In this episode, we have Abhinav Adlakha, part of the investment team at WaterBridge, chatting with Neeraj Menta, co-founder of SuperK. 

SuperK is a franchised grocery retail chain for small towns with a population between twenty thousand and five lakhs. It empowers unorganised kirana stores to offer modern retail experiences to small-town shoppers and allows entrepreneurs to easily own and operate supermarkets using its data-driven, tech-enabled operating model. SuperK started as a single store in Anantapur. Today, it has expanded to 130+ supermarket stores across 80 Tier 3,4,5 towns in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with an ARR of ₹100 Cr. 

The co-founders of SuperK, Anil and Neeraj, began their adventure in college at BITS Pilani. After graduating, Neeraj worked with Future Bazaar, Flipkart and Zeta, before starting SuperK. Neeraj's co-founder, Anil, was very bullish on franchising. He tried to scale the multiple growing franchises such as FirstCry, McDonald's, ZoomCar and DriveEasy. Both Neeraj and Anil took inspiration from this concept and set their hearts on solving for the modern and general trade industry.

Key Moments in the episode: 

(00:00): Welcoming Neeraj Menta, co-founder of SuperK to S03 E08 of That One Idea podcast 
(00:18): Finding a shared passion for building a business in his co-founder, Anil Thontepu 
(04:44): Identifying aspirational Bharat's consumer behaviour that kiranas need to fulfil
(08:40): Kirana stores today are the same as they were 30 years ago
(11:22):  Iterating on multiple ideas before arriving at a full-stack solution
(14:39): Scaling from a single store to 130 stores across 80+ Tier 3,4,5 towns 
(17:13): Raising external capital, from seed to Series A
(21:49): Neeraj's expectations from his investors
(27:31): Building sustainably and frugally, while optimising for the long term
(33:36): The road planned for SuperK
(35:57): Advice for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital 


Relevant Links: 
WaterBridge Ventures: https://www.waterbridge.vc/ 
SuperK: https://www.superk.in/

Linkedin Profiles: 
Neeraj Menta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neerajmenta/
Abhinav Adlakha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinav-adlakha/
WaterBridge Ventures: www.linkedin.com/company/waterbridgeventures 

You can also listen to this podcast on 
Youtube: https://youtu.be/26EL9nuZgmg
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7BeLAja3kTWXWaF6SN3eQD?si=mGvX7ZC4SZeZ1-Su4y0ppg
Apple Podcast: https://rb.gy/iqwoft

Disclaimer: The information in this podcast (“Content”) is solely for educational and information purposes. The content does not reflect the views or opinions of WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members. The content is not intended to be legal or other expert advice or services and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate professionals. The content shall not be reproduced, distributed, shared, or relied upon in any manner whatsoever, in whole or part, without prior written permission of WaterBridge Ventures. In no event shall WaterBridge Ventures and/or any of its members be liable for any liability, loss, injury or risk which is incurred or suffered as a direct or indirect result of the use of the contents.