Nobody has done a better job in brand building than Karnataka: Starbucks co-founder Zev Seigl

“Everyone likes to talk about how awful the pandemic was. That was not 100 per cent true, there were winners. Bicycles for export became very popular because it was more of an experience. Sales in pet products also increased by a monumental 25 per cent. Remodelling and construction also became big,” he said.

Adding further he said, “Supply chain became a problem during Covid due to transport and logistics issues. The US was the worst affected by this. It used to take up to four months to transport a refrigerator. This distribution issue called for a federal intervention to build microchip plants in the middle of the United States. They were so upset that they were dependent on China. The best way to be less dependent on China is to open up a factory in Bangalore.”

Suggesting what entrepreneurs can do, Siegl said, “You need to know who your customers are, you need to chart a pathway to growth by collectively working with people in often unconventional ways. You need to know what your customers want instead of projecting your own wants as the customer. One of the problems with early-stage companies is that the people who run it are very proud of their efforts, but their efforts in marketing are sometimes just not enough.”

Sharing his journey of building the multinational coffeehouse chain Starbucks, Siegl said that he started out at a time when there was no entrepreneurship ecosystem. “I went to a college and became a teacher but I wanted something more from life. After a few years, we became restless and the only way I thought to change my life was to start a business. The idea of becoming a coffee roaster seemed more profitable. When we started Starbucks there were no computers and this was in the early 1970s. Starbucks had become a powerhouse company, but only in Seattle. In 1982, Starbucks was able to afford a director of sales and marketing. He came to work for the company and it was fabulous,” he said.