Meet the brain behind ‘Gaon Ka Khana’, ‘Blackhorse Advertising’ and ‘Hironmoy Motivation’- Hironmoy Gogoi
The outcome of depression can be surprising indeed. These are those times when you go so inside your shell, get time to introspect and look inward. A renewed prospect of what you really want to be; awaits you at this time. You get to know all that makes you or breaks you or even for that matter, awaits you. Depression, if viewed positively, gives you a chance to get up and fight back your flaws and wrong all those who have managed to put you down in some or the other way. However, in some cases, a positive influencer can work wonders on the depressed person. As sometimes depression could pull the individual down under to such an extent that it could become exceedingly difficult for them to resurrect themselves out of their own messes. As a writer, I speak of this out of personal experience and the experience of some very famous people whom I have interviewed in the recent past. Hironmoy Gogoi’s interview will not only give our esteemed readers a sneak peek inside the entrepreneur's life, but will also give insight on how this young turk fought depression to his advantage, and only got the best out of him, in order to
service mankind.
Hironmoy, the pride of Assam
BV: You are a young undergraduate, who is pursuing graduation, how do you find the time, courage and energy to give it your best in so many start-ups?
Hironmoy: I attempted to continue my further education battling depression and loneliness but in short span of time I got attracted more towards practical learning; exploring lifestyle and emotions. I gave it a pause and started leading a life to build the best version of me every flying day to empower the lives of others in this world. This is the life of my choice without any external interference from negative people which has been entirely based upon actions to create products for solving real-life problems and to inspire the world with a new discovery. Hence, I took a break from excuses, fear, shame, materialistic mindset and negative environments to rediscover myself. It was not at all easy for me to adjust with the sudden demise of my elder brother and my mother; and my father’s second marriage. Life was merciless that I couldn’t find any other choice apart from being unstoppable. Gradually I converted my desires into reality and for that, I started taking every problem of life as a challenge. I fought back and didn’t quit because I was hungrily seeking success. Even educational drawbacks couldn’t stop me from working at reputed companies. I did the practical homework before starting my final journey.
Time management plays a significant role in my life and that applies to entrepreneurship too. I developed the actual spark the moment I started devoting every bit of me towards a strong desire of influencing this world through my skills one day and since then it has been my ability behind managing responsibilities every day. I strongly believe that the world will need me regardless of how I look, the qualifications I possess, where I live, because I have learned to believe in myself and not in external judgments as nobody in this world will know me better than myself.
At present, I am working on three ventures namely: ‘Gaon Ka Khana’, ‘Blackhorse Advertising’ and ‘Hironmoy Motivation’.
BV: From what I have read, you are socially very invested. With the numerous businesses you have started, how do you plan on giving the people of Assam/India a quality oriented life?
Hironmoy: Yes, I am socially invested because I have interconnected sensitivity with developmental strategies. I am a very sensitive person and I always wanted to become a socialist since childhood. Helping others has always given me a great satisfaction and that’s why I became a Social Entrepreneur. My parents and my elder brother were very compassionate towards others and that has surely inspired me to create more value in this world by being very supportive towards others.
I also need money for my survival but I have never wished to earn a lot of money and that is transparent through my startup GKK (Gaon Ka Khana) which serves meals (Rice ‘thali’) to working professionals, villagers, students at just a price of Rs.30. because they are also struggling to develop their life. This is how my product GKK is creating value for them and we are promoting our ethnic cuisine globally through digital platforms because fewer people are aware of our rich ethnicity. If a foreign brand like KFC can do a great business in our home market with their own recipes then why can’t we build a great business at least in India with our own recipes? This is our motivation behind GKK.
Unemployment is one of the major problems in Assam which is also a root cause of terrorism and other criminal activities. I am planning to build a new environment in Assam which can uplift our poor economy and to make it happen I am doing the following steps:
- We are building a new process through GKK which can create micro jobs for women in villages. We are making our own products like pork and chicken pickles which are getting shipped across India. We are trying to engage women groups in this process as our products are getting a good demand.
- My startup “Blackhorse Advertising” is helping small businesses out here to upgrade from traditional ways of executing business. We are helping them with the complete growth strategy to scale their business and if they grow then definitely more jobs will get opened. The professional attitude was lacking here so we are solving it.
- I am giving free motivational videos through my startup “Hironmoy Motivation” to improve life and skill empowerment videos for the youths through social media which has already empowered the youth across Assam. As entrepreneurship was an unknown term in Assam, so I believe I have played a vital role in promoting the startup culture across Assam which is now converting job seekers into job creators. I was oblivious to the term ‘entrepreneurship’ on the brink of my professional career a few years back. I learnt more about this field through self-study. I received invites to deliver talks at various events. I grabbed this wonderful opportunity for me to change the environment for a better tomorrow.
- During my lecture and interaction with students of various college and university, I came across this thought that many of them wanted to set their own start-up in place, but didn’t know how or perhaps even lacked the means of doing so. My upcoming book, “The Future CEO” is a complete guide for aspiring entrepreneurs and job seekers. This book is very simple and for everyone to understand.
Recognition for achievements
BV: You have attained recognition from many prestigious bodies. Would you like to name a few of them?
Hironmoy: Here's the list of my recognitions so far:
1) India's student entrepreneur of the year 2016 award given by US-based Entrepreneur magazine in association with Economic Times Now in New Delhi.
2) Home Grown Business of the year 2017 award for my startup GKK given by Franchise India in New Delhi.
3) Northeast Excellence Award 2017 given by The Telegraph in Guwahati.
4) South Asian Youth Award 2017 given by International Youth Committee during South Asian Youth Summit 2017 in Bhubaneswar.
5) Winner of Rural Entrepreneur Award 2018 given by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tuljapur, Maharashtra at their campus.
6) Selected for Asia Inspiration Award 2018. It will be given by International Youth Committee which is a global youth org and in association with Ministry of youth, Govt of Sri Lanka. I will receive this award from the honorable PM of Sri Lanka at Colombo in the month of November 2018.
7) Rangpur Inspiration Award 2018 given by All Assam Minorities Student Union.
Basmati rice and boiled local chicken bringing the local flavour of Assam from Gaon Ka Khana
BV: I believe you have started your own food venture (Gaon Ka Khana) that revolves around the traditional Assamese cuisine. I also believe that you have been internationally recognized for starting the same. Please, could you give me detailed insight on the same? This is especially refreshing as the whole world is steered by the whims of fast food, and you have opted for a uniquely different route. Any reason you'd like to sound off on this thought?
Hironmoy: As Peter Thiel said “The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. The next Mark Zuckerberg won’t create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them”
I completely agree and I do carry a similar thought process. To increase more value in this world, you have to build something new and creating the uniqueness in solving real-life problems through business is the actual credibility of an entrepreneur. This will make it scalable and sustainable as it will create an entry-level barrier for others to overtake you. I did a fusion of modern and ethnic methods to create GKK which can be
delicious and healthy too.
Tupla bhat
BV: Could you give me insight on some personal favourites from ‘Gaon Ka Khana’?
Hironmoy:
- Premium thali
- Pork with bamboo shoot/ curry leaves
- Chicken with bamboo shoot
- Pork thali (smoked pork pieces)
- Pork pickle
- Tamarind juice
- Duck fry with white gourd
- Fish with colocasia leaves
- Fish with roselle leaves
- Basmati rice with boiled local chicken
Chicken with bamboo shoot
Fish with roselle leaves
Chatnis
BV: What are your personal favourite cuisines, and why?
Hironmoy: I mostly like Assamese cuisine because it is directly associated with my startup.
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