“Work hard, then party harder,” says restaurateur Apurva Padgaonkar

Millionaire and Mumbai-based restaurateur Apurva Padgaonkar from SID Hospitality talks about what makes him tick in The Millennial Source’s new segment, Headliners.  

The engineer turned entrepreneur who describes himself as a crazy and passionate individual, shares insight into how his mind works as well as provides his personal advice for millennials wanting to go big.

How would you describe your mind?

Wavering. Restless. Never Stable. Can’t keep still.

What’s something that you’re currently working on achieving?

Personally, trying to be more in the moment. Rather than in the future. Professionally I am trying to make a place (the restaurant) in a way where everyone who comes in should walk out with a smile on their face.

Describe your character in three words

Mad. I consider myself crazy. And I think that’s what keeps me going. Second would be passionate. Third word I would describe myself would be very moody.

What’s one critical moment that has shaped your life?

When I was into my family business, I usually just go there like any other who just got out of college. Go there, spend 8-10 hours a day, browse on the Internet, work for the heck of it. Sit in my cabin.

And this one moment came in when my dad had a stroke. The doctor advised him to rest. That was the changing moment of my life when actually I took grip of my life. That was one thing that gave me a reality check of what life is, what parents are and how important [they] are there to you.

What advice would you give your younger self?

What I learned is you work very hard for the first five years and then the next 40 years you will be happy. The most critical stage of your life is when you’re just out of college, when you’re 25-30, you are most energetic, you are very passionate, you want to explore, you want to try out new things, you have confidence in you, you are not insecure. That’s the time you should go. Work the most. Try to explore everything that’s possible. Put your heart to it and believe in the old saying, ‘work hard, then party harder.’

As a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?

[Like] any other kid, I wanted to be rich when I grew up.  And as I grew up, I realised being rich doesn’t make sense in any… way. Being rich is just one part of it. That can’t be your goal. That should never be your goal.

What are your pet peeves?

When people look at things with the price of the thing and not at the worth.

What makes you tick?

I get bored. I get bored of everything very soon. That’s the reason why I want to keep innovating.

Introduce yourself

My name is Apurva Padgaonkar, I am an engineer by education with an MBA in operations and then eventually got into restauranting.