New Delhi: Securing a management seat at an Indian Institute of Management is often considered the pinnacle of academic success for aspirants, but Megha Sarayan made the unconventional choice to turn down an admission offer from IIM Kozhikode. Instead, she chose to dedicate her full attention to a modest baking venture she had launched with just Rs 5,000.
Years later, that decision culminated in a major milestone when her business, now known as Modge by Land of Cakes, secured Rs 1 crore in funding from investor Anupam Mittal during Season 5 of Shark Tank India. Reports indicate the enterprise had previously achieved an annual revenue of Rs 2 crore in 2024.
Sarayan initially studied economics at Scottish Church College under the University of Calcutta, with baking nowhere in her original career trajectory. Her introduction to the culinary arts came through a workshop organized by a senior, which inspired her to bake for family and friends. Encouraged by a friend, she listed her home-based bakery on Zomato as the platform expanded in Kolkata, starting out with a single offering: a chocolate truffle cake. Her inaugural month generated Rs 3,000 in revenue.
By August 2018, she committed Rs 5,000 from her personal savings to lease a small workspace, formally establishing Land of Cakes. The operation faced a significant trial during the Covid-19 pandemic when staff shortages coincided with a surge in online orders, prompting Sarayan to enlist her father and brother to help manage production.
During her preparation for the Common Admission Test, she balanced intensive study sessions with grueling kitchen shifts, often baking between 25 and 40 cakes daily before dedicating over six hours to her entrance exam prep. Ultimately, when faced with the acceptance letter from IIM Kozhikode, she chose to preserve the enterprise she had painstakingly constructed, noting in interviews that she had invested too much effort to let it go.
Alongside her background in economics, Sarayan earned a pastry chef certification from City & Guilds and researched the market extensively by visiting more than over 500 restaurants to analyze pricing models, consumer tastes, and industry trends. What began as a home-based operation eventually scaled into cloud kitchens and a physical café before undergoing a rebrand to Modge to encompass a broader range of desserts and food items.
The brand's current catalog features an assortment of cakes, cheesecakes, brownies, beverages, and savory options. On Shark Tank India, Sarayan's pitch successfully convinced Anupam Mittal to invest Rs 1 crore in exchange for a 9 percent equity stake, validating her early gamble on entrepreneurship over a traditional corporate education.