at NAWBO-NY Signature Awards Event, March 2008

Could you please tell us about your business?

I’m the Founder and President of Indian Bread Company and what you have is a unique concept where we marry Indian flavors with the portability and convenience of the American sandwich. So what you have is curry on the go options and we have Naan breads and Indian fillings like saag chicken and saag paneer [cottage cheese], which we fill inside and we make naaninis and naanwiches.

How long have you been in business?

I’ve been in business for four and a half years.

PHOTO BY AMY FLETCHER*

How did you come up with this idea?

When I came here for my Masters, I would always be exploring the budget gourmet options, and although I enjoy food from all over the globe, Indian food let me a little disappointed. I thought there was this market gap for fresh flavorful Indian food with a good value for money and that’s how this whole idea generated and Indian Bread Company started forming in my head.

How about the challenges that you faced?

I’d say that the first challenge we faced is that when we were about to sign the lease, we already had an investor on board, and one day before signing the lease he came to me and he said that either I should increase his stakes or he would be bailing out. That was pretty much at the last minute, and I just thought it was not ethical. I had to actually let go of him and pull in all my resources and go ahead with it myself. The landlord was pretty good, he didn’t ask for a guarantor. Suddenly my budget was slashed in half, and I had to be working in the kitchen along with my cooks for 14-hour days for 7 days a week, for a year. But I would say that what this situation really taught me was, that I could have worked with a smaller budget that what I had intended to, so I actually ended up learning a lot out of it. And I don’t regret one bit because when we open the doors, we received great reviews from the press and it’s still pouring in.

What are your plans for the future?

We intend to grow Indian Bread Company as a multi-unit enterprise, and right now we are location hunting for our second one, hopefully we should have two running by the end of the year. We’ve had a lot of interest from all over the U.S., like Chicago, DC, LA, and even as far as London, and that’s in the near future, but as of now we would like to spend in New York City.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business?

I actually have a rule of 5 that I follow that always helps me in my business:

1- Believe in your idea and in its potential

2- Never stop researching and testing your idea

3- Know your network and leverage it

4- Use your resources wisely

5- Visualize your idea and know that it’s just around the corner for it to materialize

Congratulations on receiving the NAWBO-NY Promise Signature Award! Could you tell us what this award means to you?

I think it’s a big honor and it’s very encouraging to receive the Promise Award, because they think that I show the promise of breakthrough and it’s good to know that they think the same thing that I do. And also I have put on my signature email and I noticed a difference in the dealings of most of my colleagues and even investors. Future investors are showing interest in investing in our company and when they see the NAWBO Signature Award, as a part of my signature on the email. It makes a major difference to them and their belief in me increases.

Where is your store?

We are located at 194 Bleecker Street, that’s between 6^th Avenue and McDougal Street and the best way to get there would probably be either by subway A, B, C, D, E and F to West 4^th Street, or if you are driving down, you come up on 6^th Avenue and take a left on Bleecker and that’s where we are. For more information, please visit www.indianbreadco.com.

* Amy Fletcher is the Owner of A.E. Fletcher Photography, specializing in professional portraits and event photography. For more information and to see samples of her work, please visit www.aefletcher.com. Amy is a proud member of NAWBO.