CEO Insights Magazine

All birds find shelter during a rain. But the eagle avoids rain by flying above the clouds”, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Payal Kar Dutta, Co-Founder & MD, Veva Realty is an existing example of the eagle Dr. Kalam talks about in his adage, who chose to fly above all her struggles. Payal leads an inspirational life and is a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially women. Being in the real estate industry and always being surrounded by male counterparts, Payal has left no stone unturned to excel in the male dominant industry. It was because of her persistent dedication to the industry that gave her the title of ‘Sales Queen of North Kolkata’. “I believe challenging times are the blessings in disguise which teach us to be stronger, better & wiser amidst the sufferings”, says Payal. With such constructive philosophy, the industry specialist was also recognized as the National Sales Performer by Housing.com. Payal is a dynamic entrepreneur whose powerful efforts have made her venture a tough competitor of leading real estate companies in Hyderabad. Her journey from being a sales advisor in Kolkata to becoming the founder of Veva Realty in Hyderabad is truly inspiring. She dedicates her success to her mother who has been a constant pillar of support in all her endeavors. Let’s hear it from Payal.

Taking us through your professional journey tell us what inspired you to be an entrepreneur?
I started my career at HSBC Kolkata as a Customer Service Executive. After spending a year in the banking sector, I moved on to the real estate industry as the Marketing Head of Natural Group and handled an entire project of 500 residential apartments. Soon after, I joined Modern Properties as the Manager

of Sales & Marketing under which I was able to conquer the entire real estate sales market of Kolkata within a very short period.

In 2016, I had unique experiences as a Senior Account Manager at Housing.com and had a remarkable contribution to the company’s sales. I always dreamt of building something of my own. This inspiration took me to Hyderabad where initially I joined Aparna Constructions which is one of the leading developers in the city, as the Assistant Manager. Then I moved into the commercial domain of Vestian Global Work place Service as the Manager-Transaction Advisory Service and prepared to launch myself into the market. In 2021, I finally started my venture Veva Realty. Today it is already a profitmaking company and I applaud myself for taking the right decision at the right time.

Define Veva Realty as an organization.
Veva Realty excels in providing complete property solutions to its clients. We have a relationship-centric business model that surpasses customer expectations and promises quality delivery.We specialize in residential projects, commercial leasing of properties, managed office spaces, and land deals of different categories.

How do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life? What is your success mantra?
My family has always been my constant support and has helped me to successfully balance my personal life along with my professional life. Talking about my

success, my mantra has always been to stay dedicated to my goal and put all my efforts to make it a reality.

What are the opportunities that you foresee in the real estate industry? What would be your advice for budding entrepreneurs in this domain?
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought a massive change in the real estate sector. Today not only the metro cities but also the two-tier cities are in the surge of vast development. People are willing to invest in their hometowns as their jobs have now become geographically independent. In commercial real estate sectors, companies are trying to cut down their costs and downsize their commercial real estate requirement. Following the hybrid model, companies are preferring managed office spaces over conventional spaces. The complete real estate is undergoing an evolution. Hence, the next five years will have great opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs in this industry. Therefore, entrepreneurs must grab the opportunity and start studying the market and be familiar with the RERA of the city and have branches in the Tier II cities as well where there is a lack of professionalism. They must focus on branding themselves first before launching themselves as an entrepreneur, as the reputation of the entrepreneur matter the most in this sector.

Payal Kar Dutta, Co-Founder & MD, Veva Realty
Having a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from St. Xavier’s College Kolkata and Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management & HR Management from Symbiosis Pune, Payal has led a profound professional career in the real estate sector before launching her venture named Veva Realty

Hobbies: Paintingl
Favorite Cuisine: Chinese
Favorite Book:The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favorite Travel Destination:
Mountains

Milestone:Being a Republic Day marching contingent in 2006, offering a salute to Dr. Kalam & receiving the honor to visit Rashtrapati Bhawan