Meet Nitin Saluja, IITian who built Rs 2051 crore brand selling tea

Nitin Saluja graduated from IIT Bombay in 2007. A few years ago, he opened the tea shop of his famous company in the same campus. Here's the story of a man who chose the difficult life of an entrepreneur over a cushy job.

Nitin Saluja is the co-founder of one of India's most famous tea-chains, Chaayos. He opened the restaurant in the place where he used to have coffee with his friends at IIT Bombay.

He shared an anecdote with Indian Express in an old interview. He said once he didn't have Rs 20 to get coffee. He collected Rs 1 each from friends and seniors to buy coffee from the shack.

The chai-chain operations in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company last year raised 53 million dollars in a series C round at an undisclosed valuation.

The expected valuation was around 240-250 million dollars (Rs 2051 crore), reported Money Control.

He opened his first café in Gurgaon's Cyber City.

In FY 2022, the company posted a revenue of Rs 134.9 crore.

He got the idea of selling tea when he went to the US to work at Opera Solutions. He couldn't get a perfect cup of tea at any place in the US.

He decided to change the status quo. He planned the stat up for two years before opening his first cafe.