Kausshal | Teapreneur

Building @Teaboxtea - Delivering freshest Indian teas globally | 5 bn cups to 125+ countries | Unschooler Dad | Marathoner | BTC | @sgSMU alum | Fortune 40 U 40

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

Founders Note - My first interaction with Mr. Ratan Tata

In 2016, I had the incredible opportunity to present @TeaboxTea story to Mr. Tata. The meeting was scheduled at Bombay House around 11 a.m., and I flew in from Bengaluru the night before to ensure I wasn’t late—not even by a minute. The thought of meeting a man I had admired growing up, someone I had only read about, was surreal.

I had prepared a presentation and, armed with my laptop, arrived at Bombay House by 10:40 a.m. sharp. I was taken to the third floor and asked to wait in a common area. The housekeeping staff, likely from the Taj Mumbai, offered tea or coffee, but I politely declined—too nervous to risk spilling anything before such a pivotal moment.

Around 11 a.m., the door to Mr. Tata’s office opened. He walked a colleague out, then turned to me with a big, welcoming smile and held the door open as I walked in. I certainly didn’t expect that.

As I set up my laptop, I broke the ice by saying, “I’ve been thinking about this meeting and realized the only thing we might have in common is that we both drink tea.” I naively assumed, since Mr. Tata headed Tata Tea and was Indian, that he must drink tea. How wrong I was!

With a chuckle, Mr. Tata replied, “Young man, I hate to burst your bubble, but I love my coffee, not tea.” At that moment, I thought I had lost any chance of securing his investment.

After my presentation, his only comment was, “There’s nothing in your presentation that resembles a tea company, except for the teaspoon image in that one slide.” In that single remark, he demonstrated his understanding of how we were trying to disrupt a 200-year-old industry. We had a brief chat and took a quick photo before he walked me to the lift, saying his office would be in touch. I left feeling an overwhelming sense of warmth and grace—qualities I hadn’t experienced with any other business leader.

The next morning, we received a call from his office: Mr. Tata wanted to invest in Teabox. I was ecstatic—not just because we were raising money, but because it was *Mr. Tata*, a man my generation had grown up admiring for his bold, transformative bets.

With his investment, Mr. Tata changed our trajectory overnight. Before that, nearly 100% of our revenue came from overseas markets. In India, we were largely ignored by both the industry and customers. But as soon as the news broke that Mr. Tata had invested in Teabox, everything changed. Our business in India quadrupled, and the industry’s perception of us shifted. Suddenly, everyone took notice, and it became much easier to operate and source teas.

As I write this today and reflect on the journey, I can’t help but feel incredibly fortunate to have had Mr. Tata’s support in Teabox’s story. Even though we only met a few times, his loss feels deeply personal to me and to my colleagues.

Teabox, India, and the world have truly lost a great son. I hope and pray that I can continue to build Teabox in a way that creates a positive impact, just as Mr. Tata always did. 🙏

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@vinodchendhil 😍

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@mikefutia clone

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@asktarunn 💯

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@rakeshpsheth @sgSMU Hahaha

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

Uday Kotak, Madhabi Puri Buch, Rajan Bharti Mittal in one room, building an India advisory council for the university that built me.

Last week @sgSMU launched its India International Advisory Council. As an alum (BBM 2005), watching my alma mater plant this flag in India meant more than I expected.

For years SMU has built advisory networks across the region. A dedicated council for India felt overdue and worth the wait. The calibre of people lending their time to it says everything about where this is headed.

The personal highlight: @TeaboxTea got to be part of the evening. Fellow SMU alum and chef Petrina Loh built a dinner around our teas, cooking with them, plating them into dishes you would not expect tea to end up in.

Watching the brand and the university that shaped me meet on the same table was its own kind of full circle.

For India, this is just the beginning.

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@rakeshpsheth @sgSMU I thought it would be otherwise ;)

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

We just did @TeaboxTea offsite somewhere pristine, surrounded by nothing but nature.

There's a kind of team that doesn't post much, doesn't pitch much. They just build. Mine shipped tea to 125+ countries at 62% CAGR over 5 years. And between all that, they take off to Sandakphu, to Gurudongmar Lake.

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@Ajain112 300 cr :)

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@SandeepMall Whose Gurujis guru 😳

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@GabbbarSingh Wengen?

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@Meta You really need to get this fixed, your biggest users/supporters cannot be left hanging.

[Ganesh Sonawane @ganeshsonawane]

Extremely shocked right now! Our @frido_official Instagram account has been blocked, and Meta POCs have said it may take up to 48 hours to restore. Can someone senior at Meta please look into this urgently??!! 🤯🤯

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@Ajain112 We have hit limits many times, hence have many pages to bypass the limit

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@KanishDigital Great idea, do try

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@Ajain112 🚀

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@benradack Separate adset or separate campaign?

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@adamtaylorl Claude

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@dtcprophet 💯

[Kausshal | Teapreneur @Teapreneur]

@Ajain112 Join the party :)