Wow! Momo: a kiosk and ₹30,000
In 2008 Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai, classmates at St. Xavier's College in Kolkata, started selling momos. By most accounts they began with about ₹30,000, much of it from their families, and a tiny kiosk inside a Spencer's store in Kolkata. Binod made the momos; the menu was small.
Reported figures for the first days are modest: sales of about ₹2,200 on the first day and about ₹53,000 in the first month. From that kiosk, Wow! Momo grew outlet by outlet into a chain with hundreds of outlets across Indian cities.
2008first kiosk, Kolkata
~₹30,000reported starting money
1small menu, one kiosk
What Wow! Momo teaches
| What happened | The lesson for you |
|---|---|
| A kiosk, not a restaurant | Start in the smallest space that can serve customers |
| A small menu | Do a few things well; add range later |
| Inside an existing store | Borrow footfall from someone else's premises |
| A few thousand rupees a day at first | Modest early sales are normal; growth comes step by step |
| Grew outlet by outlet | Prove one location before opening the next |
Chapter 1: The smallest version worth selling
Launch with the smallest version of your business that customers will happily pay for. It costs less, opens sooner and teaches you what to build next.
- Separate what customers need from what you'd like
- Define a smallest version that is still complete
- List what to add later
This article is adapted from the book. Examples marked “Example” use invented names and numbers; company stories are based on public sources listed in the book. For general learning; use your own judgement for your situation.
