Meet Tula Raghunath Who Left A High-paying IT Job To Sell Goli Soda

Many people think that the archetypal corporate cycle is a vicious circle with very less time for personal entertainment. We have all, at some point, thought of bidding farewell to our 9 to 6 jobs and starting an enterprise of our own. But most of us then do not risk losing a secure and well-paying job to invest in a business which we are not sure about. However, Telangana-based Tula Raghunath certainly does not fall into that bracket.

An IT techie, employed in a top IT firm with handsome pay, Raghunath was not satisfied with his career and decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge. He started selling Goli soda, a refreshing drink famous in southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. According to Raghunath, he has seen vendors making Goli soda about 20 years back in Karimnagar as a kid and the image stayed fixated in his mind. Later while working in the IT firm, he realised no one sells Goli Soda in the vicinity of where he stayed and decided to take the onus upon himself.

He said that it was not easy. He was not married when he decided to quit his job and risked not receiving marriage proposals if his venture failed. He also faced opposition from his parents when he shared his idea with them. However, Raghunath was adamant and they relented. In 2020, he resigned from his job and invested Rs 30 lakh in the Goli Soda company. He had to borrow money from several sources and mortgage his house to pay for the investment. He is now earning lakhs and employs about 100 people.

Earlier, the nutritional value was not printed on the distributed bottle but Raghunath decided to start the trend. Although Goli Soda has been on the market for a century, it is still one of the most popular beverages and is now offered in a variety of flavours.

The beverage, often referred to as sada soda and colour soda, is produced in a variety of flavours, including suganda soda, nimma soda, sweet soda, salt soda and salt and sweet. These fizzy-sweet quenchers are reminders of a simpler time, long before colas and cold drinks became our preferred beverages.