When a former operations head at Oracle, left his well-paying job and Bengaluru life in 2019 to return to his hometown Karur, Tamil Nadu, with an unconventional plan—selling falooda ice cream, most people around him thought he had "lost it". But six years on, Pradeep Kannan is running a successful business with 18 outlets across India and Dubai.
“People laughed at me for leaving my job," he wrote in a viral post on X. "I had the perfect 9-5, good salary, beautiful family. Society said: You’re settled. But something inside me wasn’t."
His decision, which many called reckless at the time, has since paid off, and Kannan is now building what he calls “India’s next aspirational D2C ice-cream brand” in public view.
‘Small town dreams to global shelves'
Kannan’s post detailed his journey from AC offices to franchise kitchens, and now toward global retail shelves. “Everyone thought I had lost it. Cut to six years later: The Falooda Shop has 18+ outlets across India and Dubai. This is just the beginning,” he wrote.
Social media users flooded the thread with praise. “Super, da. Congrats! Inspiring journey, indeed!” wrote one user, while another added, “It takes courage to come out of your comfort zone and do something different. Happy to see success.”
Kannan’s story underscores a growing trend of professionals leaving high-paying jobs to pursue passion-driven ventures, challenging traditional notions of stability and success. Another techie to have walked down a similar path is Maninder Singh who traded his tech career in the US for a humble food stall in Mohali, Punjab.
After returning to India following his father’s death, Singh chose not to rejoin the corporate world. Instead, inspired by his wife’s culinary skills, he launched a stall serving Punjabi staples like rajma chawal and soya chaap.
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