t u r e d i n t o t h e business activities. My father was working with the SBI and my mother was working with INS Mandovi as civilian staff and for them business was a risky field and yet they always supported me and they are supporting me.. he concluded.