Responses by: Utkarsh Kawatra, co-founder & CEO, myHQ
The Job
I have always believed that where you work shapes what you build. What started as a simple coworking marketplace has since evolved into India’s largest full-stack commercial real estate platform and as CEO, my role today spans three key areas.
First, about 20–30% of my time is people. This includes staying closely engaged with large enterprise clients and leading hiring efforts. Getting the right people on board is one decision I’m very deliberate about and don’t delegate.
Second is the most energising part of the job: thinking beyond incremental growth. I spend time identifying the macro bets that can drive 10x outcomes, not just marginal improvements.
The third is the operational core: P&L reviews, HR, and Finance. It’s essential to stay grounded in these, but I am mindful not to let it consume time that could otherwise go into shaping long-term direction.
The Weekdays
My most productive window is early morning. I am usually at my desk before the day begins; those one to two quiet hours help me clear backlog, review key numbers, and focus on work that needs deep concentration. Once the day gets going, it’s largely meetings, client conversations and team reviews. I try to stay fully present in each interaction rather than splitting attention across tasks. The move from Delhi to Mumbai has been an interesting shift. The city operates on a different rhythm and has a fast, dense, and constantly moving momentum. Over time, you start to sync with it. This is an unexpected benefit that has occurred. Being able to step out for a walk or some exercise late at night is something that wasn’t practical in Delhi. It’s a small change, but it adds up.
The Weekend
Weekends are busy, but in a way I enjoy. Football is a constant. I follow Arsenal F.C. closely, so match days are non-negotiable. Formula 1 weekends are the other fixture I look forward to. I spend time running around Bandra, Carter Road and Joggers Park are regular routes and I have recently taken up padel. Alongside that, I make it a point to spend meaningful time with family and friends. I am also actively involved in an NGO, I co-founded around blood donation. It offers me a very different perspective from startup life, and that contrast is important. Lately, I’ve been investing time in understanding AI more deeply, moving beyond the buzz to what genuinely improves efficiency in day-to-day work. And, like most weekends, I end up catching up on whatever the week left unfinished. There’s always something.
The Toys
AI, without question. I have moved deliberately from curiosity to capability, figuring out where these tools genuinely save time, where they reduce dependency on people, and where the hype outruns reality. I try new tools constantly. The ones that stick are the ones that make thinking faster, not just tasks easier. Outside of that, I am fairly analog. The best thinking still happens away from screens.
The Logos
Airbnb is the one I find most instructive. They don’t own a single room, yet they are the most trusted name in hospitality, more than hotel chains sitting on billions in real estate. That’s a brand doing real work. The Bélo is simple enough to draw from memory, and it carries a clear idea: belong anywhere. What Airbnb got right was building the brand around the customer’s experience, not the product they were aggregating. That distinction matters to me. The best logos aren’t decoration, they’re the visible edge of a clear point of view about who you’re for.