A Canadian businesswoman, venture capitalist, television celebrity, a wife, a mom, a podcast host, a marketing expert – a true champion of our times...
Since 2015, Manjit has been on the Dragons’ Den, a popular weekly show on CBC, where she guides and invests in budding entrepreneurs. She has invested in 31 businesses in the past seven years and helped them become millionaires. She also hosts one of the top 10 podcasts, The Manjit Minhas Podcast, where she invites notable Canadian entrepreneurs, CEOs and visionaries. She is also the co-owner of Spotlight TV and Film Productions Inc., the fourth largest production company in Canada.
Born on 31 May 1980 in Calgary, Alberta, Manjit was raised in a nuclear family with a mix of Canadian and Indian values. The family has its root in Sikhism. Her grandfather was a government officer in Delhi, where her father, Moni, was raised. He was born in Daroli Khurd, Punjab. Her mother, Rani’s entire family moved to Vancouver Island when she was nine. Moni went to Canada in 1976 only to marry Rani at the age of 21. After marriage, her parents moved to Calgary. Moni was just 21 at the time.
His mechanical engineering degree from Chandigarh (India) was not recognised in Canada and there he could not get a job; so he re-did his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary. Upon graduation, he got a job in 1980 as an oil and gas engineer in Calgary. “He set high standards for himself and is very creative, hardworking, a quick learner who never gives up,” says Manjit talking of her father. She adds, “He always had the support of my mother, who did two jobs while he was studying. She kept her focus both at work and home until he got a job”.
Ravinder, Manjit’s brother, is a couple of years younger than her. The siblings were both born and have lived their entire life in Calgary. As they didn’t have a large family in Canada and so had only a handful of cousins, the two grew up close to each other. Together, they have authored a book named Brewing Up a Damn Good Story, narrating the story of 163-year-old Minhas Craft Brewery, located in Wisconsin, USA, which they bought in 2006. “We make a great team together, pushing each other to try new things and overcome challenges. We open-mindedly share ideas and deeply believe in giving back to our community. We celebrate our success with each other and turn to each other in failures. But we also realise and respect each other’s personal space too. He surely was my first best friend,” she says about Ravinder.
Manjit completed her grade schooling at West Island College, Calgary. She studied petroleum engineering at the University of Calgary, but soon realised her interest in creating and marketing business models and became an entrepreneur. As a student, she was active in debate, chess and field hockey. Her parents continuously suggested Manjit and Ravinder to stay involved in their school and city communities; they participated in numerous clubs at school. Her experience helped her confidence and public-speaking abilities grow. She considers practical education higher than formal education in an individual’s development, which she says she got from her father.
She has many friends and colleagues both in her Indian and Canadian communities. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Canada too has evolved in all these years. There were hardly any non-white children in my school and I am glad at the situation now is much different for my girls in school!”
Manjit and Harvinder ‘Harvey’ Shergill got married in 2007, and were blessed with two daughters. Harvey was born and brought up in British Columbia and Alberta in a large Sikh family. He is the owner of a home-building and construction company, Shergill Homes.
The entire Minhas family’s selfless nature has served them well in their lives. Their family has done its best to preserve their Indian values and culture. They speak Gurumukhi, pray in gurudwaras and eat Indian cuisine for dinner. The family is a huge fan of Punjabi music and artists like Brown Boys, Jasmine Sandlas, Sidhu Moose Wala, Diljit Dosanjh, A.P. Dhillon and Jazzy B.
The family actively takes community initiatives. During the recent COVID pandemic, they donated several million bottles of hand sanitiser and have always supported global immigrants in finding employment. Manjit believes that helping someone find a job to support their family is often much more useful than any charity. She is the co-chair of the United Way which raises funds annually to give to hundreds of organisations that specialise in early childhood development, addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, etc. The Minhas siblings also fund free books for girls through an engineering college in India. Giving back to the community is as important as making profits in the business, she believes.
Business = passion
Manjit and Ravinder entered the alcohol business in 1999. At the time, they were students at the University of Calgary; Manjit was 19 and Ravinder 18. Before getting into business, they experimented and researched various formulations. Manjit grew up seeing her parents work hard. “They never took anything for granted. It developed a strong work ethic in us. My parents always said there is no reason to be jealous of anyone, you have two hands and a brain – go work for it!” shares Minhas. “My father encouraged us to participate in many activities and interact with people from different backgrounds. And today, I learn new things everyday, I get new ideas from people; I travel, read and continue to listen to new things,” she adds. Just like her parents, Manjit never gave up.
At first, Manjit formed a company that created a line of spirits with distilling consultants and had it produced in Kentucky, USA. She noticed that there was no company in the market that produced quality spirits with real ingredients at competitive prices so she had a market niche she could fill in Alberta and then Canada. With Ravinder, she found the opportunity and created vodka, gin, tequila and Irish cream and utilised the market’s feedback to continuously improve their products, compete and maximise profits.
The Minhas siblings acquired the second-oldest brewery in the USA, Joseph Huber Brewing Co., in 2006. It is now known as the Minhas Craft Brewery. They became the youngest brewery owners on the globe and gradually built their own breweries and distilleries in Canada. There has been no turning back since then. It also produces beer and malt liquor for partners like Costco, Trader Joe’s, Lidl, Tesco and Walgreens. Employing more than 500 people today, they produce more than 90 brands of beers, spirits and wines that are sold in 5 provinces of Canada, 47 states of the USA and 16 other countries.
All the while, Manjit has maintained her business ethics. She is the first brewer in Canada to willingly put a management warning on all her products to alert drivers and pregnant women. She also makes India proud by being a board member at organisations like United Way, ATB Financial, YYC Calgary Airport Authority, Shop and Shout, Alberta Small Brewers Association and Spiritleaf Cannabis. In the past, she was also on the boards of West Island College, Shergill Homes and TransCanada Trail.
She has won several awards such as Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Alberta Chamber of Commerce Marketing Award, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s Young Achiever Award, Famous 5 Foundation Leader Award, Global TV Woman of Vision Award, The Sikh Centennial Foundation Award and Canadian Business Icon Award.
The company has also faced a lot of challenges. “Every entrepreneur must have courage, and not let fear stop them. Failures happen, but it turns into development if we take feedback and learn from it,” says a ponderous Manjit. She feels that racism is still a challenge, but “overall, it has been an interesting journey that she has navigated on her own terms with her morals and values intact”. Instead of having plans A, B and C, she chooses to have one concrete plan, believes in it and gives it her best. Talking about the controversies around her success, Manjit says, “I don’t care what other people have to say about my choices.” It can deprive women of education, career, passion and success. However, she is always open to constructive criticism as it helps in improvement and growth.