Zorba's Sarvesh Shashi – The Yogic Entrepreneur

Abstract:

The case discusses the entrepreneurial venture of Sarvesh Shashi (Sarvesh). Sarvesh underwent a yoga course which transformed his thinking and perception of life. When the course was followed by a stringent phase of penance under the guidance of a shaman, Sarvesh gained immaculate clarity of what goals he should pursue in his life. With this motivation, he founded Zorba - the Renaissance Studio — which gained quick acceptance from the people. Sarvesh’s primary motive was to spread happiness to people through the medium of yoga and meditation. He designed several courses that addressed the various issues and challenges people faced, ranging from depression and diabetes to cancer. Sarvesh did face some teething troubles, but his efforts soon yielded results. His studio received a proposal from India’s biggest fitness chain — Talwalkars. Talwalkars acquired a 50% stake in Zorba Renaissance Studio. Along with Zorba, it had ambitious plans to open more than 100 studios across the country to make the most of the increasing popularity of and following for yoga. The case discusses the efforts of Sarvesh as an entrepreneur through ideation, implementation, and growth of his venture.

Issues: » Understand entrepreneurial initiative. » Get an overview of the health and wellness sector in India. » Analyze the beginning, development, and growth of an entrepreneurial initiative in the health and wellness sector. Introduction In January 2016, Sarvesh Shashi (Sarvesh), a yoga practitioner and the CEO of Zorba - A Renaissance Studio (Zorba), sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India’s largest health and fitness chain – Talwalkars Better Value Fitness Ltd (Talwalkars). As a part of the MoU, Talwalkars acquired a 50% stake in Zorba. Sarvesh and Talwalkars looked to expanding their joint presence in India and beyond by 2020 to make the most out of the fast-growing US$3.2 trillion global yoga and wellness industry. By May 2016, Talwalkars, in association with Zorba, launched 33 studios across 25 cities in India and had further plans to roll out 100-120 studios in the next 5 years across India and overseas...

Key words:
Entrepreneurship, health & wellness, risk

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