Four youngsters from city try their hand at entrepreneurship, launch their own cafesu00a0u00a0 <table style="width: 137px; height: 42px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="137" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/mar/caffe.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> Young entrepreneurs: (From left) Akshat Agarwal, Abhishek Kumar and Nikhil Singh are owners of Golden Den Cafe at Viman Nagar; Purushottam Shetty manages City Cafe. Pics/jignesh Mistry </td></tr></tbody></table>It was the absence of a food joint near his college that encouraged 23-year-old Akshat Kumar to open a caf ufffd of his own. Named Caf ufffd Golden Den and situated at Viman Nagar, the food joint is now a rage among students in that area. Akshat however is not alone in this entrepreneurial venture. He is accompanied by his friends Abhishek Kumar, Nikhil Singh and Manish Hisaria. Armed with a B Com as well as an MBA degree, one is naturally curious about Akshat's parents' reactions. "I was never forced by my family to get a job. My parents supported me fully. In fact they also helped me partly with the finances. The rest was arranged by us," says Akshat. Once the finance was arranged, there was no looking back for the young entrepreneurs. They rented a place at Viman Nagar and set up the cafe all by themselves, painting the walls and arranging the furniture. But being an MBA student was he aware of the legalities that are involved in setting up a food joint?u00a0 "I had done my homework and since I have been staying in Pune for a long time, I knew how things work. We had to acquire a Shop Act and a food licence and got both in a span of 20 days." Besides serving fast food like rolls, an array of beverages and some Chinese food items, the caf ufffd houses two pool tables and a mini golf course, the latter being a huge attraction for youngsters, especially students. Absence of these young visitors during vacations slackens business for Akshat and his team. However, Akshat adds that the profits have been on the rise for these young restaurateurs with about five people working under them. Also on the rise have been female friends, reveals Akshat with a smile. The Golden Den will soon extend its reach to the other end of the city, probably with an outlet on S B Road. For Purushottam Shetty, the thought of setting up a restaurant was natural since his family was involved in the hospitality business. So Purushottam readily agreed when his father advised him to open his own food joint. Thus was launched City Caf ufffd, near Appa Balwant Chowk in January 2006. Though the idea was that of his father, the money invested was not completely his. "My father gave me a loan and the rest was my earning from my stint as a manager at a city hotel," says Shetty. It has been five long years since the inception of City Caf ufffd. How has the journey been so far? "Initial six months were quite tough since we suffered losses. Then I decided to modify the menu in line with the kind of food available in Mumbai instead of the typical Pune fare," he said. The idea worked wonders and our business picked up during Ganesh Chaturthi. There has been no looking back since then," recollects the young owner. Currently, the restaurant not only earns a good amount of profit but also employs close to 40 people. What most people do not know is that Purushottam was only in his first year of graduation when he launched his entrepreneurial venture. But unlike most students he was able to strike a perfect balance between his studies and his business, dedicating mornings to his college, and the rest of the day to his food joint. Though he claims that setting up his restaurant did not affect his image at college or among his group of friends, he admits that post City Caf ufffd people have sought his advice and help in setting up their own ventures. From helping his father in his business and working as a manager, to being a student and managing one's own venture, life has come full circle for Purushottam.u00a0u00a0

Four youngsters from city try their hand at entrepreneurship, launch their own cafes

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