Shawn Parikh of Entigrity and myCPE will tell you that entrepreneurship is his destiny. But listening to his story you will find that it wasn’t all just fate.
His success on 2 continents has been nurtured by belief in himself, a vision for something more, a desire to make an impact, and the right team gathered around him.
Doing it in reverse.
As a chartered accountant, Shawn began working as a retailer in a couple of mid-sized companies. This allowed him to build a reliable income from anchor clients, while investing time in building his own practice.
But that wasn’t enough. Shawn moved from his public practice to the corporate world. He wanted the experience and knowledge of how large teams are managed. And boy did he get it!
Starting as an accountant, Shawn worked closely with a CEO and helped enable the company to grow from 4 employees to about 4,000. This 4-5 year experience gave him the strategy that would one day help him realize his entrepreneurial dream.
Casting a vision.
Being mentored, having an expert in his corner, has had a tremendous impact on Shawn’s career. It changed the trajectory of his future.
“Let me tell you, I never had the vision of building this kind of company if I would not have been with that company. You know, my thinking was small. My exposure was small. I would have not built this company unless I would have gotten that exposure that I had.”
Taking the risk.
He had it all: a great journey into corporate success, salary, position, stability.
His venture into pharma was a costly setback… 50% of his savings was lost. So deciding to start Entigrity came with huge social pressure to not fail. “Failure is a little taboo here where we stay. If you fail, people will start saying something.”
Instead of viewing the loss as a failure, he realized that after organic growth there will be a dip. The only choice was to have the determination and a clear path to success.
1 Business Grows to 2.
A staffing shortage in India led to the birth of Entigrity. Compounded by the pandemic, there was a need in mid-size and regional accounting firms to help them build their offshore team to mitigate this.
“I consider myself fortunate that I have been an accountant where I have enabled those entrepreneurs who have been either starting the business or wanted to grow the business. So that role is key where you act as a booster.”
The objective is to empower firms with the right access to global staffing. Which led to the second business being born – creating one continuing education platform for all avenues of learning.
Lifting others up.
His dream changed along the journey. Affording a house and car changed to building wealth which changed to focusing on others. “Today I’m doing this because I have a team around me which is aspiring to grow and now I am that medium.”
His aha moment came when seeing the pride reflected on the faces of the parents of one of his employees at their housewarming party. “This journey is now not just about economic prosperity. It’s about making a larger impact.”
Shortcuts.
Traveling around the United States, visiting every accounting firm in person, trying to gain new clients was time consuming. He felt his accent made closing the sale over the phone impossible and closing it in person difficult. After being approached by a fellow entrepreneur, he decided to shift his mindset. He began to let this “American guide” close sales for a commission.
Realizing his strengths and weaknesses allowed him to get out of his own way…and grow his business. We believe that augmenting your business with the right people who possess the right skills allows magic to happen. Surrounding yourself with the right professional team can save you time in your business and help you realize your entrepreneurial dream.
Fail forward.
It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react to it. A failed business venture and a global pandemic could have been enough to stop Shawn from realizing his dream. But he had a mentor, a plan for success, and the right mindset.
Running a business doesn’t have to run your life. Without a business partner who holds you accountable, it’s easy to be so busy ‘doing’ business that you don’t have the right strategy to grow your business. Accountants who are business strategists, like Harper & Company CPAs Plus, empower entrepreneurs to build the lifestyle they envision.
