Tell us something about your growing up years, were you always entrepreneurial?

I grew up in India in a Gursikh family. My father was in the army and kept quite busy. He was a great father but as the youngest in the family, I had little opportunity to learn from him. On the other hand, my brother had a serious entrepreneurial streak in him. He would hand make gorgeous bedside lamps and market them himself. I was very intrigued by his ability to create something out of nothing and it inspired me for a long time.

While I did my best in school and college, my parents always encouraged me to take initiatives in the social settings as well. I remember that my parents gave me the opportunity to read the wakh at the time of her grand mother’s death in front of hundreds of people. It was not a common practice and I felt nervous, but I knew that my parents are there with me. It was a moment that I can never forget in my life and it is through such experiences that I grew more confident in life.

In hindsight, how did marriage to an army officer prepare you for life that you lead today? 

Army life isn’t easy, and there were a lot of hardships to face. However, it did give me a lot of opportunities to turn simple hobbies into something more. There was so much to do constantly – flower settings, table decor competitions, events for the officer’s children, even complete house renovations for charity. Our social calendar was always packed with events that honed my skills. From curating fashion shows to organizing for charity and social causes, I was already in the game and didn’t even know it. Never did I imagine in my wildest dreams what lay ahead in cards.

What made you shift base from India to Thailand? 

Call it fate, call it destiny, I don’t know. After rigorous years of army life, my husband took pre-mature retirement. We had plans to settle in Delhi since various opportunities had presented themselves there. He even almost began work on them, however, his family, brothers/sister who had been based out of Bangkok for the past few decades, convinced him to join them. After quite some persuading, he went ahead to set up work, and I joined him a year later. And that was that. Thailand is in our blood now, and we love it.

What were some of the challenges that you faced when you moved to a new country  – Thailand? 

Well, the most obvious challenge was language! Thailand is a lovely country and so are the people. However, language is tonal hence there are difficulties in the learning process. Nevertheless with time and practice, one does manage to pick it up, and after almost 25 years I can proudly say that it has become a part of me.

So, how did “Weddings by Keeran” come about?

Within a few years of moving to Bangkok, it was the wedding of my daughter Meghna. During that time I was in dire need of a wedding planner who could take over the reins of planning the wedding and lend me a helping hand. But, I could not find anyone who could be there and help.

So, I took over the task myself. Once that decision was made, everything just fell into place. I moved fast and efficiently worked on the trousseau, venue selection, and finalization, the decor of all functions and requirements of guests including their accommodation. My husband and son helped wherever I needed, and as a team, we functioned systematically and efficiently. In turn, the entire wedding went off extremely well and we kept receiving compliments from friends, family and my daughter’s in-laws. It was at this moment that I realized that this was my true calling and within a couple of years (after having become a grandmom), I started “Weddings by Keeran”.

How big is the weddings industry in Thailand?

In one word, HUGE. There are hundreds of thousands of weddings that take place every year in Thailand and we have more planners now than we did a few years back. Everyone gets work according to their capabilities and dedication and is happy. This is a booming environment.

How did you prep for the business?

Once I realized that this is what I want to do, I was completely driven and motivated to do whatever it takes to create this venture. Initially, I started with just planning weddings for the children of friends and family. I started to meet different vendors and travel to different parts of Bangkok to understand how the business works. I started to catalogue names, numbers, contact details of every single person who might be needed at a wedding – florist to make up person, hotels to jewelry designers. I met with everyone and got to know them.

The issue was marketing now and getting the word out. A company was created and the branding was done by my daughter and partner Meghna Mirpuri. The website was in place soon and after this, we never looked back. Meghna is just as passionate about this business and twice as hardworking. She helped me tie up the lose ends. It fills me with joy to know that now we are at a point where she is our point person and flying the company flag high! Being a grandma feels great.

What were the challenges of setting up a new venture and how did you overcome those?

I wouldn’t call setting up a company or website a challenge. When one is sure, not over confident, of one’s own capabilities and hard work, you just move smoothly through and any so called challenge or difficulty was taken as a speed bump. I am quite confident of my team and their abilities, so we managed the speed bumps well.

What role did family and friends play in creating “weddings by Keeran”? 

Absolute confidence in what I was doing and full support, till today. They give me the strength and courage I need when things get tough… think of it as a phone recharge ????

What motivates you to go out and work on the venture daily? 

I’m extremely passionate about what I’m doing and that’s all the motivation I need. I truly enjoy meeting my clients and understanding their unique vision, and then finally seeing that being fulfilled. I love the happiness as two families come together to celebrate this wondrous moment in their lives. I am thankful to be a part of so many many great stories, it makes me emotional at times. I have a great job, and I love every minute of it.

How has life changed for you from the time you started this venture?

Absolute satisfaction. I am content with my work and it brings me great pleasure to be appreciated for something I am good at.

Is there a message that you would like to give to budding entrepreneurs?

All I want to say is that if there is a deeply personal reason, or a health issue, as to why someone walks away from a dream career, I have full respect for that. However, if you are healthy and have no personal restrictions, then age is just a number – that’s what my father always said.

It should not become a hindrance to doing what you love.

He took his wife Jas Kaur’s recipe and transformed it into a kulfi business. It stays true to tradition by using minimal ingredients and even has an authentic Punjabi taste.

Recently they have expanded beyond kulfi to Tarka Masala to cater to the growing need and interest in Punjabi and Indian cooking.

In a short period of time, Kaurina’s went from a small home-based operation to a full-fledged manufacturing operation, selling not only at the local Punjabi, Indian and Pakistani grocery shops in and around Texas, but also in big stores such as HEB, Fiesta and now they are even sold in many of the Costco stores on the West Coast.

