- 6/1/2025
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi everyone, this is Manjusha Radhakrishnan. We are back with Dubai's success story series.
00:24I'm here with Mr. Vinod Jadav. He's got the most inspiring story ever. It's like this immigrant success story that you can think of. His dad was a teacher and currently we are in his 40,000. Beautiful mansion as well. And he's called the Pharma King. I just coined that. He didn't. He's the most modest person I've ever come across. But Mr. Vinod, thank you so much for sharing your success story with Gulf News.
00:51Thank you for having me.
00:53It's such an incredible story. Your dad was a teacher and then right now you're sitting in like the oasis of Kham, almost like a mansion which is beautiful. Perhaps you have to tell me, how do you look back on your own story?
01:06So, I'm born and brought up in Pune. My father was an instructor in ITI which is basically a teaching profession. And I studied all along in public schools in India.
01:17And after my diploma in mechanical engineering, I worked for about 13 years in various industries. And when I say I worked for 13 years, I always say I worked for actually 20 years.
01:28Because I used to work for 12 to 15 hours a day. So, that's how I calculate my experience. And when you have a lot of experience and of course knowledge because of that, you start seeing opportunities.
01:38And the first opportunity really came in 2001 when we wanted to start a business. Now, the idea was to start some business. So, the very first opportunity which came to us was starting a franchise of this American chain called Medicine Shopping, which needed an investment of about 8 lakh rupees, which in today's dollars, $10,000.
02:02So, of course, you know, somebody who is a working professional, living paycheck to paycheck, that was a big amount to invest. So, I took one partner who invested $5,000 and I invested $5,000.
02:16And those $5,000 were brought in with a lot of efforts and a lot of sacrifices. And that's how the journey started. And when the Medicine Shopping was running, my wife and her husband,
02:32partner, they used to run during the day and I used to run during the evenings. And this I did almost for two years. And from there on, in 2003, when the internet was very new, I got an opportunity to classify the ad.
02:45Now, why would you give an ad for a medicine shopping or a pharmacy? Everybody knows where to go and buy medicines. So, I said, just because the guy was requesting for the ad, it was only costing 2,500 rupees.
02:59I said, okay, I will give you an ad, but you will be for it as exporters of generic drugs. And you will not believe, but within first, within three weeks of giving that ad, I got a first inquiry from Fiji.
03:11Honestly?
03:11Yeah. And that's how the journey for export started. When I decided to actually quit the job and start this on my own, my wife said, it is a big risk you are taking. What is your plan B?
03:26So, the very first company I started, I named it by a very generic name. It was called Intel Trail Services.
03:32Okay. It's a bit boring. Yes.
03:35And in the activity description, I wrote many things. So, one of the things was logistic services. Then there was transportation. Then there was import-export consultancy, supply chain consultancy, and then I wrote pharmaceutical trading.
03:54I told my wife that if the pharmaceutical trading doesn't work, I have experience of working in one of these fields, and I will do one of those things. This is how I can be a start.
04:03Oh, wow. That's amazing.
04:05To quit the job. Then I started with just one employee in 2003. And luckily…
04:11Now you have 1,000 employees.
04:12Now we have 1,000 employees in India.
04:141 to 1,000 employees? Well done.
04:16Yes. Thank you. In this 20, 21 year journey, the business has gone all over. So, we export to maybe about 50 countries all around the world.
04:26The opportunity of coming to Dubai came in 2007. When I had the opportunity to do international pharmaceutical distribution. Now, as an Indian company, you can't do it because of restrictions under a foreign exchange regulation.
04:42I see.
04:43An Indian company cannot buy, let's say, from Europe and sell into Australia, as an example. Now, how do you solve the problem? So, Dubai was a choice.
04:52I see. I love it.
04:53That's how I came in 2007 to Dubai to find a solution, how to do international distribution.
04:58Right. And that is when I set up a company here in 2007 and started the business. The business grew to such an extent that by 2010, we became large enough to buy a manufacturing company in India.
05:11Okay. So, in 2010, I went back to India, bought an existing manufacturing company, which was in Gujarat. And that's how I got into manufacturing.
05:21Right. Right. And then we acquired a herbal company in 2011. Then we entered into veterinary business in India. Now, today, in India, our business, it's called Savavet.
05:33Yes. And Savavet is now India's largest small animal prescription drug company.
05:39Oh, that's impressive.
05:40The market share of almost 20%.
05:42Oh, that's brilliant. I have to say, you have constantly evolved your thing. It's like Dubai, right?
05:482007, when you came to Dubai, did you expect yourself to be such a huge, stupendous success?
05:54No, I just came just to solve my simple problem, which is to do the business of international distribution.
06:01And when I came, I didn't even know how big this could become. And when I started, even here, we had just a small setup in Sharjah.
06:10And we started it very tentatively, not knowing how it would go. But eventually, as Dubai grew, in the beginning, I never even thought that I would move with family here.
06:22I see. You came as a bachelor.
06:24Yes. There are many.
06:25I used to come, do whatever I need to do. We had a staff here. So we used to run the operation. I used to go back. Family was still back in India.
06:33I see. But in 2016, when Dubai was just opening up, I thought we should try Dubai as a base for family. And that's when we moved. And then, within two years, the family just fell in love with Dubai.
06:47And they said, we want to settle here permanently. We are not going back. And that is how, in 2019, I ended up buying this piece of land at Dubai Hills.
06:56Right. To start building something of my own test and choice.
07:00Right. I have to tell you, we will take you on a tour later. But this is like a slice of incredible India, right in the heart of Dubai.
07:08It's got a mix of both Arabic and Indian influences. And it's just so understated and classy. And that doesn't scream well.
07:16I think that's one of your things. When I look at you as a personality as well, and I've spoken to you, what I take away from this is your humility, your hustle. You do hustle very hard.
07:29But do you think, and you don't feel the need to be flashy. Is that your ethos as well in life? Like, I don't need to prove anything to anybody. I don't need to show my wealth. I can just be.
07:40I think we need to show what we are through our character and through our actions. We don't have to make efforts to impress unknown. Unknown people anyway know you. So who are you impressing?
07:54You don't really need to do that. I never feel the need of impressing strangers. And I think that is, many times we try and do, to impress strangers.
08:06Because people who know you, they already know you, who you are. And there is no need, like I was giving you an example of somebody coming for a housewarming.
08:15Yes, yes. That was very funny. The story is, he was ready to throw a housewarming party. He called his friends from Pune, etc. But the furniture did not come in time. So he was like, let me move it around.
08:28But then his friends go, we are not coming there to sit on your furniture or your fancy ones. We are coming to see you. The fact that you built such an incredible home in Dubai, in a foreign country, that itself is a, you know, token of success, isn't it?
08:42That's right.
08:43Well, that's brilliant. That's what I like. You wanted your friends from college for the housewarming party. So, you are very close to your roots, is it? Is that one of your secrets to your success?
08:53I think, when we are, when in the life journey, we move from place to place. We meet people, we enjoy time with them. And I think when you move around many times, we forget about them. So I didn't want to forget about them. I wanted to acknowledge.
09:10You had your teacher also? Yes. He had his teacher from his high school?
09:14From school. From 5th standard school. My English teacher from 10th standard.
09:20That's lovely. They all came for you. Housewarming.
09:22Housewarming.
09:23Such reflective pride for them, right? A small school in Pune. He studied in public schools. And public schools in India means government state run schools. And not the other way. When you say public in other parts of the world, it's fancy.
09:35Fancy. This is not fancy. He made it through his own grit. And I suppose some amazing teachers who inspired you.
09:42That's right. Yeah. So I thought this, these, these teachers played a very important role in my life, you know, to bring in the confidence, knowledge, and the guidance.
09:51Right. That played very important role. So this was time for me to acknowledge. Right.
09:55You know them.
09:56When, what's your relationship with money? And I ask you this from a very personal point of, you didn't see a lot of it while growing up. So currently, how do you view money?
10:06So I'll tell you interesting story. So when I, before I started the business, I got inspired by this book called Rich Dad Poor Dad.
10:15Yes. Which talks about, you know, financial freedom and financial independence. So when I started the business, I said, what is my goals from this business?
10:24Yes. So when I started the business, my salary was like present day, $1,000. No way. Just $1,000? $1,000 was my last goal.
10:32How much is your company worth right now? I mean, let us not talk about that.
10:37I'll find out and let you guys know. Yes. Am I close to several, several millions? Or more than that? Oh my God. Am I totally?
