Over-efficiency is the most overrated virtue: Akshay Jaipuria, Vaya Home

Akshay Jaipuria is the Managing Partner and Co-founder of the luxury home textile brand, Vaya Home. After completing a Master of Science degree in Supply Chain Management, he launched the company with his Co-founder last year. Here are his answers to our Proust questionnaire…

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Watching a tv show or movie with my wife on a rainy day.

What is your greatest fear?

Becoming complacent.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Procrastination.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Lies and two-faced people.

Which living person do you most admire?

My parents.

What is your greatest extravagance?

My gadgets.

What is your current state of mind?

Waiting to conquer the world.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Over efficiency.

On what occasion do you lie?

When people ask if I’m stressed.

Which living person do you most despise?

Nobody – each person has their pros and cons, which one must weigh for themselves.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

Passion.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Assertiveness.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

“I’ll figure it out”

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

My wife.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Being multilingual.

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

Not taking everyone at face value.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Kickstarting our brand, Vaya.

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

Cristiano Ronaldo.

Where would you most like to live?

New Zealand.

What is your most treasured possession?

My Master’s Degree.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Not having the will to wake up in the morning.

What is your favourite occupation?

Being busy at work.

What is your most marked characteristic?

My simplicity.

What do you most value in your friends?

Their honesty and the fact that they support me in everything I do.

Who is your favourite writer?

Sidney Sheldon – Bloodline was his first novel I read when I was 13.

Who is your hero of fiction?

Batman.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Abraham Lincoln.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Elon Musk.

What is your favourite name?

VAYA – It means weave in Sanskrit.

What is it that you most dislike?

Deceit.

What is your greatest regret?

Doing my Masters course from the same university as my Bachelor degree.

How would you like to die?

Most peacefully in my sleep.

What is your favourite journey?

The transition from bachelorhood to becoming a married man!

What is your motto?

Live and let live.