New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- Growing up in Bengaluru in the late 1990s, Suhas Dwarakanath wanted to open a coffee shop. "It was purely the cool quotient," says the founder of Benki Brewing Tools in Bengaluru, which he started in 2017, selling cafe equipment. As a high-schooler, he often cycled past Cafe Coffee Day in Jayanagar, then a quiet residential neighbourhood. "It was where the rich kids would hang out," he remembers. "I would save Rs.50 to go buy a cappuccino there. Everyone used to bring their fancy cars. It was nothing to do with coffee," he recalls. It was all about the vibe and the experience it offered.

After pursuing a course in business management and international trade, in 2011 he moved to Dubai to work. There, he hung out at ...