Rahul Singh, From Being Bankrupt To Funding The Largest Alco-Beverage Chain

Rahul Singh, founder & ceo of the Beer Café, found his equilibrium in merging alcohol with a café vibe.

- Kathakali Chanda

In 2012, five years after giving up his plush job to turn entrepreneur, Rahul Singh was back to square one. The 46-year-old had quit as the apparel director for Reebok to, first, take over the India rights to licence the Greg Norman collection, a luxury sportswear brand. Then, in a joint venture with an Australian partner, he set up Golfworx, an indoor golfing club in Gurugram where patrons could play, browse the pro-shop and unwind at a 200-seater fine dining restaurant with an exclusive malt and cigar club. The idea was to take the club across India but, in some months, it ran into operational losses and had to fold up eventually. It left Singh with no job, a bankrupt enterprise and no financial support from family. If he wanted to continue to be an entrepreneur, he would have to mortgage his house.