How entrepreneur Sneh Patel became Sneh Binny is an interesting tale. To those who are curious, the story goes back to the time when his father Raj Patel was in his 20s. He was fond of cricket and his friends used to call him Binny because he looked like cricketer Roger Binny.
“My father also named my cousin sister Binny, however her mother changed her name after a year. Then he started his first company and named it Binny’s Impex, later he started Binny’s Jewellery. So the entire gems and jewellery industry knows him by Binny or Raj Binny. Since I joined the business and started Binny’s World, Binny’s Jewels UAE and bought Delhi Binny’s Brigade (the tennis team that is a part of Tennis Premier League), and was involved in my father’s business, people started calling me Chote Binny or Junior Binny that later became Sneh Binny,” he says adding that people are always curious about his name.
Only 25, Patel has earned a name for himself. He is known for his honesty and how he vouches for quality. “I always get the reaction ‘OMG, you’re so young’, since I was 16 because at that time I used to go to the office, international business trips and exhibitions with my father. I have always had friends older than me. When I was doing my Masters at University of Leeds, I was the youngest person out of the class of 200 students. Thankfully, I don’t look young so that doesn’t give away my age, that’s when people get to know about it, they are shocked. But yes, I do feel proud of myself. There’s a lot more to achieve in the coming years, this is just the beginning,” he adds.
Running different businesses and also taking care of his tennis team, he seems to be good at multi-tasking. But how does he manage? “Well, management is one of my forte and diversification is my passion. Managing different industries regardless of the number, it’s all about delegation of authority and power. The more you do that, the more time you’ve to think about new business ideas and ways to improve the current ones. Assigning work to the right people, Following-up and sharing proper Feedback are the three things I follow. I am a lazy person, I always find faster ways to do things, just like Bill Gates said, ‘I believe in Smart Work. Hard work is not for me’,” he says with a smile.
Patel’s role model is Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group that has more than 400 companies, in various industries. “He also desired to become an entrepreneur at a young age, he started at the age of 16. We have many similarities. Both of us love adventure and are humanitarian. I have been following his footsteps since I was in school. I believe, if I don’t leave a mark in this world before I die, my life would be worthless. That’s what keeps me focused and working towards success. I am never satisfied, and you shouldn’t be if you want to achieve greatness. 90% of the people are satisfied at some point with their life, I always want more. That’s what keeps me going! The day I am satisfied, the graph of my success will start going downwards. Currently Sir Branson is 70 and still working. I also hope I will get a chance to meet him someday in person and tell him how much I admire him, how much he inspires me,” he ends.
