Shaunak is a young entrepreneur trying his luck in the hospitality sector. Through his commitment and hard work his resort has been a success so far.

Shaunak Verdia is a director in Verdia Hotels Pvt. Ltd. He owns a resort named Bamboo Saa Resorts & Spa in Udaipur. His resort has 71 rooms, three restaurants and a coffee shop, two swimming pools, an organic garden and a nature and adventure area.

Shaunak had his schooling from the MMPS school in Udaipur. Then he went to Mumbai for higher studies and did his B.Com. from there. Further, he did a Masters in Finance from Lancaster University in the UK. This helped him understand the technology being used in the world of finance and landed him a job in ICICI bank in Mumbai in 2005 in the Business Intelligence and Data Analysis department. He moved on to Barclays Bank in 2007 and helped the bank in building their financial technological set up. He worked there for three years. Meanwhile he fell in love and got married.

Shaunak’s father and family were always interested in doing something in the hospitality sector in Udaipur. So, he left the job and moved back to Udaipur and started a restaurant. The restaurant was a hit and always full to the capacity. Shaunak wanted to build a resort on the same spot and started the process of taking permissions etc. As the process was taking a very long time, he developed an interest in food and started exploring new recipes and ideas in home cooked food. He did several courses and traveled all over the world to expand his knowledge about food. He even provided consultancy to many restaurants and hotels in Udaipur on matters related to food and cuisine.

The permissions took an agonising time of 3-4 years to take. But finally he started Bamboo Saa Resorts & Spa in 2017 with 25 rooms. It has grown up to 71 rooms now and he is planning to expand it further.

Shaunak feels that challenges, setbacks and ups and downs are part of life and everyone has to face them. He too had to face a big challenge of getting permissions, arranging finance and then building the resort. But, with his determination he overcame the problems.

Shaunak’s success mantra is that in the hospitality sector you should focus on making your guests comfortable as much as you can. Also, he thinks that you shall not do ten things at a time and concentrate on one.

As everyone, he has also had to make sacrifices in life. He could not spend as much time with his family and socialize as he would have liked to.

Talking about role models Shaunak says that his grand fathers-both paternal and maternal- were his role models. Besides, he was very much inspired by a Business Coaching Workshop by Rahul Jain which he attended a few years ago. In the workshop he learnt how to delegate work and to get work done by your employees. This way, as an entrepreneur he is free to plan for future expansions and not always involved in the day to day affairs of his business.

Shaunak thinks that in a business you have to be a leader and guide your people to bring the best out of them. He thinks he has been continuously evolving as a leader.

For youngsters aspiring to join the hospitality business, his advice is that you must know your abilities, your resources and your limitations and do business accordingly. He says that you must realize that the service industry is people driven and your employees are your biggest asset.

Shaunak has fond memories of his childhood when he went to his Nanaji’s house in Mumbai and was pampered there.

When asked what he would like to change if put into a time machine and is able to go back in time, he jokingly says that he would like to buy Bitcoins as he would be a billionaire by now. On a serious note, he says that he would not change anything as it has been a great learning experience for him and he is happy with his life.

Shaunak is of the opinion that our education system is outdated and redundant. Therefore, you must upskill yourself at every opportunity in life and keep learning.

Shaunak spends his free time reading about food, travelling, spending time with his family and reading inspirational books.