Dhruv BahlCo-Founder at Chef It Published On: Friday, December 11, 2015 Views 3677

"Remember there are no mistakes, Only Lessons. Love yourself and trust your choices, and everything is possible."

Dhruv is one of the most down to earth individuals who feel that it is vital for every individual to give something back to the society. He teaches grade 6 in a government school and his students come from low-income households. He firmly believes that one day all children will get an excellent education. He is playing a small role in this process by giving an excellent education to 50 students in his classroom. However, his journey towards success started way before he became a fellow at an NGO.

After completing his bachelor’s, in financial and investment analysis, he started his career with a job at AT Kearney. He gained ample expertise in several enterprises. He then left his career and started helping an NGO, Teach for India. Soon after, he got an idea of a startup and launched Chef It, with Rachit Sadana. It is a first of its kind; technology backed Chef on Call Service, which enables anyone hosting a party, call a chef from their favorite restaurant.

Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.

Chef It (www.chefit.co.in) is a chef on call service that enables customers to bring to their houses chefs from the kitchens of their favorite restaurant.

What inspired you to build the above product/ service?

I have always been passionate about food and wanted to build a product in the F&B industry. The seed of this idea was sown when I attended a wedding in Goa where I saw an extremely lavish culinary spread that inspired me to bring this experience to people’s houses at a micro level.

What is your life mantra?

Every accomplishment begins with a decision to try.

What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?

The most challenging part of my journey till date was convincing the initial few restaurants and investing them in our ideas and plans.

How did you overcome those challenges?

I overcame these challenges by believing in myself, my product and my team and by making my restaurant partners believe in the same.

Share some details about the investments that you have been able to fetch for the business till now.

We are well bootstrapped.

How do you protect yourself from the problem of Brain Drain?

Honestly, we haven’t faced much of this yet.

According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?

Passion, Vulnerability & a Growth Mindset

Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?

Google Apps for Business, Crowdfire, Canvas

Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.

Making detailed to-do lists and sticking to them. This helps me manage my time better and fit more things in a day.

Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.

My inability to say No.

Answer in less than 50 words

• One tip to success:

Success is a product of your failures. So every time you fail, always believes that there is the only way and that is to rise up. Each time you fail, your game becomes a zero risk game so it is a win-win.

• One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:

Not dreaming

• One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:

Perseverance and dialogue can resolve any issue.

What are your plans for next 3 years?

I plan to grow Chef It from strength to strength and make it a Pan India product.

If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?

I’d launch Chef It way earlier.

What are your top three getaway destinations?

New York, London, Singapore

Share a quote that inspires you the most.

“Remember there are no mistakes, Only Lessons. Love yourself and trust your choices, and everything is possible.”