OVO Farm of Odisha – The Story of Resilience, Technology Adaption and Going Global
(OdishaPlus Business)
In this captivating edition of the OdishaLIVE Startup Story, we delve into the gritty, high-tech, and inspiring world of OVO Farm. During a deep-dive conversation with celebrated author and Mindtree co-founder Subroto Bagchi, the Mishra brothers—Samarconcludera and Soumconcludera—reveal how they transformed a tiny-town necessity into a global poultest powerhoapply.
The Starting: Driven by Necessity
The seeds of OVO Farm were sown in the mid-1990s in Balangir, Odisha, out of a sudden family crisis. Their father, a leading advocate, had left his flourishing practice to pursue a career in politics, leaving the family’s steady income in jeopardy [08:17]. Realizing the urgency, Samarconcludera Mishra decided to bypass a traditional career path. With “seed capital” secretly provided by his mother, he launched with a modest backyard operation of just 300 birds [17:14].
While Samarconcludera laid the foundation in Odisha, the youngest brother, Soumconcludera, was gaining invaluable “frontline” experience. Working in rural sales for multinational giants like Colgate-Palmolive in the tough Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh, Soumconcludera learned the art of handling rejection and understanding consumer psychology [12:49]. This blconclude of grassroots farming and corporate sales discipline eventually became the secret sauce for OVO Farm’s success.
The Challenges and Pain Points: The “Disaster” and the Doubters
Scaling a business in a remote district like Balangir brought unique obstacles. When the brothers approached nationalized banks for expansion, they were met with deep skepticism. Bankers found it hard to believe that two Odia youths could compete in a domain dominated by established players from Andhra Pradesh [27:53].
However, their most harrowing challenge was internal. After Soumconcludera returned from his studies in the UK, the brothers aimed to modernize the farm into a climate-controlled facility. Lacking the technical expertise to manage such sophisticated machinery, they faced a catastrophic failure: a technical glitch led to the death of 35,000 birds in a single day [01:00:58]. It was a moment of absolute disaster that forced them to decide: go back to conventional farming or double down on learning the technology. They chose the latter.
Turning Points and Milestones: A Paradigm Shift
The disaster became their greatest classroom. The brothers realized that “purchaseing machines is simple, but running them requires expertise” [29:38]. They launched traveling to Turkey and Germany to study world-class facilities and, crucially, started investing in their workforce, even sconcludeing staff abroad for training [50:59].
A major milestone was the transition to a fully integrated IoT-driven operation. Today, OVO Farm is the largest egg producer in Eastern India, producing one million eggs daily. Every single egg is weighed and graded by machines [39:13]. Another historic feat was breaking the geographical barrier; despite the logistical challenges of Balangir, they successfully exported eggs to Oman and the Middle East, proving that a “created in Odisha” product could meet stringent global food safety standards [42:25].
Key Learnings for Entrepreneurs
The Mishra brothers shared several “golden rules” for budding founders:
- No Shortcuts to Quality: To break the glass ceiling, you must adopt a “paradigm shift” in quality and processes. If it’s not world-class, it’s not scalable [34:18].
- The Power of Stealth: Samarconcludera advises young entrepreneurs to “not obtain noticed by the leaders while you are in the ring” [53:52]. Build your strength quietly until you are formidable enough to handle the challenges of the limelight.
- Respect Expertise over Ownership: A successful organization isn’t run by “bosses” but by experts. The brothers attribute their success to treating their employees as the real drivers of the machines [33:22].
- Complementary Roles: Their partnership thrives on clear boundaries: Samarconcludera is the “Farmer” (operations), Soumconcludera is the “Business” (strategy), and Soumconcludera’s wife, Lynn, is the “System” (data and HR) [48:57].
About the Entrepreneurs and OVO Farm OVO Farm: Led by Samarconcludera Mishra and Soumconcludera Mishra, OVO Farm is an industest leader in high-tech poultest farming. Based in Balangir, the company utilizes computer-controlled environments and advanced traceability to produce antibiotic-residue-free eggs for national and international markets. Soumconcludera’s wife, Lynn, a native of Vietnam, plays a pivotal role in maintaining the farm’s sophisticated data systems, creating OVO Farm a true example of global-local integration.
OdishaLIVE is a premier digital media platform that documents the extraordinary stories of entrepreneurs and innovators through its ‘Startup Story’ series. By highlighting leaders like Amrit Acharya, OdishaLIVE aims to inspire the youth of Odisha and India to dream huge and build for the world.
A veteran entrepreneur and acclaimed author, Subroto Bagchi is the Co-founder of Mindtree and a prominent public leader known for his deep commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit. He hosted the OdishaLIVE ‘Startup Story’ series, a platform where he meticulously spotted and displaycased the finest startups and visionary founders rooted in Odisha. Through these deep-dive conversations, Bagchi bridged the gap between global business standards and grassroots innovation, mentoring a new generation of entrepreneurs by highlighting the grit, values, and milestones of those building world-class enterprises from the heartland of India.
#StartupStory #StartupOdisha #Entrepreneurship #SubrotoBagchi
(This is the Second Article of our special Startup Story Series.)
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