Born in South California, Petty operated his own restaurants in Hawaii and Albania before moving here. Today, he’s forced to use the bare minimum of lighting to conserve power. “My restaurant looks like a brothel,” he rues, with a slight smirk. People always ask Petty what he’s doing in Chennai, nowhere land for potential entrepreneurs. “I am here because this is my home. I’m here because I love it. Do I get frustrated? Of course I get frustrated!” he says. Petty first came to India as an exchange student in 1980 and was hooked. Petty started his Chennai restaurant in 2005, which is built on Brand America, decorated with flags, baseball bats, surfing boards and even pirates—yet his clients are overwhelmingly Indian. He uses 47 vendors but he says it’s the American ones that drive him crazy. “Pepsi can’t ensure regular supply. Why blame only India?” he says.
When it comes to working the Indian system, no one’s figured it out better than Doris Delassard, 24, who’s been a real estate agent in Delhi for almost two years now. Delassard has positioned herself as the one-point-person all foreigners call when they reach India and they need essential services like a house, furniture, gas connection, Internet and phone. In the last year she has found and furnished apartments, office spaces, and houses for over 50 French, German and Brazilian people in Delhi and the NCR.

In two years, the number of foreigners who’ve got homes through her exceeds 200. Delassard made it for this interview after showing a CEO of a Danish company homes in Jorbagh, Golf Links and Sunder Nagar and she’s also busy negotiating 20,000 sq ft of commercial space in Jasola, Delhi. When we interviewed her exactly a year ago she was also providing domestic help, but she has since disbanded that business and got into packing and moving instead. “I want to be known as a complete relocation agent for people coming to India,” says Delassard. “There wasn’t enough money in finding household help, besides it was becoming difficult to verify the staff.” Delassard’s business model works, she says because of how intimidating India can be, for an outsider. “In France getting an Internet or a gas connection will take two hours. Here, god knows,” she says.

... contd.