Abhishek George on building scrappy speakeasies

Having opened and closed multiple bars over the years, the entrepreneur says failure is his best teacher

- Teo Kai Xiang

Over serial entrepreneur Abhishek George's career of two decades in food and nightlife, the only constant has been failure.

"I have built and failed in many, many businesses in my life," says the 40-year-old, whose string of unsuccessful ventures includes premium chicken rice, coconut milkshakes, farming, a smoke-house, a curry joint and several cocktail bars.

Yet, amid these setbacks, Mr George has also built the award-winning bars Sago House and Low Tide (now closed), as well as long-running fixtures of Singapore's drinking scene, The Spiffy Dapper and Oriental Elixir.

His journey through half a dozen different sectors began after he moved to Singapore in 2002 to pursue an engineering diploma.

To cover his school fees and accommodation, the Indian national started working in F&B, rising from bartender to co-owner of a bar at Clarke Quay.

When burnout and business struggles led to a seven-year hiatus from the industry, he explored everything from telemarketing to web design before returning to the sector in 2012.

It was not until 2013 that he launched his most enduring venture - The Spiffy Dapper initially as a hole-in-the-wall bar in a second-storey unit in Boat Quay.

Early to Singapore's speakeasy trend, The Spiffy Dapper would later relocate to Amoy Street before finding its current home in River Valley Road.

"It was built out of junk," says Mr George. The sofas came from the street, the signboard was a packing case he stuck a piece of vinyl on, and the bar was cut out of a nearby restaurant that happened to be closing at the time.

This do-it-yourself approach would become a signature of his later ventures. "I designed and built all those venues by hand," he says, explaining how his background in engineering and a failed attempt at launching a co-working space taught him construction and carpentry skills that would prove invaluable.