Ira Deshpande

Founder, Oven Mile Bakehouse | Former investment banker | Building a neighbourhood bakery in Mahim

I run Oven Mile Bakehouse in Mahim, where I handle everything from dough schedules to cash flow—and still wash trays when we’re short-handed. Before opening the bakery in 2023, I spent seven years in investment banking. The spreadsheets stayed; the working wardrobe changed considerably. Outside the bakery, I train for marathons, make time for Marathi plays, and foster rescue dogs who usually decide my sofa belongs to them.

Own and operate a neighbourhood bakery in Mahim specialising in naturally leavened bread, breakfast buns, and small-batch cakes. Lead a four-person team and manage production planning, supplier relationships, pricing, and daily service. Introduced pre-order windows to make production more predictable and reduce unsold stock.

Worked on capital-raising and M&A mandates for mid-market consumer and manufacturing businesses. Built financial models, coordinated diligence, and managed transaction workstreams. Completed weekend baking courses during my final two years before leaving to develop the bakery full-time.

Prepared valuation models, industry research, and transaction materials. Learned to check assumptions, keep clear records, and flag problems early—habits that remain useful in a much smaller business.

Small Business Operations, Artisan Bread Baking, Production Planning, Cash Flow Management, Financial Modelling, Supplier Management, Menu Costing, Team Management, Customer Service

Marathi, English, Hindi

Home-based foster for rescue dogs through a local Mumbai volunteer network; help with daily care, vet visits, and adoption handovers.

Three years into running Oven Mile, I still cost every new item before it reaches the counter. This month we dropped a pastry that sold well but took too much finishing time during our busiest hour. Popular isn't automatically sustainable. We're keeping the menu smaller and giving the team a production schedule they can actually finish. Not a glamorous business update. A useful one.

Monsoon preparation at a Mumbai bakery is mostly unphotogenic: checking seals on flour bins, getting the drains cleared, reviewing delivery packaging, and leaving more room in the proofing schedule. We did our checklist this week, before the first serious rain. Banking taught me to think about downside scenarios. Baking taught me that sometimes the downside scenario is simply a damp cardboard box.

We closed festive pre-orders earlier this year instead of squeezing in another batch. Every order went out at the promised time, and nobody on the team had to stay until midnight. I used to find it very hard to turn down revenue. Still do, occasionally. But a four-person bakery has a real capacity limit, not a motivational one. Putting that number on paper made the decision much easier.