Akankshya Mahapatra 
A twenty three and not lavishing money on spoiling affairs, instead making own money by grinding in entrepreneurship, sounds quite like a ideal movie lead, no?
If we tell you, we’ve espied someone doing the same and he’s definitely not from a movie but a real life personality, you’ll find it hard to believe.
Meet Gourav Sarangi, hailed from Rourkela, probably the youngest entrepreneur of Odisha who is the co-founder of Cook N Crew, temple city’s one of the most popular restro cafe and Greenhive Essentials.
In an interesting interview session, we got to know so many things about him which are nothing but inspirational.
Gourav, from the childhood was very ambitious and focused on his goals. After completing his intermediate studies, he started doing BBA and that’s when he made the blueprint of the venture. He along with other co-founders of the restro gave it a shot and got appreciated lately.
“When I could be anyone or do anything with my money, I chose to spend it wisely and on business”, says Gourav.
“I always had this goal to become a successful entrepreneur, I had no other plans though”.
Cook N Crew, buzzing in the chest of Bhubaneswar is gearing up for a better future. The place is currently a hype among the youngsters as well as older souls. A complete decent place to hang out, mouth-watery food and cozy vibe is quite a hub for capital city folks.
Gourav, with his mates manage the place, and the crowd, undoubtedly yes.
“There are days when our place is super houseful, we have costumers waiting for tables, make us feel bad but happy at the same time”.
About Greenhive, Gourav says, “there are many such firms in the state but our products are completely different from others”.
Greenhive make nature friendly oral essentials such as Bambrush- a tooth brush that is made up of bamboo and Copper Tongue cleaner, which is anti bacterial and healthier.
To “who is your inspiration” question, Gourav responded with ‘Ratan Tata‘ in just a second. “His humbleness, down to earth personality has always led me to polish myself to become a good human first”.
Apart from being an entrepreneur, Gourav is also an excellent student. We were quite curious to know how he manages both study and work, to which he smiled.
“As I’m doing my masters in business right now, and it’s a complete online course, still I manage my day routine. My mates help me a lot with this. When I can’t be available for the restro, they do manage everything so perfectly”.
In the era of doctor and engineers, Gourav’s parents are pure Inceptions.
“My parents have been supportive from the very beginning, that’s one of the few reasons why I’m here”.
You must be wondering what would be this young man’s passions and hobbies!
Well this man loves to travel. ” I save money, I travel with my partners. In the last trip, we went to the Himachals. We observed their restaurant styles and themes, took quite inspiration and applied a bit to our restro”.
Gourav loves cricket also and a huge Hit Man fan. He used to be a dancer and participated in a number of reality shows. He has an immense love for movies as well.
How does it feel when people compliment your food or your own family and friends appreciate your work?
That’s an another level happiness. Most recently, my grad school called me to give a speech. Moments like this make me believe in myself more and more.
I also accept negative comments. I take them positively and try harder to improve.
“if you have that thing on your mind, to do something, to become someone, you set a goal and start working for it, you’ll reach there”.
By the end of an amazing conversation, we were already stunned by his morale.
At this very young age, his achievements and hard working soul perfectly justified the axiom “Age is definitely not a barrier, when you want to do something for real”.
Interviewed by Akankshya Mahapatra
