EP #115: Karthy Subramaniam - Founder of Multiple Food Brands, LITS (Hot Sauces) & BUNGKUS (Malaysian Street Food)

Karthy Subramaniam (@karthy.subra) is the Founder of LITS Hot Sauce (@litssauce) & Co-Founder of Malaysian street food company BUNGKUS (@bungkus.to) with his mom Siva.He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss advice he wish he got when he first started his business, growing up with entrepreneurs around him, how he came up with the name BUNGKUS, scaling LITS to 36 retailers in just over five years of operations, quitting his full time job to start BUNGKUS with his mom and growing this business a faster rate than LITS because of past learnings, and so much more.Follow Karthy:- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksubramaniam/) - Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/karthy.subra/) Timestamps00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Karthy Subramaniam01:01 - What sparked Karthy’s entrepreneurial spirit; his mother, brother, and grandma03:50 - Being born in Malaysia and moving to Canada at the age of four05:38 - Starting LITS (Lost in the Sauce) Hot Sauce07:49 - Scaling up his business; researching bigger companies and exploring co-packers09:53 - Forming his team in 2023; his fifth year of operations11:09 - Securing his first sale for LITS; from family and friends to 36 retailers15:37 - How he went about securing retailers; initially being approached16:54 - How he formulated his sauce flavours; competing with bigger brands like Nandos18:34 - Balancing a full time job while building up LITS; sacrificing sleep and social life21:27 - Are his friends and family accepting of his entrepreneurial efforts?23:33 - Quitting his full time job to build another business (BUNGKUS) with his mother26:40 - Why the company is called BUNGKUS and deciding to partner with his mom32:11 - What learnings he’s applied from LITS to BUNGKUS; marketing/social media34:33 - Creating business synergy between LITS and BUNGKUS; a co-branded hot sauce35:20 - Where can people order BUNGKUS?36:42 - Karthy offers his recommendation for the best dishes to order37:57 - Advice he wish he got when he had first started his business39:01 - The learning lessons he’s experienced from failure41:03 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self; don’t overthink41:51 - The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for by his friends and family42:48 - Creator Confessions48:56 - The Bungkus (Wrap Up)Intro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan     Support the show