This Gujarati entrepreneur who is now recognised as the second most powerful person in the print industry in Gujarat and 38th in India, grew up facing hardship in his childhood. Dhanvi Shah was just five years old when his father passed away, leaving his mother, and two more elder brothers and one younger sister to fend for themselves.
DRS ARTS COMPANY HAS BEEN NAMED AFTER THE FOUNDER
DHANVI RASIKLAL SHAH
Hard work creates luck; there are very rare instances where I worked hard and failed. Emotional intelligence and maintaining good relationships can allow you to succeed no matter who you are working with.
An anecdote from his college life is that he once saw his classmates flaunting Walkman and imported goggles. Instead of yearning to buy them, he figured out a way to source them and sell them to his college mates. He earned a few rupees as profit from this transaction. During weekends when his college was closed, he began learning accounting job work at a friend’s place.
Strong passion for business can put you on the right path to leadership and make you successful.
I have never raised my voice in life but have nevertheless always succeeded in life. Presently, I have moved from a one room kitchen to a 5 BHK apartment – all the time staying honest and never picking up a fight with any person.
Most of us do not realize just how rich we are in relative terms. This relative wealth we accumulate presents an enormous opportunity to do good if we seek out the most effective causes to donate to and use it effectively.
In 2004 Dhanvi parted ways with his Chairman amicably and opened his own art gallery called Marvel. He dreamt of creating an art ecosystem in Gujarat, which was then badly lacking in the western part of India. With the dream of bringing art to the main stream, Dhanvi sold an original painting by MF Husain to buy the best gallery space available at the most commercial road of Ahmedabad. Using his vision and guts Dhanvi purchased the biggest property available for a professional art gallery in Ahmedabad and thus giving the town its first professional state-of-the-art facility for exhibiting, promoting and selling Indian art.
Dhanvi believes that no work is big or small. Many times, if he finds the helper being occupied with some other work, Dhanvi does not hesitate in serving his client with a glass of water. “How does that matter? Work is work and it needs to be done,” says the legend who got recently felicitated with the Print Ratna Award. Dhanvi exudes no different attitude in taking a Boeing flight than when riding a rickshaw to reach business point on time.
Experimenting with new artists along with new subject matters and techniques, advancing their art, and impacting art lovers’ lives in ways that no art company has ever planned of doing before, is all that Dhanvi endeavours. Talking about his accomplishments, Dhanvi has a list accolades attached to his name today. His efforts led to fruition when FESPA recognized DRS Editions for producing the best art serigraphs in the world and within just three years of commencing to print serigraphs, DRS Editions received more than 25 awards as an appreciation, including National Awards from the Government of India and Printweek India.
The key thing that enables a businessman to succeed is networks and good relationships – building good relationships with your clients is often the difference between success and failure. Getting yourself and your company recognized as someone that your patrons would want to invest time, energy, and money into is imperative to growing your company.
Whenever we bump into business tycoons it seems as though they were always successful. However, the truth is everyone has to start somewhere. Here’s Dhanvi Shah’s story of heroic struggle against odds, survival and eventual triumph, courage to fight, and what all egged him on to persevere and reach today’s platform where he is recognized as the trendsetter in creating the art market in Gujarat.
His mother took up a teaching job to handle the finances, but that was not enough. His brothers began to look for alternative options to generate more income. Dhanvi didn’t realize art buying and selling would turn out being his future when, at the age of 10, he took his first job of selling milk and delivering newspapers in his neighbourhood.
Seeing Dhanvi and his brother being of vulnerable age, the milk vendor began cheating them by delivering leaking milk packets at his spot. Instead of behaving irrationally, Dhanvi tackled the situation calmly. Since his primary goal was to make money for the family, Dhanvi became more assertive and showed empathy and integrity by asking the vendor if he could share the vendor’s burden of labour. The vendor got impressed and began favouring Dhanvi in his future business deals.
At the same time a print firm in Ahmedabd was looking for an accountant and thus Dhanvi joined the firm as an assistant accountant on a salary basis. Soon Dhanvi became the blue eyed boy of the firm since he began to successfully organise the filings, job work and rest of the work procedures systematically. At one point of time the owner was unavailable and the workers were planning to go on a strike. But Dhanvi showed his leadership skills and revoked the strike.
