00:00Hi, this is Paras Shahadatpuri, Chairman of the Nikai Group of Companies.
00:08I came to this place in 1987.
00:13With God's grace, we have established ourselves well.
00:17We have a group of companies with a variety of different businesses, from electronics
00:25to appliances, to consumer goods, to food and non-food FMCG products, to digital transformation
00:35solutions, to staffing and outsourcing, and also some restaurants.
00:42So we have a diversified portfolio because we know that if some businesses go slow at
00:49a certain stage, but then other businesses can take care.
00:56The other thing which we feel is that you should not restrict yourself to one boundary.
01:03You must learn how to go to different places.
01:06Again, same theory, that some markets are slow, some markets are emerging, some markets
01:13are at a high growth level.
01:14So we need to ensure that we are present and available in many different places to
01:22take care of the turfs and the troughs of different places.
01:28So do you want to tell us about how you became a businessman, how you missed your flight?
01:36And today it's a different story altogether.
01:39As I told you, I decided to quit my diplomatic job and I set up my own business.
01:47Again, I'm the first person in my family to have got into business.
01:53I wanted to do some exports because I have lived in foreign countries all my life in
02:00diplomatic career.
02:02Then I decided to go to England because that was the English-speaking place.
02:08Then I set up my company there.
02:11Then I went back to India.
02:14I had a flight from New Delhi to London via Dubai.
02:18I missed the connection in Dubai.
02:22That gave me the opportunity to go to the city thanks to that immigration officer to
02:30whom I went, stammering my Arabic language, and his telling me back,
02:42Bolo, bolo baba, bolo kya mangta hai?
02:44Believe me, those words still resonate in my mind and that was so heartwarming.
02:53He gave me the visa.
02:55I went out in the city and I saw a different world even in 1987.
03:00The foreign exchange was freely available here as compared to India at that time, where
03:05there were lots of restrictions.
03:08The telecommunication was amazing, double zero was available all over.
03:14Then the Indian school of system was available in Dubai and there were a number of schools.
03:24Also I saw that people were very friendly.
03:30People were very encouraging here.
03:32The banking system was very good and above all, there was a huge facility of proximity
03:39to India so that you could meet your relatives.
03:46The flight was only three hours as against longer distances, so I thought this is my
03:53destiny here.
03:55I decided to set up my company, wrapped up in England, came to Dubai and the rest is
04:01history.
04:02As a final note, what tips would you like to give to budding entrepreneurs?
04:13The most important thing in business is the finances.
04:17I strongly believe that you should never stretch yourself beyond your means.
04:26Stay within your financial means, don't borrow very aggressively from the banks because in
04:34case of any slowdown anywhere or any problem anywhere, the banks will be chasing you.
04:43How you should remain focused more on business rather than get worried about paying back
04:50to the bank, etc.
04:51Stay within your means, plan your business well.
04:56Most important in business, I believe, is the execution, the implementation.
05:02Execution is the key thing.
05:03After execution, are you able to track your business properly?
05:08Are you able to check what you had budgeted, what you have planned and how you are executing
05:15it?
05:16I am sure if you have done a decent amount of diligence, not extremely detailed, if you
05:23are living with your means, you are honest in your conduct.
05:30This is most important.
05:31If you want to see long-term growth, if you want to see stability, stay honest.
05:38Number two, look after the interest of the stakeholder, your stakeholder.
05:44You can't think that you must grab all the profit and all the benefits.
05:49You must make sure that your stakeholder succeeds for you to guarantee your own success.
