Springleaf Prata Place boss gives long-time staff a cut of each shop's profits, doesn't work weekends despite being in F&B

Springleaf Prata Place, a Singaporean prata chain, has been making waves with its innovative prata creations. The chain has 12 outlets, and its boss, SV Gunalan, known as Guna, spoke about his unique work practices and efforts to employ people with special needs.

Guna's journey in the prata industry began as a child, helping at his family's business. After studying psychology at NUS and accounting at ACCA part-time, he worked as an auditor and an admin manager before opening Springleaf Prata Place in 2003. His family owned the business, which he eventually took over solo, living rent-free for two years.

One of Guna's distinguishing practices is offering a junior partnership to long-term staff, allowing them to take a 10% cut of the shop's profits for the first three years. This arrangement, which he admits is "lazy" in nature, was motivated by his desire to maintain staff morale and his wife's requirement that he return to regular office hours.

Another unique aspect of Springleaf is its commitment to employing people with special needs. The chain uses a team of six to eight people in the dough room, with 35% of central kitchen staff having special needs. These employees are trained by the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) and gradually transition to regular outlets, though this initiative was ultimately discontinued.

Guna also shared that his customers are largely non-Indian, with less than 3% of the customer base being Indian. He credits this to the shift in taste, with prata now being predominantly fish-based. The chain launches a new prata creation every August for National Day, although not all of them are successful, such as the kimchi and chilli crab pratas.