Founder and chairman of Danube Group, Rizwan Sajan talks about his rise to fame from lower middle class life to becoming a multi-billionaire. Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/videos
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00:00I was born in a very low middle class family, brought up in Ghatkopar.
00:07My father used to work for Nathani Steel Pvt. Ltd.
00:11Where we were provided in the house schooling, proper schooling.
00:17We were sent to a convent school, Fatima High School was the school we were studying.
00:21My sister was about 2 years younger to me and then Anees was born who is about 9 years younger to me.
00:27So, we were three children in that house and because of the salary which my father was getting,
00:33he could only provide us with the basics of what is required.
00:39That means even to basic tuition fee he was able to pay.
00:43Even we had to walk it down to the school which was almost one station.
00:47My school was in Vidya Vihar and I was staying in Ghatkopar.
00:51It was almost 7-8 kms. I used to walk every day going and coming.
00:557 kms going and 7 kms coming. Because trying to save that extra money on the transportation
00:59what dad was going which can be used as a pocket money.
01:02So, that's how our journey began and while I was going to the school, Fatima High School being a convent school,
01:10the children who were coming over there, they were all little more richer than what my father was.
01:17And I used to get about 15 rupees as pocket money.
01:20Now, with that pocket money it was impossible for me to live to the standard of the living which my friends were living.
01:27And they could afford to go to the canteen, buy a samosa and pick up a chai
01:32and which I was finding it every day difficult and I had to literally wait.
01:36So, this was not doing good for me.
01:39And how many times you can sit and tell your friends, okay, let me buy me a samosa, you know.
01:43So, then I told my dad, look, give me some more money.
01:47So, dad immediately put the breakdown in front of me, said that.
01:51He said, look, this is what I earned and majority I am spending on you
01:55and which is required for the basics in the house to bring the grocery and all that.
02:00I can't afford more than this. Nothing I could do, get from dad more than that.
02:04So, luckily there was some, I would say it was an inborn gift which was in me,
02:09which was the business acumen because my great grandfather was a big businessman.
02:14And I told my dad, look, I know you can't give me some more extra money.
02:20Give me some money to start my business.
02:24So, I borrowed from him about 1000 rupees at that particular time.
02:28That 1000 rupees was a lot of money for my dad to give me that 1000 rupees.
02:31How old were you that time? About I would say 12 years, 12 years old, okay.
02:38And he said, what are you going to do with that money? I said, daddy, I will do something else.
02:42But I ensure that I will return back your money. So, the first thing I did was,
02:47I went to Masjid Pant during the school holidays. I bought some books, stationary books, you know,
02:54which requires for the next term. Bought some books and told all my friends, you are going to buy these books from different, different shops.
03:03So, why not you buy from me because I am going to give you at the same price.
03:07And that allowed me to make that extra 10-15% because when you buy from the wholesale market and the only thing was,
03:13you have to go to the Masjid Pant, carry it on your shoulder and bring it and give it to the books.
03:17So, that helped me for couple of months. Then came the Diwali season. So, Diwali I started selling the firecrackers in the same way.
03:24Then came the Rakhi, Raksha Bandhan. So, Raksha Rakhi I sold. But there was a time when lean period was,
03:30no other festival was there where I could think of some business. So, at that particular time,
03:35money was required, that extra 200 Rupees was required. I had that 200 Rupees which I wanted to have that
03:41so that I could spend that with my friends. So, I said, what do I do in this lean period?
03:47So, I went and sold milk, you know. I went, became a milkman and in the morning 4.30 I used to get up,
03:57go to the milk centre, pick up the milk and deliver to different, different houses.
04:03And I used to get that 100, 10, 25 Rupees salary at the end of the month to sell, give that milk every month.
04:10In the morning while I was driving, I mean riding the bicycle, the bicycle hit a stone and I fell down from the bicycle.
04:20In the bargain, half the milk fell down. That was at 4.30 in the morning and it was pitch dark.
04:28So, I said, now what do I do? Milk, 125 Rupees salary and 200 Rupees milk fell down. How do I cover up that?
04:37So, then I looked around for some water in the dark and I saw a drum, I saw this is the water.
04:47So, I filled in the drum, water from the drum and put in the, that bucket, jar of the milk and delivered all the milk to everybody.
04:56By the time I went to give my hisaab, like this is the 200 Rupees milk, there were 7-8 ladies complaining,
05:04yeh kaisa doodh bhej diya, pura pura kachra. So, my boss asked me, what did you do with the milk?
05:12So, then I told him the actual story what happened. So, I got a big slap on my face and I said,
05:18from tomorrow, so that salary which I was about to get, because I worked the whole month, that also I lost.
05:24And I was thrown out of the job. At the age of 16, my father died. My father expired when he had an accident.
05:33He died at the age of 16. Now, what happened was, he was earning about 5000 Rupees, plus he had some deposits.
05:43So, for 7000 Rupees or our monthly expenses, 5000 Rupees he was earning. And at that particular time, he had not saved any money.
