I Went for a Café Dinner and Accidentally Found My First Business
The story of how a stipend, a site visit, and an evening in Balewadi led me to build Acroknit — a 32-room co-living brand for industrial professionals in Chakan.
I didn’t set out to start a business. Not consciously, at least.
I had just joined my father’s industrial real estate firm — Shubham Engitech — still figuring out my footing. My brother and I were assigned site visits in Chakan. I was getting a stipend. My first taste of financial independence. And with that came something I hadn’t expected — the freedom to simply observe.
The Evening That Changed Things
One evening, Varad — my best friend — and I found ourselves at a café in Balewadi, the buzzing corridor near Hinjewadi IT Park. Good food, good crowd. But what struck me more than anything on the menu was what surrounded the place.
Co-living spaces. Serviced lodges. Branded accommodations. Everywhere.
“If Hinjewadi has this entire ecosystem built around where people stay, why doesn’t Chakan — one of Maharashtra’s most active industrial zones — have the same?”
I knew Chakan well by then. And the answer was uncomfortable: your options were either a five-star hotel like the Marriott — completely out of range for most industrial professionals — or unbranded lodges with no real facilities, no comfort, no sense of community.
Nothing in between. For one of the most active industrial corridors in the country.
Varad and I talked about it on the drive back. That conversation didn’t end.
The Other Thing Nobody Talks About — The Distance
There’s something else about Chakan that most people outside the corridor don’t fully appreciate. The distance between Chakan and the main PCMC area is significant — not just in kilometres, but in what’s available. What you can access after a 10-hour shift. What makes the place liveable versus just workable.
An industrial professional posted to a plant in Chakan can’t just “head into the city” after a long day. The commute is real. Which means where they stay matters enormously — for their productivity, their wellbeing, and their willingness to take on assignments there at all.
Nobody was solving this problem. At least not well.
The Moment I Decided to Act
The pivot happened at home, not in a boardroom.
My father proposed developing a commercial plot from our family’s Chakan portfolio — convert it into shops, rent them out, generate steady income. Standard, sensible, low-risk.
I said — what if we don’t build shops? What if we build a co-living lodge for industrial professionals instead? And then I presented my rough business plan.
That moment — pitching your first business idea to your father, who also happens to be a seasoned real estate operator — is not comfortable. But he listened. He asked questions. And eventually, he backed it.
That commercial plot became the foundation of Acroknit.
From That Café to This Project — Varad’s Role
Varad was at that café table the night the idea was born. He saw the same gap I saw.
What followed was months of honest conversation — him asking the hard questions, challenging the assumptions, and sharpening the thinking. He wasn’t officially part of the project yet. He was a sounding board who happened to be at the origin of the idea.
But somewhere along the way, the conversations went deeper. He stopped advising from the outside and started thinking from the inside — about what Acroknit could be, who it was really for, and what would make it different from every other lodge in the area.
That shift was noticeable. That’s when I brought him in officially. Not because I needed a partner — but because he had already become one, starting from that evening in Balewadi.
Why This Name
Acro — At the top. From acropolis — the highest point. A symbol of aspiration and elevation.
Knit — Community. To knit people together — workers, professionals, strangers who become neighbours.
The original name I wanted was Acropolis. The government didn’t allow the registration. So we registered the company as Acro Hotels LLP and built the brand around Acroknit — a community at the top.
In hindsight, the name fits better. It’s not just about elevation — it’s about belonging.
What We’re Building
Acroknit’s first property is a 32-room co-living lodge designed specifically for industrial professionals — factory managers, visiting engineers, technicians, corporate executives on project assignments, and skilled tradespeople who need more than a mattress and a ceiling fan but don’t need a Marriott ballroom either.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Rooms | 32 |
| Location | Chakan, MIDC corridor, Pune |
| Status | Under construction — launching mid 2026 |
The property is built on a commercial plot from our family’s Chakan portfolio — which means we control the asset, the design, and the experience from the ground up. No landlord. No compromise on what the product looks and feels like.
32 rooms is deliberate. Big enough to run a real business with proper operations and staff. Focused enough to get the product right before we scale. Every detail is being thought through for the industrial professional specifically, not adapted from a generic hotel template.
What This Journey Has Taught Me So Far
The best business ideas don’t come from market research decks. They come from paying attention. From being in the right place with the right person — and not letting the observation die in the car ride home.
I had advantages. I won’t pretend otherwise. Access to my father’s portfolio. Deep familiarity with the Chakan corridor from years of site visits. A family that was willing to hear a rough plan from a young operator with more conviction than experience. And a best friend who was sitting across the table when the idea first clicked — and never really left the project since.
The gap we spotted was real. The problem we’re solving is real. And the people who will walk through the doors of Acroknit — they’re real too. Factory managers away from home for months. Engineers on project postings. Professionals who deserve better than what Chakan currently offers them.
32 rooms. Property one. That’s where it starts.
Acroknit — co-living for industrial professionals in the Chakan corridor, Pune. Launching mid 2026. Built for the people who keep India’s factories running.