As a livewire entrepreneur at 49, who has made phenomenal progress after just 19 years of stay in Canada, he is a perfect example of what a man can achieve with passion and drive. A big name in textile industry in Canada, his business interests that go by the name of Aarti Group extend outside Canada into India, China, Columbia, Argentina, Lima, Peru and Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and other parts of the USA. He has also diversified into other fields, including development, construction and financing real estate, with his wife, Puja, as an equal partner by his side.
Born on 21 May 1972, Gupta is the fifth of six siblings: three sisters, Suman, Veena, Seema, and two brothers, eldest Sushil and the youngest Sudhir. Their father, Raj j Kumar, ran a cloth shop in Karnal. Their mother, Roshni Devi, was an ideal housewife who took care of the children and the entire household. Sandeep remembers her as a simple and hardworking lady. “Till the time I was in grade 5, in the DAV College, Karnal, my mother would always help me with my homework”, says he. “From grade 6 onwards, I could do my homework all by myself. Maths and science were my strong subjects so I faced no difficulties, even in the senior classes. But I wasn’t a bookworm kind of a student. Whatever I studied would somehow just stick in my head. And in this way I was able to clear my exams with reasonably good grades.
“At school, I was interested in games as well, so I played cricket, badminton and table-tennis. I even tried my hand at boxing as well. Outside school I loved to play gilli-danda with the boys of the neighbourhood.
Today is too late; NOW is the time!
Talking about bonding with his siblings, Sandeep says that all his sisters loved him and he got on very well with them. “All grown up now, I feel the bond is strengthening with each passing day.”
Although both his parents couldn’t study beyond high school, they laid a lot of stress and importance on the value of good education and qualifications. While all of them are graduates, Sandeep was keen to do more and so opted for post-graduation; he studied textile engineering at Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences (Bhiwani) in 1994 and got an MBA degree in 1999 from Ahmedabad.
Sandeep’s career graph – right from his college through his work experience at Reliance and Arvind, his move to Canada in August 2002 and his extraordinary performance in the private sector there with Atlantic Fineyarns, part of the Sunflag Group in Mississauga, Ontario, and his present position there as a textile magnate – are indicators of a strong go-getter attitude. But there is something more that gives him an edge.
It is a kind of restless impatience that fuels his adrenaline and positivity, almost as if he actually believes he should have done today whatever he plans for tomorrow. This restlessness is perhaps the key element of his phenomenal success all through. This restlessness empowers his readiness to plunge in and take risks on his way to success. He has come to believe in choosing the road less travelled and probably find a gold mine.
People of his kind show early signs of being different, agrees Sandeep. He recalls, “As early as grade 6, I was very particular about time management. I used to make a daily checklist of things to be done, with deadlines set. Usually I was able to complete all of it within the deadlines. It was a book I read during school that inspired me to manage time efficiently”.
Big dreams of childhood
Another thought he had as a child was that someday he would have his own cloth mill. “My father was in the cloth business”, explains Sandeep. “Often sitting in his shop, I often had this idea of owning a mill recurring in my head. If nothing had happened, I suppose I would’ve thought of it as no more than childhood daydreams or wishful thinking.”
But it did happen and on a far, far bigger scale.
Between 1994 and 2002, Sandeep worked with two of the biggest names in the Indian textile industry – Reliance and Arvind Textiles. His skills, hard work and dedication helped him reach senior positions in both the firms with the best of perks and facilities. It was while working with Reliance that he started a small part-time business of suitcases with his maternal uncle and gradually doubled up his earning. He took some basic training and started small. It seemed tough initially because his prospects didn’t take him seriously as he was no more than 20. However, nothing could stop this youth. He was often asking the rickshaw-pullers to take him to dealers, without knowing who or where they were! “I’d simply put the suitcases on my motorcycle and drove off to sell it; I was working double or triple shifts... Though I was earning good, I had to find a better way.” On his uncle’s suggestion, in 1997, he also ventured into plastic waste and recycling in Gujarat. His goodwill took him straight to Adani Group where he started trading in plastic waste. Profits doubled soon. Still working his job, he knew he wanted to concentrate on business and develop further; he had tasted success after all!
When he informed his bosses at Arvind that he intended to quit and move to Canada, they were upset and sought the intervention of his parents and other relatives. According to Sandeep, “It was rude shock for my parents. They found it incomprehensible that I could give up all the luxuries and comfort of a great job and a settled life for an uncertain future abroad”.
“But nothing could dissuade me now; my mind was made up. A consultant had told me that was the ideal time to go to Canada since there was a huge demand for textile professionals then. That for me was the decider.”
Sandeep was just 30 when he landed in Canada with his wife, Puja, and their three-year-old daughter, Rachita, in August 2002. Within a matter of three years, he was ready to strike out on his own. The Canadian textile market was going through a crisis at that time because of concessions made to least developed countries (LDCs) at political level. He felt the only way to counter-balance losses in the local (Canada) and export (USA) markets was through trading. He had met with good response in the Latin American market in the course of an exploratory foray. But his bosses were not ready to back him. The only option left was to quit. Ever since then he has never had to look back – only up and up and up.
A marriage that almost didn’t happen
After meeting Puja at her parents’, Sandeep went home and told his parents he had changed his mind because he felt he was still too young and had decided to wait for another one or two years. Naturally, his parents were furious; the bride’s side were equally distressed. He was genuinely confused. He thought it wasn’t right for him to be married unemployed; he wanted to complete his MBA and put his career first. After much coaxing from one of his sisters, Sandeep relented and the marriage was solemnised on 11 November 1997. Although he had several proposals, for him it was Puja only. His destiny had already made its choice.
The couple has two children. Rachita is completing her studies in international business and Haardik is in grade 10. He admits that he changed his lifestyle because of him. “I now spend just one or two hours in the office on weekends, though earlier I worked every day of the week. Rachita and I now plan to take flying lessons together.
In the end, Gupta says with a wry smile that he has two accounts. “A bank account and the other is our ‘account’ with God. This we do through our various charitable initiatives, sponsoring children’s education, supporting orphanages and widows’ homes through our NGO. The same NGO extends charitable help to our employees, only they never come to know where it comes from.”