05:53But whatever that money was there, you know, fixed deposit was there, but otherwise he had not saved any money where we could use that money.
05:59It was all hand to mouth, we were running at that time. It came like a big bomb to us, like, now what will happen?
06:05Luckily, the company which my father worked, he worked there for 20 years. He was a very loyal person in that company.
06:11So, he worked there for 20 years and immediately the bosses called me and said, Rizwan, what are you going to do?
06:17So, I said, uncle, I don't know what I am going to do, but I am in a big mess over here and I have to continue my studies and I have to manage my house and I don't know what to do.
06:29So, they gave me a job in that company, which was about 2000 Rupees, they gave me a job.
06:36There was this, some money we got from the gratuity, you know, we have in India, we have this gratuity where, but that also,
06:44they put that money in the fixed deposit. So, that 3000 I could get from the gratuity.
06:50And, but still there was a shortage of 2000 Rupees, now, to manage the house. 7 to 10 I used to go to the college,
06:5610, 11 o'clock I used to go to my office over there, 11 to 6 I was in Nathani, but to cover that 2000 Rupees,
07:04I started a small business over there near my house, where we used to make the box files. So, 7 o'clock I used to go to the factory,
07:12whatever the box files are ready over there, pick up, go to the Masjid Banta. So, the life was like starting in the morning at 7
07:21and going home by 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, while all my friends were enjoying and partying and picnicking, I was basically trying to complete that.
07:30So, in the bargain, I wrote to my uncle in Kuwait. I wrote to my uncle in Kuwait and I told him, look,
07:38I need to come to Kuwait because I am not able to manage over here and you are the only saviour for me who can help me to bring over here.
07:46And I don't need any money from you, just give me a job. So, at that time he wrote me a letter that, Rizwan, sorry I can't give you a job because you are only 16 and a half years old.
07:56Because 16 my dad expired, half year I was trying to do some jugglery but I was not working out. So, 16 and a half, he wrote to me that you are only 16 and a half
08:06and until you become 18, I can't give you a job. So, I really thought that, you know, this is an uncle who wants to also, most of the, you know,
08:15relatives when you are having problem, they don't try to help you out and this is one of them and trying to just give me excuse that he cannot bring me.
08:22I said, okay uncle, what to do. Life continued, same thing, getting up at 6 o'clock, going to the, 7 o'clock, coming back home, 11, sleeping at 12 o'clock, 1 o'clock,
08:33for one and a half years. But somehow managing not, luckily I didn't have to ask any money from anybody, the life was going on.
08:41On my 18th birthday, I get a letter from my uncle. At that time, you know, they would tell you that, that thing was not there, emails and all that were not there.
08:50So, I get a letter delivered, postal delivery, exactly on my 18th birthday. And I said, Rizwan, if you want to come to Kuwait, you return to me and I can give you a job.
09:00And your salary will be 150 Dinars, which was 18,000 rupees. So, I said, wow! So, this is like 18,000 rupees from a 7,000, I am working from 9 to 6 hours to work and 18,000 rupees.
09:11Immediately I accepted the offer. I told my mama that I need to go. Please let me go because this will change my whole career.
09:18So, next month I was in Kuwait and touched with this uncle of mine. He taught me how to make 2 plus 2, 5.
09:27Because he was a businessman and he was like, he taught, he really taught me the whole business.
09:34This is the wood business, what is LC, what is negotiation, what is discrepancy, how to negotiate an LC and everything what is required in the business terms.
09:43He kept me in his house for 6 months and I studied everything, learnt everything from him. And things were going very perfect for me.
09:54Perfect means extraordinary perfect. I started with 150 Dinar salary and by the time in the 8 year span I started earning about 1500 Dinar salary with the virtue of commission.
10:08Because that job which was given to me was salary plus commission. So, I was the highest seller in that company.
10:13Because again I am telling you the sales acumen which God had gifted to me, it was easier for me to sell material and come.
10:20Got myself married, got my sister married, got a beautiful house in Bandra next to Shah Rukh Khan's house.
10:26So, everything perfectly moving as you want as a normal, because I was not even become a graduate.
10:34And all of a sudden Saddam Hussein comes in again. Saddam Hussein comes in, destroys the whole Kuwait,
10:44invade the Kuwait and we are back to square one. Because whatever the money which I made during that time went into two marriages in the house
10:53and buying the house and whatever required the basics. So, there was hardly any money which I could, I had in my pocket.
11:02And we all had to run away from Kuwait. During that period also, because it was a lull period, I made little bit of money over there.
11:10Now again, even after that eight years of fantastic journey, we sold again oil on the roads.
11:19We sold because and we also send telegrams to, we help people to send telegrams to Baghdad.
11:25We went to Basra and driving from Kuwait to Basra sending the telegrams. And made some money and then we went to Mumbai.
11:34Mumbai, we had what I had in my pocket almost 70-80,000 rupees. That was only money which we had in.
