Money & Books (14 Jan 2024)
Launching our 4th Health Station & How Women Are Beating Men in India
WE ARE GETTING READY TO LAUNCH OUR 4TH HEALTH STATION
We at Happy Ratio sell Healthy Food, Healthy Drinks and Healthy Supplements. Our hypothesis is that by being physically closer to where Indians work, shop, travel and recover, we can help Indians make better health choices. We are surrounded by junk food. Subway is the healthiest fast food you can find when you step out. And they are tripling their outlets from 700 to 2100 in the next 10 years. What does that say? That says that Indians want healthy food without compromising on taste but if they are not ordering in or eating at expensive restaurants, they don't really have much of a choice. There is a big void. We are trying to fill that void.
We launched our 1st Health Station in a mall to cater to an indulgent crowd. We launched our 2nd Health Station in a hospital to cater to a stressed our crowd. We launched our 3rd Health Station in a food court in the same mall to attract a higher footfall and attention. And now we are launching our 4th Health Station in a corporate location to cater to the busy professional. We are still not profitable or cash flow positive, but we are inching towards that goal. Customers vote with their money, and the data has been fascinating to learn from.
I have invested my savings. Angel investors have invested to keep us afloat. We have pivoted and iterated to keep getting closer to the winning formula. Building a business is hard work. But it is also satisfying work. I believe we are on the right path. We just got to keep at it.
WOMEN ARE BEATING MEN IN INDIA
I have had to fire four individuals across my businesses over the years. They were all men. Around 50% of my colleagues across the two businesses that I have run have been women. I have found women to be reliable and responsible colleagues. In general I feel like women are intrinsically wiser than men. When I am mulling over a decision, it is not uncommon for me to ask my wife what she thinks. Her views often make sense and help me take the right decisions. These are just my feelings based on my experiences.
Given my experiences I was not surprised when I read that India's urban women are more educated and have more money in their bank accounts than Indian men. And in rural India, which is where the majority of the population lives, more women are launching their own businesses. In a male dominated society like India, women are starting to shine. And this is happening now because women are leveraging their:
(1) Social Identity: Every Indian now has a social security number called Aadhar. Approximately 1.31 billion unique IDs.
(2) Economic Identity: Having social identity has made it easier to have an economic identity so more women hold bank accounts compared to men. A total of approximately 3 billion bank accounts have been opened as of 2022, up 3x from 1.1 billion in 2015.
(3) Digital Identity: Almost half of India's population, 700 million people, have a smartphone and internet. Internet costs 1/40th of what it costs in the USA.
By entering the financial system, women have access to credit to grow their businesses and data shows that they are also better capital allocators than men.
Another interesting fact that backs this reality is that the micro-finance industry predominantly lends only to female borrowers because they generate a higher repayment rate than men.
You can dive deeper into The Rapid Rise of Female Entrepreneurs in India in Marcellus Blog -> here.
Harsh Batra
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I build businesses (EthosData, Happy Ratio), help investors 5x in 10 years with 1 proven strategy (Marcellus), and email what I learn every Sunday (sign up here).