Nestaway's Amarendra Sahu: My heroes are real but I love Chulbul Pandey

Quick Bytes with Amarendra Sahu

Amarendra Sahu, Co-founder and CEO of online home rental marketplace NestAway, is an IIM-B graduate. Originally from Orissa, this 35-year-old is among this year's 'Fortune 40 under 40'

What is your idea of perfect happiness? 

Sleep.

What is your greatest fear? 

Nothing.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? 

Procrastination.

What is the trait you most deplore in others? 

Procrastination.

Which living person do you most admire? 

Subroto Bagchi, Rahul Dravid, Narendra Modi, MS Dhoni, and many others.

What is your current state of mind? 

Peaceful. I’m always chilled out.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? 

Being honest.

On what occasion do you lie? 

I lie to my parents, and to my friends if I am running late, or when the truth will hurt someone.  

What do you most dislike about your appearance? 

Nothing, I am okay.

Which living person do you most despise? 

I don’t even think about people enough to like or dislike anyone. 

What is the quality you most like in a man or a woman? 

Kindness.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? 

“Do you get it?”

What or who is the greatest love of your life? 

My son

When and where were you happiest? 

I don’t quantify happy, happier, and happiest. I am in a state beyond which it doesn’t matter to me.

Which talent would you most like to have? 

I would love to compose music and write lyrics.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? 

Procrastination.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

I think it is a journey. When you say greatest achievement, you are adding a tinge of finality to it. You should keep going. I am happy. I have made the best out of life with the skills that I have. Doing what I do today is good. I don’t understand the superlative terms. I am absolutely satisfied in my personal life; I am very competitive at work. I want Nestaway to be successful because it will inspire more entrepreneurs, and it will improve the infrastructure of this sector in the country. But I don’t want it to be my final accomplishment. I may want to do something more after that. I don’t want to figure out what my greatest accomplishment is going to be. For all you know, raising my son is one of them.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? 

Amar again.

Where would you most like to live? 

I want to live in my village (Naranpur in Orissa); but I also want to be around tech. It would be great if my village was in Bengaluru. (Laughs)

What is your most treasured possession? 

My conviction.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? 

Losing your self-belief.

What is your favourite occupation? 

Anything tech, or writing content.

What is your most marked characteristic? 

Humility and kindness.

What do you most value in your friends? 

Kindness.

Who are your favourite writers? 

There are quite a few. I don’t want to offend any of them. Currently I am reading Ryan Holiday.

Who is your hero of fiction? 

My heroes are in the real world, not in fiction. But I like Chulbul Pandey. (Laughs)

Which historical figure do you most identify with? 

I would relate to Mahatma Gandhi.

Who are your heroes in real life? 

As mentioned earlier, the people I admire the most.

What are your favourite names? 

Aditya, my son’s name. If I ever had a daughter, I would name her after a river – Ganga or Yamuna.

What is it that you most dislike?

Unkind people.

What is your greatest regret? 

I could have learnt music in childhood. Now I am too old for it. But I am learning Urdu now.

How would you like to die? 

While drinking or sleeping

What is your motto?

Do good, be good; under stress too.