Ajay Chaurasia shares his excitement after his company Corn Junction raised funds recently- He says I still remember the day when in 2009 I was in my final year of graduation & I lost my mom. Anyhow, I gave exams and completed graduation in the same year. My family looked at me as a ray of hope and it was rude of me to reply that I do not want to do a job, I want to become an entrepreneur. Out of curiosity, I was reading books about startups which gave me the courage to utter these lines in front of my papa and my family was against it. I had an argument with my father and that day I left home in 2010 and moved to Delhi with only 1200 Rs cash in my hand. I didn’t know about ABCD of business and had no capital to start my own. I tried one startup on Chai in 2010 with one of my friends but it failed and soon I realized that it was my responsibility to look after my parents and in the name of the startup I couldn’t leave my family. I had no other options left & I was completely broken. I decided to work & soon I joined a company and worked there for three years. The company used to promote handmade products & local edibles in malls of Lucknow. I did my Post Graduate Diploma in Retail Management (PGDRM). In 2013 I moved to Lucknow As a “startup ka keeda toh bachpan mein hi kaat chuka tha “I was very much fascinated and I was quick to grasp the demand of sweet corn in the market.
He also did rigorous research that how WOW momos and Sandwich king created values and there was no such organized brand in Corn.
In 2017, The journey of corn junction began with the vision of promoting “India’s healthiest fast food” to all corners of the world.
In 2018 Ajay met Mr. Sandeep who quickly got aligned with the vision they started with 3 outlets and started generating revenue with Mr. Vivek Verma who had enormous experience in management.
At present, Corn Junctions have about 22 types of products which are primarily made from corn & within 5 minutes delivered to your plate with the richness of vitamins. Initially, they had a chain of 3rd party sellers but very soon they realized that they need to grow their own corn as quality control was a major issue. Ajay says that “I have seen farmers of Barabanki struggling to make profits although demand was there but they couldn’t sell corn to the right set of people.”
Maize is the world's third important cereal grain, with the United States being the largest producer and consumer in the world. Japan is the world's largest importer. India contributes only 2% in exports. Corn Junction is not only helping the farmers in increasing the production of corn but will also provide promoting opportunities. With revenue of 1.5cr+ in the last 3 years (coping with Covid 19) and a user base of approx. 1 lac of Corn Junction will extend its fleet of 11 stores in pan India to 100 stores in 23-24.
Ajay wants to thank Mr. Nitin Verma whom he met in 2021 (post covid) whose e-com startup Groshers was acquired amidst covid. He kept me motivated and guided me by taking out time from his venture and giving me genuine feedback. I would like to wish him more success in his new venture.
I remember Sandeep asking ki “Bhaiya hm 16 lakh loss mein hai Kaise Hoga “ in Dec 2021 & I hilariously said “Kaisa entrepreneur Banega Bhai tu”
It’s a humble request to all founders to stay loyal to your product & belief is a must.
