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Life in transition. Where the journey matters more than the final destination. That is what you can see in the adventures and different experiences of SINGApreneur Viola Snophan. In an interview with Rossana A. Ammann for the SINGA Factory, Viola talks about her personal journey and tells the story behind Suvai, her developing business idea.
Since studying at Dental University, Viola has lived in Bangalore and Chennai in India, and in Singapore, until the end of 2006 when her family moved to Switzerland for new professional opportunities. Some years later, she finished her Master’s at ETH Zurich in ‘Health Science and Technology’ , which fueled her interest in nutrition and well-being.
In 2018, while participating in the SINGA Factory startup program, Viola started volunteering at the Impact Hub Viadukt every Thursday, as a Hubonaut or “community host”, facilitating the communication between people in those spaces. She also had the opportunity to do an internship in Business Development.
Rossana: What did you find to be the most useful guidance inside the SINGA Factory?
Viola: The best thing is the networking! I already met around 50 people through the program. All the experts who led the workshops were also really open to being contacted again. I am not a very open person who goes and talks to everyone, but I used my chances wisely to get support from the network that SINGA provided me. On the personal side, they are also very supportive. The team itself: they are very compassionate. Whenever I need something, I know I could just call them.
From all the workshops you participated in, is there one you would mention as being really interesting and special?
Viola: The co-founding workshop by Jana Nevrlka was really good. It was interesting to gain insights into why you need a co-founder, even if you thought you didn’t need one, and the advantages of it. Another major milestone is the relationship with my SINGA Factory mentor, Nino Berta, who has been an incredible source of support. I still meet him every other week and he supported me in developing my business idea. We brainstormed a lot together and he supported me with creating flyers and everything.
What would you advise people who would like to start their own projects but think they don’t have the time, energy, courage or ‘perfect moment’ to do it?
Viola: If you are passionate about what you are doing, you will find the time to do it. In terms of opportunities: you have plenty of chances out there! Go out and look for them and use them to your best advantage. Switzerland has many different opportunities for entrepreneurs. It’s just a matter of finding them and investing the time in it.
For Viola, the simpler the way of cooking and eating the better and healthier it is. She ensures that five or six basic ingredients are enough for most Indian meals and that’s why she wants to encourage and inform people about how to incorporate simple ingredients found in Switzerland in Indian recipes. She challenges the belief that if you want to cook Indian food, you have to make a special trip to an Indian store.
It is, however, not only about the meals. Viola wants to share the whole Indian experience. That is, that people learn more about the Indian culture, traditions and ways of seeing and understand life. Such as sharing time together and keeping each other healthy.
What would you like people to know about Indian culture?
Viola: Indian culture is diverse and the people are very friendly, although they don’t always seem to be so diplomatic or polite. They just put themselves out there and trust. If they don’t like something, they will show it, they don’t hold back (laughs)!
What is your favorite Indian meal?
Viola: Biriyani! It’s basically a rice and meat dish. You don’t need to have a side dish with Biriyani, everything is in there. It’s an easy, clever dish and a great comfort food.
What would you say are the most important ingredients for an Indian meal?
Viola: There is a difference between Southern and Northern Indian dishes. In the North the sauces are creamier and more buttery. I hail from the South, where the cuisine is simple but healthy and yummy. If I could pick six key ingredients, they would be: onion, garlic, ginger, chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder (Kurkuma). All of this matches wonderfully with vegetarian meals or meat based dishes.
The SINGApreneur started working on her business idea, Suvai, during the SINGA Factory. She wants people to understand that Indian cuisine is not as complicated as it seems. For the moment, and because she currently lives in Switzerland, her audience is the Swiss community and people from other cultures that are interested in knowing more about Indian food and ingredients, where to find them and their benefits.
“I got interested in startups, I had conversations with people that have their own companies and I thought that I could also do something similar and related to nutrition”, explains the SINGApreneur.
How did you start to work on your business idea?
Viola: I discovered that Swiss people love to cook authentic Indian food but they don’t know where to source their ingredients from. That’s how my idea of creating recipe boxes came about. What if I put all the dry ingredients needed for a particular Indian recipe in one box with cooking instructions? This would instil confidence in the cook. And what if I provide all the additional information such as the sources and scientific benefits of the ingredients to gain their trust?
What is the main goal of your idea?
Viola: To make it easier for people who love to cook authentic Indian meals from scratch and to show that cooking Indian dishes with locally available ingredients is easier than many might think.
How did you test your business idea?
Viola: During the SINGA Factory Final Event (10th December 2018 at Kraftwerk Zurich) I displayed the recipe box as a prototype. People at the event were really interested in the recipe box. It was Christmas time and people wanted to buy it as a gift. They asked if I had more boxes with me. I realized then that there could be a market for the product and this encouraged me to continue with the business idea and explore the possibility of selling the recipe boxes online.
What would be the natural next steps for your business idea?
Viola: Along with selling the recipe boxes online, I would one day like to organise workshops to inform people about the recipe boxes and the scientifically proven benefits of these ingredients and the ways of incorporating them in simple, healthy, authentic Southern Indian dishes.
Viola is in a period of transition and is active in many aspects of society. She has volunteered at many initiatives and also completed an internship while developing her business idea. All of this shows what a team player and empathetic and curious person she is.
She wants to share knowledge from her professional areas of expertise. She wants to show her Indian roots and expand her network, gain experiences and be involved in the local community.
During the SINGA Factory, you also did an internship. Tell us more about that.
Viola: I was a Business Development Intern at Denteo AG, a dental practice management software company, where I had the chance to work with a group of insightful and empathetic people who I learned a lot from. They were aware that I was taking part in the SINGA program and were flexible when I had workshops and check-ins. I completed the internship at the end of December 2018.
…and during 2018 you were also volunteering at the Gemeinde of Bassersdorf, right?
Viola: Yes, the department ‘Bildung + Familie’ of Gemeinde Bassersdorf offers support in various areas for the integration of newly-arrived migrants. One of which is the Erst-Information-Anlass to welcome people and share knowledge about day-to-day life and all things cultural and political about Switzerland, their new home. Since April 2018, I have been working as a key person for this event. The activity involves strategic cooperation in a working group, from promotion and event preparation to providing information to newcomers. I am also part of the team that conceptualised and implemented ‘Internationale Plattform Bassersdorf‘. I also manage the platform’s social media.
What drives and motivates you every day to keep going?
Viola: I am aware that I am a good mother and I still want to devote time to my family. At the same time, I want to broaden my horizons for other types of activities and contribute to society the best I can.
What is your daily motto?
Viola: Have gratitude towards all what you have. That mantra is enough for me.
Good to know:
At this stage in her project, Viola Snophan is looking to network, particularly with experts in food packaging and regulations, and also to reach potential customers for her Indian recipe boxes and future workshops.
You can mainly contact Viola Snophan via mobile phone +41 79 559 2894 or writing her at violasnophan@hotmail.com
This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational talent development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn
