“Entrepreneurs are not geniuses and do not always come up with new ideas. They are good at listening and sourcing ideas and applying it to their situation,” says this power-couple who made friends with man’s first friend! The stone.
The friendship has today led a family that migrated to the USA with a mere $1000 in 1967 in helping several across the world build beautiful homes!
It was all struggles, when the lady of the house decided to help her husband with some extra income. She thus formed a small MS International, a small natural stone business. She started practicing her business skills and soon was a successful entrepreneur. So much so that her husband decided to join her, and thus left his job. Together, Manahar ‘Manu’ Ravilal Shah and Chandrika ‘Rika’ Shah, they set benchmarks for themselves and crossed milestones. Manu took it forward aggressively and started crossing small geographical boundaries as well, and gradually diversified. What started as an ‘extra-income’ company is today a company huge enough to offer employment to more than 100,000 people.
Mrs. and Mr. Shah were featured in Jewels of Gujarat (2015) by Maneesh media and today are one of the five major donors of Jain Centre of Southern California. However, they are deep into philanthropic activities beyond their community too. The two support and contribute to AIF, PRATHAM, Ekal Vidyalaya, Sankara (India). They recognise the need of the hour and support South Asians in their fight against domestic violence through South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency (SAHARA).
Since MSI was started by a single person, taken forward by another, the Shahs realise the importance of every single person supporting MSI. And thus, even during the tough times of 2008, when the market had crashed, none of the MSI team was laid off.
One of the most inspirational Jewels of Gujarat, we look forward to his guiding light.