Rajeev Manchanda

Global Expansion Consultant | Entrepreneur | Mentor | Advisor | Charter Member TiE | Investor

[Lisa @LisaLi_T]

I'm doing research for next week's @vanstartupweek panel and was reminded of something that @FantuanD's co-founder, Yaofei Feng, shared at an event two years ago: "What you see as hands-on, we see as opportunity."

It was in response to the moderator questioning why he was so hands-on in the beginning with what they saw as "tedious": spending a lot of time with mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant owners to get them to open up to the idea of delivery and an app, walking them through every step of the process, and then personally placing and delivering orders. Btw, this remains a key part of their growth, as they send employees to visit owners frequently for support and feedback.

It came to mind while reading more about Vancouver's @CaterDash story. Today, they're the go-to catering marketplace, delivering thousands of meals for over 250 companies, including Microsoft, EY, BMO, Amazon, PepsiCo, RBC, and Arc’teryx. The platform makes it easy for businesses to offer catering services and manage and plan for requests, while customers can easily find and place orders from high-quality and diverse options and save 50% compared to traditional catering. CaterDash has expanded from Vancouver to Toronto and Calgary and is working toward the U.S. right now.

Reading past coverage, I loved hearing about the founder @shreyanshmancha's story of experimenting with restaurant tech for seven years before pivoting to what became CaterDash. He talks about how building dominance in the market came down to being high-touch. Throughout this journey, he personally delivered over 35,000 meals to build relationships and ensure "everything was executed flawlessly" (this number includes orders from his first venture).

Yes, there are so many options to streamline or automate being high-touch, but in the beginning, neither can really replace the outcomes from showing up and doing the "tedious" things that give you direction and insights that can be easily missed if outsourced.

I really resonate with this in the case of ESJ when people tell me to just outsource the parts that I genuinely enjoy or whenever I feel pressured to post more. It's grown as it has now not because I was focused on efficiency and clicks, but because of the relationships with the founders and readers.

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@nbanthia Mechanical engineers will incorporate isometric views. Celebrating Engineers' Day with joy!

[Indian Tech & Infra @IndianTechGuide]

🚨 Indian government subsidies to encourage electric scooters in the country - CNN.

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@FoodProfessor Goes 3X when moved from shelf to menu!!

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@shreyanshmancha

[BetaKit @BetaKit]

ICYMI: “Toronto, by the way, should be one of the hubs for [#AI] in the world. This should be a big moment for Toronto,” argued @OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (@sama) when he spoke in the city recently. https://t.co/uMr8shUyjl

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@jasuja Wishing you the best. God bless

[Indian Tech & Infra @IndianTechGuide]

🚨 Malaysia based 'Petronas' is investing 34,000 crore in setting up Green hydrogen plant in southern Tamil Nadu.

[TiE Vancouver @TiEVancouver]

TiE event last week was a blast! Looking good @PKGulati @dhaliwalmk! Gratitude TTT Studios @innovate_bc @raghwagopal @nvbc
@acetechorg @techcouver @vantechjournal
cc: @SFUVentureLabs @SFUVC @chang_institute @UVicInnovation @ubcentrepreneur

[Rishi Suri @rishi_suri]

An emotional day as @TheDailyMilap completes 100 years today. We thank our readers, supporters & everyone who has been part of the team over the past century for helping us stay true to our founding principles & the ethics & values our forefathers envisioned. We will continue to serve #India as best we can. Jai Hind 🙏🏼 @MilapNN @SuriNavin @MIB_India @PMOIndia

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@sachinpabreja @FarziCafe @ZorawarKalra @eazydiner @ZorawarKalra Congratulations!!

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

https://t.co/uBaYGDRYW6

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

Celebrating “International Year of Millets 2023” with @cgivancouver @ManishGIfs @UBC Amazing dishes prepared using various millets by @chefvishwa
@HCI_Ottawa

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@notionport @vantechjournal @thehomekeygg @allisongacad @alainrivere @MariusAdomnica @_bchaps @TechSpaceYVR @active_impact @svantesolutions @creativedlab @BCCICE @notionport @allisongacad Good to learn about ventures, funding and developments in this space. @creativedlab is doing amazing stuff in this stream. @thehomekeygg thanks for hosting this.

[Diedrah Kelly @DiedrahKelly]

#DYK ? Canada is the largest exporter of pulses to India.
🇨🇦🤝🇮🇳 bilateral trade in agriculture is almost 8 billion💲 & the province of #Saskatchewan is a primary contributor.
📸with @HCCanInd @DavidMaritSK at #PulsesConclave in Mumbai

@SKAgriculture
@MOFPI_GOI
@PIBMumbai

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@TheSaurabhSri https://t.co/XZ1kQiMX3Y

[Inventure Global @InventureGlobal]

Indian Govt approves US$2500 Million (Rs 19,744 Crore) Incentive Plan For Green Hydrogen Industry. Time for companies in Hydrogen to explore this massive emerging market. ⁦@InventureGlobal⁩ https://t.co/35HrZ9lRP5 #hydrogen #cleanenegy https://t.co/Pi20J3i83Z

[Inventure Global @InventureGlobal]

India plans to deploy 50,000 e-buses in tranches over the next four-to-five years at an estimated cost of one trillion rupees ($12 billion). EV and tech companies must explore this massive opportunity. ⁦@InventureGlobal⁩ https://t.co/tA8KjjBQ4R https://t.co/oI5jHNhcf8

[Inventure Global @InventureGlobal]

Happy New Year 2023 ! #HappyNewYear2023 #NewYear #Success #Prosperity #Happiness

[Rajeev Manchanda @rajeevmanchanda]

@itaidamti @bapelj If we add another layer - sliding royalty scale (based on operational & financial performance of franchisee), that would make it really useful. Will bring accountability for both Franchisor and franchisee.