Hari Singh has come a long way from being a geologist to being a full-time entrepreneur in the food industry. His son Aman Singh who joined him in 2004 also took a leap of faith from being an engineer to being “The Kulfi Man”, as he calls himself. Both have had great success with Kaurina’s and are all set to take it to the next big level. Here is a glimpse into their journey, as I talk to father and son.

How did Kaurina’s Kulfi come into being?

Hari Singh (“HS“): Kulfi was not the first product that we worked on. There is a sauce called the Picante sauce. My wife made a version of that at home, it was Picante with a Punjabi Touch. We all loved it. We thought of turning it into a business.

But then it did not fly well at the business plan stage, since we did not have the knowledge of how to manufacture on a large scale. I was told that in the beginning we would have to make a sample of 10,000 bottles and we did not want to make that kind of investment, so we dropped that idea.

Aman Singh (“AS”): Kulfi was always my mom’s specialty. No dinner party was ever complete without kulfi. All our friends and relatives used to say that “Jas’s kulfi is the best”. People used to come from far and wide to taste my mom’s kulfi. It is then that we thought of making a business out of it.

We made a few samples and tested it in our local store and it sold out on the first day. Then we expanded to other stores, invested in a production site and the rest, as they say, is history.

How did you decide on the name ‘Kaurina’s’ ?

We brain stormed with quite a few names. We wanted a name which had Punjabi roots, but at the same time, it resonates with a broader audience. We also wanted a distinctly female sounding name as it sounds better and is also identifiable with moms who cook the most in any household. The Sikh name ‘Kaur’ — common to all Sikh women — was something that had all these qualities.

We added “ina” to it as it had more recognizable sound to it. You find a “Tina, Reena etc” in many cultures. This is how we decided on the name ‘Kaurina’s‘.

How did you manage to make inroads into Costco, HEB, Fiesta and other big stores?

Our plan was to participate in the trade shows. Before we headed off to them, though, we updated our packaging. We specially created a multi-pack to cater to the big stores. Then in 2010 in Anaheim (California) we participated in the trade show. One of the Costco buyers came to us and tried our product. She liked it and got us connected to the person in charge at Costco. The Costco buyer requested samples and then set up a meeting. The negotiations lasted over a year. Finally, we agreed to supply to 6 Costco’s. We also created special packaging for them. Now they want us to expand to the other Costco’s.

HEB and Fiesta contacted us through the distributor trade show that we attended in Jan 2011. In 2011 during the Fancy Food Show in New York, we were also contacted by the Union Market buyer; they have three stores in Brooklyn. She wanted us to supply them directly and remove all middle men.

So now we are beginning to expand our foot print beyond Texas into other regions. The journey has just begun.

How did you expand into the ice-cream line? Was there any fear of competition from the big brands like Nestle?

AS:  Consumers wanted party-size tubs. Initially, I was a little hesitant in expanding our line, but my dad wanted to pursue this opportunity. We focused on getting our kulfi blend incorporated into the formulation. We also added new and differentiated flavors such as chikoo.

At present, there is no major pressure to compete with the major brands. We are competing with the smaller brands which are carried by Punjabi and Indian stores.

What role has your mom/wife played in the success of Kaurina’s, besides sharing her recipes?

AS:  Mom has always been the back-bone of our family. She gave us all the support that we wanted. She kept her day job to support the family and to have a steady stream of income while we dabbled in business. My wife also supports us by continuing to work on her ‘day job’.

Where were you brought up and what were the early years like for you?

HS:  I grew up in Punjab, mostly in Simla, along with five brothers and a sister. Then in 1953 my father, who used to work in the Punjab government, got transferred to Chandigarh. That is where I did most of my schooling. I then went on to do a degree in Geology from Punjab University. After that, I took up a job as a Mining officer. I got married in 1975 and then moved to Ludhiana for a few years.

I found it difficult to work in the political environment. My dad was also a very principled person and valued his integrity. While all his Indian colleagues were able to claw up the bureaucratic chain, my father was content with retiring as a private secretary to the Minister. He never wanted to compromise on his principles and ethics. I found it very difficult to adjust to the Indian environment.

Did anyone in your family have a business background?

HS:  No one in my family ever had a business background. All were into ‘professions‘. One of my brothers went into the army and another came to the US to work here and retired as a federal judge. I did not feel that I was fit or good enough to venture into business.

What made you come to the US?

HS:  Like I said, I was not too happy with the government work. During this time, my elder brother asked us if we would like to come to the US. Then in 1977, I did. I first went to Washington, DC and stayed there for a year and then came to Texas.

In DC I was working in a field job, but it was extremely difficult because of the discrimination I encountered along the way. Then in 1978, I moved to Texas. It did not help as jobs were few. I took up a job with 7/11.

In 1979 I got two job offers. I joined Mobil Oil and was there for 3 years before I was laid off.

How has your Sikh Faith helped you in this journey?

HS:  While growing up in Punjab, we used to do paatth every day. I participated in a lot of SGPC competitions. My son Aman has also attended Sikh camps throughout his youth, doing kirtan, learning Punjabi and Sikh history.

When we came to this country, unfortunately, there were very few Sikhs, so it was tough. The awareness regarding Sikhism was not there. It’s different now, people are more aware of us.

Faith in Gurbani has always been our strength. I believe that whatever we are today is because of Waheguru and without His blessings we could not achieve all this. Despite the setback in my early years here, I now proudly wear the dastaar.

What is your vision for the company?

AS:   We would like to create and lead the Kulfi category into the mainstream American market. We would like to create more wholesome and all-natural products that no one has yet created or introduced into the market. We aim to use fewer ingredients and thus make the products healthy and tasty.

This post first appeared here.