Feministaa

Madhu Chebolu & the story of Freshchops

By Team Feministaa in

05/10/2022
From teaching students to handling meat deliveries..
Madhu Chebolu was teaching kids in schools when she was offered an opportunity in an operations role in Klay Prep School. Simultaneously, she started handling marketing and finance along with her role and realized that it would not be tough to independently handle her own venture.
She started FreshChops , a marketplace of vendors for the delivery of the Fresh meat, with Sekhar Chebolu (husband) and Raghu Babu Gunturu in Sept 2015 to address the problem of freshly available meat on order.
A Start Up Is Not A Safe Move..
“Although a startup is not a safe move, my parents supported me in it. While they were concerned about the loss of income, they were confident that I would do my best to make FreshChops successful,” says the Founder.
Currently operating in Hyderabad; Chicken, Mutton, Fish, Prawns and Eggs were made available to the customers through the App.
The meat processing starts
Since the processing of meat starts after the order is delivered within 90 minutes, the order can be customized according to customer’s requirement.
There are some relatives who did not like the decision. But you know they come out of cobwebs only to criticize
The meat industry is a male dominated industry and to work in this was daunting at first for Madhu. “But I learnt that if I am self-confident and not conscious, I can easily work. I visit the meat outlets, talk to vendors and suppliers, and do not feel very out of place now. I think once anyone realizes that you are a capable person, then they can look past your gender,” she adds.
There are no fixed hours and the work is never ending
It’s a big challenge to separate work life from home life. In Madhu’s case, it is assumed that she can manage both home and work when she is not in office. “This is very difficult during holidays!,” says the mother of 3. “In the initial phases of startup, we wanted to keep low operational costs, so I started to handle calls at the call center. I never imagined I would do all this,” she adds.
We have to overcome our fears and hesitation and boldly address all difficult problems
An active lady, Madhu begins her day at 5 AM checking e-mails, orders, preparing breakfast for the family before going for yoga. After a yoga session to refresh the mind, she is back 7:30AM when she is geared up for the day. “I am a very positive person and cannot stay low for long. I pick myself up very fast and have tremendous confidence in the universe and its unknown power. I believe be good and do good and rest just be happy. My kids are the biggest blessing of my life and they can keep me going on and on,” says the proud mother.
The society should allow women to spread their wings and soar in their aspirations
Madhu has received immense support from her family in starting up. “My parents help the kids with academics over the weekend, since it is the busiest time for me,” she says. Sekhar Chebolu (husband) and Raghu Babu Gunturu were the initial founders who came up with the idea of FreshChops and believed that Madhu could lead their company. “My husband saw success at my previous job and realized my potential. I advise all fathers, brothers and husbands is to see and encourage the potential of women in their life early,” adds Madhu.
My social life has come down to almost nil and I work till almost 11 PM every day!
Through the journey, Madhu has sacrificed on travel and catching up with friends and family. “It’s been a number of months since I have gone to a restaurant for lunch or dinner,” she says. But she says it is all worth it. “I have become a much more confident person. In this journey I have become less self-conscious. I am hungry to make this chance a success,” she adds.
As a message for future womenpreneurs, she says, “There has not been a better time for you to try something, so start now! Don’t be afraid of failures, you never know where the journey will take you.”

Sonia Motwani

A full time business analyst and a passionate writer, she is hopelessly attracted to the passionate struggle story that every women entrepreneur has lived today! We possibly couldn’t have had someone better than her to write about women achieving new heights in the startup sector!

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