Dhanvi was in no time appointed as a manager from an assistant accountant owing to his entrepreneurial skills of seizing opportunities and seeing them through. Soon Dhanvi’s marketing and business skills were the talk of the town and he was offered double the salary to join rival companies. Owing to his integrity, Dhanvi refused the offers. His employer offered him a partnership at their firm, which was again refused by Dhanvi. He wanted to continue working on a payroll basis. Seeing his strong skills in marketing, Dhanvi was offered an additional job of overlooking the printing of wedding cards and letterheads – which Dhanvi handled admirably.
At this junction Dhanvi’s elder brother got an opportunity to earn easy money by minting aluminium moulds. But he suffered a heavy loss in it. That’s when Dhanvi’s mother explained a philosophy to Dhanvi – that all of us are bound by karma. We need to repay everything here on this earth – if we are trying to achieve a shorter way out. Dhanvi took the preaching to heart and made a point to donate a share of whatever he earned. He practices the same till date and donates a significant portion of the company’s earned income, typically because of his belief in effective altruism.
Dhanvi has always been a hard worker – working 12-14-16 hours a day. He has never focused on time or stipulated working hours – quality work has always remained his point of convergence. He believes in sharing the theory of “apnapan” and never shows disrespect to any individual. “If we show attitude, we receive attitude” is what Dhanvi believes and follows.
Today. With DRS Arts Company, Dhanvi has been successful in taking forward his legacy globally. The man who has no memories of his childhood junk – toys, photographs, trinkets or letters…today creates memories for all – his paintings and his serigraphs labelled SerigraphsByDhanvi are sold in lakhs and decorate most of the prominent clubs, hotels, restaurants, corporate offices, residences, weekend homes, schools, universities, and colleges across the world.
From his humble beginnings as a newspaper delivery boy to a manager, and later as the owner of an arts company, Dhanvi provides a lesson in integrity and adaptability. Through his hard work, and a reputation for remaining faithful to his internal moral compass, Dhanvi was able to build a business empire that serves the global art ecosystem.
The most powerful and enduring business is built not with financial tie-ups, but from the heart and with the strength of the human spirit. They are real and sustainable. The companies that last for generations are those that are authentic. Always keep your never-say-die spirit ignited and perform with integrity. That’s all what you have to do.
This is a gist of Dhanvi Shah’s amazing entrepreneurial history. If he doesn't inspire you, nothing will.
DRS ARTS COMPANY HAS BEEN NAMED AFTER THE FOUNDER
DHANVI RASIKLAL SHAH
Whenever we bump into business tycoons it seems as though they were always successful. However, the truth is everyone has to start somewhere. Here’s Dhanvi Shah’s story of heroic struggle against odds, survival and eventual triumph, courage to fight, and what all egged him on to persevere and reach today’s platform where he is recognized as the trendsetter in creating the art market in Gujarat.
This Gujarati entrepreneur who is now recognised as the second most powerful person in the print industry in Gujarat and 37th in India, grew up facing hardship in his childhood. Dhanvi Shah was just five years old when his father passed away, leaving his mother, and two more elder brothers and one younger sister to fend for themselves.
His mother took up a teaching job to handle the finances, but that was not enough. His brothers began to look for alternative options to generate more income. Dhanvi didn’t realize art buying and selling would turn out being his future when, at the age of 10, he took his first job of selling milk and delivering newspapers in his neighbourhood.
Seeing Dhanvi and his brother being of vulnerable age, the milk vendor began cheating them by delivering leaking milk packets at his spot. Instead of behaving irrationally, Dhanvi tackled the situation calmly. Since his primary goal was to make money for the family, Dhanvi became more assertive and showed empathy and integrity by asking the vendor if he could share the vendor’s burden of labour. The vendor got impressed and began favouring Dhanvi in his future business deals.
Hard work creates luck; there are very rare instances where I worked hard and failed. Emotional intelligence and maintaining good relationships can allow you to succeed no matter who you are working with.
An anecdote from his college life is that he once saw his classmates flaunting Walkman and imported goggles. Instead of yearning to buy them, he figured out a way to source them and sell them to his college mates. He earned a few rupees as profit from this transaction. During weekends when his college was closed, he began learning accounting job work at a friend’s place.
At the same time a print firm in Ahmedabd was looking for an accountant and thus Dhanvi joined the firm as an assistant accountant on a salary basis. Soon Dhanvi became the blue eyed boy of the firm since he began to successfully organise the filings, job work and rest of the work procedures systematically. At one point of time the owner was unavailable and the workers were planning to go on a strike. But Dhanvi showed his leadership skills and revoked the strike.
