The 15-Year-Old From Dehu Who Turned a Bicycle Into a Business
By Sneha Deb
Pune, 10th June 2026: From cycling through village lanes selling vegetables during the pandemic to building a food brand and mentoring young entrepreneurs, 15-year-old Nayan Ghorpade is proving that age is no barrier to ambition.
Most teenagers spend their free time scrolling through social media, playing video games, or planning their next outing with friends. Nayan Manohar Ghorpade spent his learning how to sell.
Today, the Class 11 student from Dehu is the founder of a growing home-style tiffin service, a website development venture, a playzone business, and an entrepreneurs’ network for young people. But his journey began not in a boardroom or startup incubator—it began on a bicycle.
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought everyday life to a halt, Nayan’s family relocated to their native village. While schools remained closed and uncertainty loomed everywhere, Nayan found purpose in a simple task: delivering and selling vegetables from village to village on his bicycle.
What seemed like a modest activity at the time became his first lesson in entrepreneurship. Every customer interaction taught him something about communication, trust, pricing, and persistence. Without realizing it, he was laying the foundation for the business mindset that would later define him.
When the family returned to Pune after the pandemic, Nayan carried those lessons with him. Curious about business and eager to earn independently, he ventured into online reselling. The effort earned him around ₹25,000, but the journey was far from easy. Like many first-time entrepreneurs, he struggled with self-doubt and uncertainty.
A turning point came through a conversation with his school counsellor, Kuldeep Chavan. Recognising the teenager’s potential, Chavan encouraged him to pursue his entrepreneurial interests and even spoke with his parents to help them understand and support their son’s unconventional aspirations.
Armed with renewed confidence, Nayan continued experimenting.
During the Tukaram Beej festival in Dehu, which attracts thousands of Warkaris and devotees, he tried selling bottled water. Financially, the venture was unsuccessful. Yet the experience taught him valuable lessons about margins, inventory management, demand forecasting, and customer behaviour.
Rather than being discouraged, Nayan used those lessons to identify a more meaningful opportunity.
He noticed that many students, paying guests (PGs), and working professionals in Dehu struggled to find reliable, home-cooked meals. The observation sparked an idea that would become Maa’s Magic, a home-style tiffin service focused on providing fresh, wholesome food.
The venture faced challenges from the beginning. An initial partnership with a local mess failed because of quality concerns. Instead of giving up, Nayan brought operations home, placing his mother at the centre of the kitchen and quality control process.
Then came the hard part.
He personally visited hostels, PG accommodations, and residential areas, knocking on doors and introducing his service one customer at a time. Rejection was frequent, but Nayan kept returning, refining his pitch and building relationships.
His persistence paid off.
Within two months, Maa’s Magic secured a corporate tiffin contract for 40 to 50 meals a day and generated nearly ₹1.75 lakh in revenue.
Today, Nayan balances his studies with multiple ventures. Alongside Maa’s Magic and a newly launched playzone business, he develops websites for small businesses and creates digital content documenting his entrepreneurial journey.
Yet perhaps his most meaningful initiative is Entrepreneurs Club Dehugaon, a platform designed to connect aspiring entrepreneurs aged 13 to 25 from both rural and urban backgrounds. The club aims to provide mentorship, networking opportunities, and practical guidance to young people who want to build something of their own.
For Nayan, the project is deeply personal. It reflects the support and encouragement he once needed and eventually found.
“Age, background, or circumstances should never stop anyone from pursuing their dreams,” he says.
For a teenager who once cycled through village roads selling vegetables, those words carry unusual weight. At just 15, Nayan Ghorpade is not merely dreaming about the future—he is already building it.