10:46Yeah. I think you want to quote? Yes. No, don't. Don't quote? Okay, fine. Fine. He's so modest. He's like, we'll find out for you.
10:53Okay, later. Moving on. But yeah, it was $1,000 salary.
10:56$1,000 salary. That is where I left my last job. And I said, if I make about half a million dollars at the end of this business,
11:05I would have achieved the financial freedom. Because that amount would mean $1,000 into 12 months, into 40 years,
11:13that amount comes to about half a million dollars. Yes. So if I make half a million dollars, I have done it.
11:19You know, I achieved whatever I wanted to achieve. So what is next? Yes. And I said, you know, in India,
11:24one of the biggest problem is employment. Yes. Correct. So I said, let me take a vision or a dream
11:32of employing 10,000 people. And that should be my goal in life to create 10,000 jobs.
11:40We are at 1,000 now. You know, 9,000 more to go. Wow. No, that's amazing.
11:45Yeah. So because see, I think money is all about you. Once you have everything, whatever you want, you know,
11:52you start with your very basic needs or house and your necessities and maybe some luxuries. After that, what?
12:00I feel that then I think this life is beyond you and you will not be just focused on yourself, but see how you can contribute.
12:08How many lives are you touching? Yeah, I get it. It's interesting. You say that you want to create jobs.
12:13Mr. Yousef Ali from Lulu, the folklore has it that he goes to his village. He had every household in that particular
12:21where he was born, that neighborhood, that village. They were all employed by him in some capacity to give that home a chance
12:28and the people in there a chance to survive. Yes. It's Gulf order, money order economy at that point.
12:34But what he did goes beyond. You saved generations as well in a weird way by employing that one person.
12:40It's like teach a man to fish rather than give him fish, you know, which is what he employed. Do you believe in that as well?
12:45I believe in that. I believe in that. Even within my organization, I got people from around the community,
12:51not just the close relatives, but people from around the community who work with the organization.
12:56I think that's what it means to build a business. Right. I remember talking to, I think, all these stars,
13:03Priyanka, Chopra, etc., they keep telling me it's not the success that teaches you. You're Sanya Mirza.
13:09Let me rephrase. Sanya Mirza is the one who told me, failures teach you more than success.
13:13Because for her, in the tennis match, she says, I've seen more of losses than wins.
13:19Every sportsman sees failures more than wins. Do you believe that? What did failure teach you?
13:25So I will give you an example. So we had this, we had started this marketing company in India back in 2010.
13:32And we said, you know, like every other pharmaceutical company, we will do these doctor promotions,
13:37we'll build this branded generic brand, we'll sell this. And after employing what, we had about 800 people in that.
13:45I invested maybe 8-10 million dollars in that venture. And I did not like the way it was going.
13:51And then I shut it down. Lost all that money. But then what I learned out of that is, how do you build a business where you have something unique to offer?
14:04If you don't have something unique to offer, then don't start it. And that is how I learned from that experience.
14:10And when I started the veterinary business, immediately after that, within one year of that failure, we made sure that whatever brands we are launching are very unique.
14:19They are addressing the unmade medical needs. Of the small animals. Of the small animals.
14:24So we launched products, let's say, for heart failure in dogs. And we launched first time in India, the very latest, even the innovator had not launched in India.
14:32We launched the drugs for ticks and quies. Oh, lovely. The emerging and lot of other things. Right.
14:37And they all became successful. And that's how the division, now is a leader in this field. Right. Right.
14:42That was my learning from that field. And also, do you surround yourself with people who say no to you as well?
14:49Because I feel many successful people like to have yes-men around them.
14:54That's an unfortunate part of any organization, correct?
14:57People have always a hesitation to say no to what you are doing and people follow it.
15:04So many times, you have to have somebody who guides you in your life, who has the guts of saying no to you.
15:11Right. Yeah. And my wife lays that role many times.
15:16I was getting to that, of course. Who is your wind beneath your wings? Like, who is that one person who is your anchor?
15:22My wife. As I always say, you know, when you are successful, you have your own euphoria, correct?
15:28That nothing can go wrong. So there is one person who has that calm view of everything.
15:33Right. And I think she is one of them.
15:35Oh, I love that. Unfortunately, I lost my father very early. So he was not there to guide me.
