Managing the family business in real estate was already on the cards for FLAME alumnus Pratik Kataria. His inclination towards real estate was established after a long time, leading him to pursue a postgraduate course in Entrepreneurship at FLAME. His vision was to manage the family wealth and explore new avenues to invest in, apart from alternate investment classes in real estate, and to start a new venture after completing his Masters.
As Pratik works to manage the business and financial aspects of his two and a half decade old family business, Sainath Developers, he’s grown in experience as well. Pratik handles the procurement, finance, accounting, and marketing aspects of the business. Sainath Developers has built residential, commercial, retail, cinema, and plotted development projects in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Junagadh.
Pratik’s interest in the real estate business was a blend of enthusiasm and curiosity. He remembers, back in the college days, his brother and he used to visit the site and office during their vacations. So far, he has witnessed tremendous growth, learning plenty and at the same time having his feet firmly grounded. At present, Pratik focuses on the challenging yet thrilling aspect of delivering projects on time, a feature loved by their satisfied customers. That said, the ongoing vision is to create a portfolio of leased properties at critical locations.
An entrepreneur by heart, Pratik has ventured into investing as well. Concerning the experience developed, it dates back to when a group of friends, including Pratik, (8 in total) had pitched to take over Bottoms’ Up from their seniors. The pitching process was a hard-core grilling session, but it helped them perceive how the investor world would eventually hammer an entrepreneur with questions on the operational and scalability aspects of the business.
Pratik still remembers the first day of serving customers, which was a larger-than-life feeling. His skills as a meticulous entrepreneur and an astute businessman were sharpened by his Professor, Parag Shah. Pratik reiterates that the teachings by Prof. Shah were hard hitting and realistic as his approach to Entrepreneurship was different from the world, which is one of the reasons why Pratik attributes his success and growth to his professor.
Further on, Pratik also partnered with The Laughing Chapter, which was conceptualised by his wife and also FLAME alumna, Mrs. Prachiti Bhandari Kataria. She handles the Operations, Product Development, Procurement, and the Workforce at the Café, while Pratik manages the Strategy and Finance of this venture.
The Laughter Chapter Café serves global vegetarian and vegan delicacies in the Eastern Suburbs of Mumbai. The 7-year journey has served as a continuous learning process for both the couple, with surviving through the Pandemic being the most critical learning experience till date.
Apart from the café, Pratik has also invested in different asset classes ranging from equities, commodities, art, blockchain assets, start-ups, and real estate.
While angel investing was never part of his plan, Pratik’s inherent quality of exploring new avenues worked out for him. He grabbed his first opportunity along with the help he had from the group he is a part of at Mumbai Angels. So far, Pratik has been an angel investor for Leegality, Snackible, Big Bang Boom Solutions, CarterX, and Bookingjini.
Finally, his current role at National Real Estate & Development Council (NAREDCO), under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India, has been nothing short of meaningful.
His contributions to NAREDCO and related bodies include:
- Founding Member of NextGen NAREDCO India.
- Founding Member of NextGen NAREDCO Maharashtra.
- Key contributor in developing the Leadership Programme for Naredco NextGen with the faculty of Niranjan Hiranandani School of Real Estate (NHSRE).
- Key Organizer of the:
- Real Estate Forum held on 28th April 2022 at Trident, Mumbai.
- NextGen Excelerate held on 1st July 2022 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai.
- Online Knowledge Sessions organized by Naredco during Covid Lockdowns.
- Study Tours organized by Naredco.
- Currently Serving as the President NextGen Naredco Maharashtra.
- Served as a Secretary and President-Elect, NextGen Naredco Maharashtra.
NAREDCO is a semi-government, pan-India Real Estate Developers Association, where Pratik has been given the privilege to kickstart NextGen Naredco as one of the founding members. It has a total of 145 members with the aim of taking NextGen Naredco to various states after building a strong base in Maharashtra and Gujarat.