Survival to Success: Journey of Mari Anna

When young Mari Anna landed in Mumbai from Tirunelveli in search of a job, he had only one challenge in life; how to survive! While doing varied odd jobs including washing dishes and helping cooks in restaurants, never did he thought that one day, his Idly-Wada will find a way to the dining halls of many high-rises of the city. He started with a morning adventure of selling idly and chatni on a borrowed bicycle between 3 am to 5 am. That was his first attempt of entrepreneurship, which changed his life forever. His business kept growing from a borrowed bicycle to a Thela. These days Mari runs his Idly-Dosa center from a rented shop in Navi Mumbai. Besides the two cooks and three waiters in the shop, there are four delivery boys. He delivers party orders through his own Maruti Suzuki Eco. “I don’t know what entrepreneurship is. But all these things are not possible while being on a job. At max I would have been managing cash counter in a small restaurant”, replies Mari to the question whether he is happy being an entrepreneur.