Strong passion for business can put you on the right path to leadership and make you successful.
Dhanvi was in no time appointed as a manager from an assistant accountant owing to his entrepreneurial skills of seizing opportunities and seeing them through. Soon Dhanvi’s marketing and business skills were the talk of the town and he was offered double the salary to join rival companies. Owing to his integrity, Dhanvi refused the offers. His employer offered him a partnership at their firm, which was again refused by Dhanvi. He wanted to continue working on a payroll basis. Seeing his strong skills in marketing, Dhanvi was offered an additional job of overlooking the printing of wedding cards and letterheads – which Dhanvi handled admirably.
I have never raised my voice in life but have nevertheless always succeeded in life. Presently, I have moved from a one room kitchen to a 5 BHK apartment – all the time staying honest and never picking up a fight with any person.
At this junction Dhanvi’s elder brother got an opportunity to earn easy money by minting aluminium moulds. But he suffered a heavy loss in it. That’s when Dhanvi’s mother explained a philosophy to Dhanvi – that all of us are bound by karma. We need to repay everything here on this earth – if we are trying to achieve a shorter way out. Dhanvi took the preaching to heart and made a point to donate a share of whatever he earned. He practices the same till date and donates a significant portion of the company’s earned income, typically because of his belief in effective altruism.
Most of us do not realize just how rich we are in relative terms. This relative wealth we accumulate presents an enormous opportunity to do good if we seek out the most effective causes to donate to and use it effectively.
Dhanvi has always been a hard worker – working 12-14-16 hours a day. He has never focused on time or stipulated working hours – quality work has always remained his point of convergence. He believes in sharing the theory of “apnapan” and never shows disrespect to any individual. “If we show attitude, we receive attitude” is what Dhanvi believes and follows.
In 2004 Dhanvi parted ways with his Chairman amicably and opened his own art gallery called Marvel. He dreamt of creating an art ecosystem in Gujarat, which was then badly lacking in the western part of India. With the dream of bringing art to the main stream, Dhanvi sold an original painting by MF Husain to buy the best gallery space available at the most commercial road of Ahmedabad. Using his vision and guts Dhanvi purchased the biggest property available for a professional art gallery in Ahmedabad and thus giving the town its first professional state-of-the-art facility for exhibiting, promoting and selling Indian art.
Today. With DRS Arts Company, Dhanvi has been successful in taking forward his legacy globally. The man who has no memories of his childhood junk – toys, photographs, trinkets or letters…today creates memories for all – his paintings and his serigraphs labelled SerigraphsByDhanvi are sold in lakhs and decorate most of the prominent clubs, hotels, restaurants, corporate offices, residences, weekend homes, schools, universities, and colleges across the world.
Dhanvi believes that no work is big or small. Many times, if he finds the helper being occupied with some other work, Dhanvi does not hesitate in serving his client with a glass of water. “How does that matter? Work is work and it needs to be done,” says the legend who got recently felicitated with the Print Ratna Award. Dhanvi exudes no different attitude in taking a Boeing flight than when riding a rickshaw to reach business point on time.
From his humble beginnings as a newspaper delivery boy to a manager, and later as the owner of an arts company, Dhanvi provides a lesson in integrity and adaptability. Through his hard work, and a reputation for remaining faithful to his internal moral compass, Dhanvi was able to build a business empire that serves the global art ecosystem.
Experimenting with new artists along with new subject matters and techniques, advancing their art, and impacting art lovers’ lives in ways that no art company has ever planned of doing before, is all that Dhanvi endeavours. Talking about his accomplishments, Dhanvi has a list accolades attached to his name today. His efforts led to fruition when FESPA recognized DRS Editions for producing the best art serigraphs in the world and within just three years of commencing to print serigraphs, DRS Editions received more than 25 awards as an appreciation, including National Awards from the Government of India and Printweek India.
The key thing that enables a businessman to succeed is networks and good relationships – building good relationships with your clients is often the difference between success and failure. Getting yourself and your company recognized as someone that your patrons would want to invest time, energy, and money into is imperative to growing your company.
The most powerful and enduring business is built not with financial tie-ups, but from the heart and with the strength of the human spirit. They are real and sustainable. The companies that last for generations are those that are authentic. Always keep your never-say-die spirit ignited and perform with integrity. That’s all what you have to do.
This is a gist of Dhanvi Shah’s amazing entrepreneurial history. If he doesn't inspire you, nothing will.