11:43And my house was there in Bandra. And one, I didn't have a car, I didn't, unfortunately I had not bought the car.
11:49So, there was a small Honda, what is that, kinetic Honda which I had in with me. So, you know, driving up a zero in Kuwait and again back to a kinetic Honda in Mumbai in that traffic.
12:03So, started selling something or the other there, started working for one of my friend.
12:09And started selling because selling was the only thing which I knew to do. I am making about 20-25,000 rupees managing the house.
12:19I wrote to my friend in Dubai that I want to come to Dubai and if you can help me. And that's how I came to Dubai.
12:28Started working with him for one year. And within one year I decided, look, I am going to start my business.
12:35Because in that one year what happened was, Kuwait opened out. Now, because I was in Kuwait for the last 8 years,
12:43I knew all the Kuwaitis, all the local people over there. So, Saddam Hussein had stolen everything, Saddam Hussein's army had stolen everything from Kuwait.
12:53And taken back to Iraq. So, when Iraq, the Kuwaitis got again their country back, at that time there was nothing in that country.
13:05So, and the port was broken, the airport was broken, everything was not there. And they required by road lot of material.
13:15And Dubai was the contact where they could get all this, you know, the refrigerators and cookers and whatever they would require.
13:23The building material, what was required was going from Dubai. And because of the connections which I had in Kuwait for the last 8 years,
13:29I was in the right place sitting at the right time. So, in that one year, I made about 100,000 dirhams as a commission.
13:37After one year I said 100,000 dirhams to ban gaya, abhi now I want to do my own business. So, I told my wife that look,
13:44I think I should do my own business. So, this is a hard enough time. Every time I have proved that I can do, I have failed and I have
13:51proved that I can come back again. So, let me try this. And with that 100,000 dirhams, I said if I don't make sense,
13:59if I am not able to succeed, anybody will give me a job of 5,000, 10,000 dirhams for sure with the experience which I have.
14:05And that's how we took the risk and we started the company. But the company which we started was doing only brokerage.
14:11Brokerage means somebody wants to buy building material and somebody wants to sell building material.
14:17Put them together and earn that 1%, 2% commission. So, that's how this company Danyoop was formed.
14:23Now, in the brokerage business, luckily, I got a good break because initially what happened was,
14:29when I started going to the companies to sell on brokerage, all these big, big sharks who are sitting over here selling the building material.
14:37And I said, I am from Kuwait and I have a full knowledge of building material and I can offer you good prices and you should buy from me this material.
14:44And they used to look at me and laugh. They said, you have come from Kuwait and we are in Dubai, much seasoned people than what you Kuwait people buy from.
14:52And I don't think I can, we can buy from you. But one agency which I had in Kuwait, that agency I was able to bring it back to this market.
15:01And that was a very good product. It's called galvanized corrugated sheet from Japan. Now, that product was in demand here.
15:08And with that product, I went and sold everybody that galvanized corrugated sheet. That's how I got an entry to all these big, big sharks who are sitting over here.
15:16And once you get an entry, then you sell one product, you sell another product and you somehow manage.
15:22That intending business was doing good. Brokerage business was doing good. It was making about 40-50,000 dirhams a month.
15:29Which was good enough for me to survive. But if I had to go further, I had to do trading. Now, for the trading, did not have any money with me.
15:38Because you require a lot of money. But only thing in that last 10 years, 8 years in Kuwait and 2 years in Dubai,
15:45what I had earned is the credibility with my suppliers. Where I would, I used to guide them, this is the, like, if they sell, they want to sell at X price.
15:53And I used to say, no, we can sell at X1, X plus 1, because the market can pay that X plus 1.
15:58That credibility which we had developed, I told the suppliers that, look, I want to do some trading, but I don't have the money.
16:06Give me this $25,000, $50,000 worth of material. I will bring it in my name, sell it and then give you back the money.
16:13Because when you work as a broker, you get that 1% or 2% commission. But when you work as a trader, you get that 10%, 15% commission.
16:20So, you started making that extra money. Then I went to the banks, approached them for loans. Bank gave me a small loan.
16:26And slowly, slowly, calculative risk, I kept on taking year after year. I think UAE has contributed a lot to my growth because of the
16:35business friendly environment which we have over here, where you can start your business, do your business
16:41without any bureaucracy, without any, you know, gundagaddi, what you say that, you know, in India we have this transferred market.
16:51Yeah, absolutely. So, you can do your business, you buy for 1 dirham, you sell for 1 dirham 10 paisa,
16:565 paisa is your profit and 5 paisa is your expenses. The simple business you have.
17:01As long as you are working hard, you know what you are doing, you can expand. So, that was, that helped me a lot.
17:07And the calculative risk which we took, that made me. But asking you a question, yes, UAE definitely helped me a lot.
17:16And what important was, we took a place in Jabal Ali and that spurred the highest growth because we came to Jabal Ali.
17:22And Jabal Ali really supported us in whatever we required and gave us the right space on the main road and gave me that, you know, beginning which was required to make it to a higher level.