What would you do if your dream business completely fell apart? Would you call it quits or start over?   

Meet Viraj Bahl, our guest for today’s episode of Happy Hour with FinCocktail Season 4 joined by our founder Sayali Rai as he talks about how he faced failure head-on and turned it into an opportunity to build something even bigger!  

He talks about his journey from starting with a chain of restaurants to building a 1000 crore company. Inspired by his hardworking parents, he chased his dream of starting his own business.  Earlier he ventured into the restaurant world, hoping to make it big with his own chain, but things didn’t go as planned. Instead of giving up, he embraced failure, calling himself a “failed restauranteur.”  

That failure became the foundation for his next big idea: Veeba, a company that’s now redefining food and condiments in India. 

Along the way, he learned the value of resilience, the importance of having the right people in your corner, and why you need to think beyond India’s top 10 cities to truly make an impact!

Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, someone who’s faced setbacks, or just love a good comeback story, our new episode is here to cater to all your needs!

Watch to learn how this "failed restauranteur" turned failure into his greatest opportunity.

Chapters:

00:00- Sneak Peak! 

1:25- Intro 

2:10- Was entrepreneurship always the plan?

4:10- Restaurant flop: What went wrong despite a great product?

6:00- Should you think twice about the restaurant business?

7:15- Takeaways from his dad’s business 

10:47- Betting it all: Selling his house to chase a dream.

12:18- Please don’t sell your house!

14:55- Finding his groove in the sauce world—how it all clicked

18:10- Strengths of his organisation

18:56- Founders’ blind spot: Expanding beyond top cities

20:40- The industry he'd choose in today’s startup world 

22:08- experience of being a newly minted shark 

23:11- What he values most in founders as an investor 

24:28- Where India’s new-age founders are emerging from

25:58- Practical advice for young entrepreneurs finding their way.

28:02- Outro 

Find FinCocktail and Viraj Bahl on other social media:

Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/fincocktail/  

https://www.instagram.com/viraj.bahl?igsh=ZmcwZWdsc2xsaXdo 

YouTube:  

https://www.youtube.com/@FinCocktail 

LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fincocktail/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayalirai/  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/viraj-bahl/ 

X: 

https://twitter.com/FinCocktail 

https://x.com/VirajBahl 

Credits:

Shoot: 

CinFin Media

Edit: 

Anurag Kawatra 

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