Team justnashik is pleased to have a conversation with a young and vibrant entrepreneur Mr. Shaunak Chafekar. Alma mater of Fravashi Academy Shaunak is currently pursuing his engineering from KK Wagh college of engineering. He has  founded Scribido Magazine (Youth Magazine), Scribido Campus (Custom newspaper for schools) and right now working on his next venture Scribido Cafe which is a youth focused eatery.

1.In the beginning, what motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
Ans: ​I believe I am an entrepreneur first by design and then by choice. When I started with my engineering course I was so bored of it that I decided to get together with my friends and start some activity. That activity eventually resulted in Scribido Magazine. So I believe it’s more of destiny than something I decided I want to do.

2.Describe to me the most exciting minute of your entrepreneurial journey.
Ans: ​The day we were to launch the trial version of Scribido Magazine, our hosting failed and we had no clue of what to do for 3 days. We made many calls to website developers and hosting consultants but to no avail. Finally we managed to crack it and get the site live on the 4th day. That was the most exciting minute I believe.

3.Tell me something about your current and upcoming ventures.
Ans: ​We are currently focussing on Scribido Campus which is India’s first company in the business of custom newspapers for schools. Apart from that we are working on Scribido Cafe which will be a youth oriented cafe.

4.How does being an entrepreneur affect your relationships with your friends and family?
​Ans: It takes a toll on the relationships. Fortunately my girlfriend(Swara) and my family are both very understanding and give me time when I need it. An entrepreneur’s life is difficult and it’s very important to have people around you who believe in you and support you. I laude swara for tolerating my tantrums about work all the time. Life would have been very difficult with no support from the people you love.

5.Looking back, what’s one thing you wish you understood about entrepreneurship before you ever got started?
​Ans: Advertising rates :P. When we started the magazine, we had no clue about how the advertising business works and made many revenue projection mistakes then.

6.What entrepreneurial hacks have you developed to stay focused and productive in your day-to-day?
Ans: ​Firstly we make sure we do what we are comfortable with. Just because big companies follow certain practices we don’t go and clone them. For example power point presentations are strictly banned. Meetings are not more than 30 minutes and are to the point. Refreshments are NOT served in the meetings as they generally are a distraction. We do however follow a few corporate practices. For example the heads of any department needs to be cc’d in all communication so that he/she knows what’s happening. Eventually as I said earlier, we follow what we are comfortable with.

7.How much money do you think I could make if I started a business like yours? Instead of, how much money do you make?
Ans: ​Entrepreneurship is about the journey,not about the money :)

8.Your future plans.
​Ans: Expand Scribido Campus and Scribido Cafe to cities across India. We are also working on venturing into digital comics.

9.Message for young folks.
​Ans: Fuck formal education and start doing things you are passionate about. There is no greater joy :)