Wat-a-Burger: Aiming for Growth in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) Environment

Wat-a-Burger, a quick service restaurant chain, was incorporated by Rajat Jaiswal and Farman Beig on February 14, 2016. Their burgers, customized to suit the Indian palate, were their unique selling proposition. As envisioned by the founders, from 2016 to 2019 the brand quickly expanded and grew to over 60 outlets in 21 cities and 11 states. In mid-2019, they formulated a plan to expand to 150 outlets and aimed to serve more than 25,000 orders per day by mid-July 2021. The company was in general growing according to the founders' plan until the COVID-19 pandemic hit India and the lockdown was imposed in March 2020. The COVID-19 crisis caused a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment. Due to multiple waves of the pandemic, lockdowns, and the associated government regulations, the revenue of the company in the financial year 2020-21 declined by almost 56% relative to that in FY 2019-20. The following questions troubled the founders: Adopt an aggressive expansion strategy as initially envisaged or go slow and survive the VUCA environment for now? See the VUCA environment as an opportunity? How can a win-win value proposition be created at this point so that potential partners continue to get added to the network?

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the dimensions of VUCA, as applicable to an entrepreneurial venture in the quick service restaurant (QSR) space.
2. Understand how the business model of a fast-growing start-up in the QSR industry can change in a VUCA environment.
3. Understand and discuss the franchise model and appreciate the differences between a franchise and a company-owned outlet model.
4. Examine how to prepare a pitch deck and present it to potential investors.