15:40But I think she has been that force, you can say. You know, many times when I am very enthusiastic about something, she gives me a reality check.
15:50Right. I love that. Wife is your best leveler in life. That's good. I think for most people, partners are.
15:55You also said that you worked around 20 hours in the initial struggling phase, you know, where you just started.
16:02Nowadays, there are many CEOs who say that, you know, there should be work-life balance.
16:06There should be, you know, people should know what they are going home to, have a life beyond your workplace.
16:11Do you think that's the way to go? Is that, would you tell your kids that? Have work-life balance. Don't just go after one certain thing alone.
16:18I think, as many people say, work-life balance is a Western construct.
16:24Okay. Yeah. There has to be some passionate people in the organization.
16:29Okay. Who are very passionate about the work.
16:31But what I tried to do in my definition of work-life balance was, though it is a very hectic life,
16:38I made sure that I never miss birthdays of my children. I usually don't miss parents' day at their school.
16:45Sports day. Yes. Sports days. Yes. And I try to make sure that I don't forget anniversary.
16:50I like it. I try not to forget. Will you get that confirmed?
16:54So, I have not, never forgotten. So, I think these are some of the important, now my children have grown up.
16:59And they acknowledge that. That in spite of your very hectic schedule, because I used to, when the business was new,
17:05I used to travel like for four months in a year. Okay. Just going around the world.
17:09And it was very hectic. But I made sure that I'm back for some of these important things.
17:14I would be back for weekends. So, that's how I try to have some sanity. Excellent. Of balance.
17:22I love it. And last question, of course. How has Dubai played a role in your incredibly success story?
17:28Like, it's, it's, these are the kinds of stories that inspire many to just be at it, you know.
17:34Just continue your hustle. Wake up. Do your thing. Make it. You made it. So, you know what I mean.
17:40So, what would you say is Dubai's role?
17:42I think Dubai as a city itself is such a big inspiration. You know, people say it started as a strip of sand.
17:49Correct? Yeah. With no nature really supporting it. There's no water. There's no, there's no rain. Lot of rain.
17:56And this is an incredible city which has been built out of just a strip of sand. And that itself is a story of hope.
18:04That out of no resources, you can build such a beautiful city and attract people from all over the world to hope.
18:12That is the first inspiration when you land in Dubai. That you don't need anything on your side to be successful.
18:19You know, just the vision of the leader with which this city started and where it has reached today.
18:25We have seen it in front of our eyes. For sure. How it has moved over the years. This is the first inspiration.
18:30Second inspiration is, of course, there is, it's a constantly evolving city. There are solutions for every problem.
18:37And they are coming pretty fast. Yeah, there can be one problem today, but it won't repeat again.
18:42Because, you know, the leadership here has looked at the problem. Yeah, they make sure the solution.
18:47Make sure that it is solved. It is solved. It is not repeated. You know, there is so much of digitization.
18:52I remember building this house. It was built at the pick-up panel.
18:56And we did not have one day of disruption in those two years while building the house.
19:01We got all the permits online because nobody was meeting.
19:06So, I remember there was a query on some of the construction and we had a Zoom call with the authorities.
19:13Yes, yes. Got it. Got it. They are one step ahead of the game.
19:16So, even at the peak of pandemic, we could build this without any disruption. That shows the strength of the city.
19:22Very true. Even when the cards are down or seemingly down, they seem to find a solution.
19:27And it's also a very can-do city. I feel everybody is like, okay, we can make it happen. Let's see. Let's work around.
19:33As long as it's lawful, legal, let's do it. So, brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible life story.
19:40Do you have a life philosophy? Every day you wake up and you think, yeah, I get up at 4am. Is that your success?
19:48Are you a part of the 4am club?
19:51I'm not part of the club. But I think the mission or vision or whatever, the dream I have of creating 10,000 jobs, that keeps me going.
20:02Every morning I wake up and there is always something, you know, I'm looking forward to doing.
20:08So, and as long as that is not met, I think I have enough work to do. That's a long way to go.
20:14It's a long way to go. I love it. We know we have to meet when you create 10,000 jobs.
20:19As of now, 1,000, that itself is incredible. 1,000 livelihoods being created.
20:23But here is hoping you reach your goalpost of 10,000 very soon in Dubai.
20:27Thank you. Thank you.
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