Mr. Karan Nohria from Silly felicitated for Iconic Youngest Restaurateur of the Year

Mr. Karan Nohria from Silly felicitated for Iconic Youngest Restaurateur of the Year - 2021

1. A mid-day recognition for this special category. What does it mean to you?
A. This recognition makes me so much more motivated and focused to achieve my dreams and goals. I am extremely grateful and humbled to win an award at such a young age for something which I am truly passionate about. I hope I am able to inspire young entrepreneurs with my experience and help them achieve everything they intend to.

2. From National to International branding, mid-day Icons have gone bigger this year. What are your thoughts on this and how will it help in your branding?
A. Mid-day gave me the platform and recognition to be able to put my skills and experiences out there globally and add value to my existing brand. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with such talented entrepreneurs which made me learn so many new things about the hospitality industry. I do believe innovation and keeping up with changes in the market is essential and interacting with the entrepreneurs greatly increased my knowledge.

3. How has your experience been with mid-day? What has been the change that you have seen post your association with it?
A. Mid-day broaden my understanding of the market and my position in it. It assisted me to evaluate my goals and to see myself from the perspective of others which has helped me to do my best. Seeing such ambitious people around me has only inspired me and helped me set the bar higher for myself.

4. What do you think are the redeeming features of your services that sets you apart from the rest?
A. I would consider myself different from the rest because my journey began at the age of 16 when I started my own event company with a minimal loan from my parents. I started from the bottom and even did the job of being an office clerk to gain knowledge every position has to offer and then made myself reach the top. I do believe I have a great understanding of people and am able to demonstrate excellent communication skills and work in high pressure situations because I have worked with a large number of people in extreme situations.

5. The Pandemic situation was a blow on the travel and hospitality services. How did you manage to stay afloat?
A. The most important thing in a pandemic would be to discuss the rentals with the landlord because if you pay rentals during a lockdown it can be almost impossible to survive. The second thing would be to spend your cost as per your revenue. All our costs were as per our revenue, if we estimated to have 100 customers that month we would design our cost as per those 100 people. We were not afraid to estimate lower a customer count and design our costs in accordance to that so that we do not overspend our capital cost. I would also owe credit to my team because we launched our brand 10 days before the pandemic. Everyone was extremely optimistic and hopeful which helped us get through that phase.

6. What have been the challenges and triumphs (if any) that the Pandemic has posed for your sector which according to you will have a lasting effect?
A. The pandemic taught me that change is inevitable and we need to be able to adapt to every situation and be prepared for any and every circumstance. It helped me tackle problems which I would've probably never faced if there wasn't a pandemic which has made me more confident and helped me to make decisions faster with every situation which I am being placed in.

7. Do you think you have achieved your vision or is there more to achieve - your future goals?
A. I definitely have not achieved all my goals as I set short and long term goals for myself, but I feel confident enough to say that I am on the correct path to achieve everything I have dreamed of.

8. Your success mantra?
A. My mantra would simply be to be disciplined and set a routine for yourself. It is vital to be in the correct head space to work which can only be achieved once you are set in a correct routine and have planned your day efficiently. Time management is the most important factor to which I would owe my success to and to be able to learn from all kinds of people including my employees, clients, friends and my family.