Krunal Shah, Koshish Shah & Yaju Vaghela (Entrepreneurs)
Though he spent years in the IT world, Krunal Shah, a self-confessed ‘food maniac’, managed to turn his passion into a successful business venture. “I began researching food / franchise related businesses and learned about any innovations that happened in this space. With friends, I was the guru of where to eat, how to eat and what to eat. My love for food took me to different countries across the globe,” says Krunal, who finally took the leap when he joined the The Chocolate Room in 2014.
Krunal migrated to Australia in 2001, and found that the country was accepting of people of other cultures. More so when it comes to business. “Australia does not discriminate. We all have it tough here,” says Krunal.
On a positive note, says Krunal, Australia has many new programs to motivate novel entrepreneurs in the past couple of years. “The Indian community is close-knit and supports fellow Indian entrepreneurs.”
Having arrived in Australia in January of the new millennium, Koshish Shah says that what he loves about Australia is the “opportunity to grow”. “When I first arrived life was tough, but Australia is unbelievable. The country allowed me to grow as an individual and as an entrepreneur,” says Koshish, who started out in Australia as a pizza delivery driver. His first professional job was in Fletcher Insulation as an IT Analyst. “But I knew I always wanted to own a business,” he adds.
An electrical engineer, Yaju Vaghela came to Australia in 2001 and took on a job with a European auto parts company. But six years later, he found his ground in chocolate, and started The Chocolate Room café. “Since then I never looked backed and started first franchise in Muscat, Oman in Middle East region. Now we have more than 270 cafes around the world including Australia, India, China, Pakistan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UK, UAE, and US,” he says.
His piece of advice to budding entrepreneurs is, ”Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”
The way I see it
This is Oz. “I love the serenity of beaches, camping in the Bushes and toasting in the sun. I love the BBQs with friends and appreciate the relaxed way of living. I love the sporting spirit of the nation and wanderlust” — Krunal
Growth is… “The process of increasing in success, amount, value and importance” — Koshish
Big moment. “Winning the Global Excellence Awards 2016 for most outstanding chocolate cafe brand is the recognition that we are on the right track” — Yaju
Who’s Who of Sydney’s Indian Community 2018 magazine now online! Check here.
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