Journey of Samit Patel, an Entrepreneur, a product launch expert, and an International Speaker

You’ve probably read dozens of inspiring entrepreneur stories, all sharing a commonality – going from rags to riches, from being fired to becoming millionaires and so on. What you don’t get to read about are stories of real entrepreneurs who are not millionaires, but whose services, visions, and efforts have helped other business founders become millionaires.  What you don’t read about is the real struggle of real entrepreneurs, trying to make the world a better place with their craft. And so, here is a story you might want to read and believe in. 

Like everyone else, Samit Patel graduated with the hopes and dreams of making it big. With a degree in Business Management, it was easy right? All he had to do was get a good corporate job, make money, travel the world, and at a later stage invest in his business. But life always has a way of testing us. 

Samit graduated in 2009, the period of the Great Recession when up to 45% of global wealth had been destroyed by the global fiscal crisis. Businesses failed. Unemployment soared. Finding a job was next to impossible. But that didn’t deter Samit from his path. He hoped from business to business, went from working at a bar to establishing a business with a partner only to get kicked out and having to restart again. 

His dream was to become a millionaire. That didn’t happen. But something else did. His work helped other founders become millionaires. Here is his story.

Samit Patel an entrepreneur, a product launch expert, and an international speaker. He runs an eponymous agency focused on helping businesses launch to market. Over the years, Samit and his team have helped raise over $31 million for clients through platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. He loves helping founders and businesses gain visibility and successfully launch their products in a fiercely competitive market. 

More about his agency 

His agency focuses on founders and businesses in the products and consumer electronic niche launch to market. It’s a highly competitive industry, especially with the fact that 30,000 new products are introduced every year, and 95 percent fail! Samit’s job is to help these businesses not only launch successfully but also to remain viable through effective digital marketing strategies. 

To date, they worked with some of the coolest tech products such as the Mindset Headphones, the Circadia sleep tracker, and smart lamp and a popular language app called Fluent Forever. He has a strong interest in products, gears, or gadgets that are designed to make people’s lives better, easier, happier! 

What inspired him on the road to entrepreneurship

He stepped into entrepreneurship accidentally. Like every other person out there, He wanted to get a good job after graduation. Coming from a low-income family, that was the safest and rightful path to take. But I guess life had other plans for him. He graduated at a really bad time. He couldn’t get a decent job. He was working multiple gigs to get by. Then there was this one time where he was helping a nightclub launch an event. He used social media to generate some noise and surprisingly it worked! The event was a massive success.

 Somehow, that bolstered my path to entrepreneurship. He figured he was good at marketing, specifically focusing on launches. 

“It was and still is an amazing feeling to see a product or an event launch receive an overwhelming response.” – Samit said.  

That thrill continues to push him to work on interesting projects and seeing it come to life. It wasn’t an easy journey at all. He had his dark days and struggles that didn’t seem to end. Business partnership with a partner who not only cheated but also tried suing him. Samit is still learning, still struggling, still juggling the demands of entrepreneurship. It never really gets easier. 

What makes him stand out from others

It’s Culture. He strongly believes that his company’s culture sets him apart from the rest. And by culture, he means not just the dynamics of our internal workforce but also their relationship with their clients. They believe in complete transparency. They don’t make fancy promises. They don’t entice clients with secrets to success. They don’t tell them it’s easy. They want their clients to know exactly what they are getting from them. This is why their agency is recommended by Kickstarter and Indiegogo (only one other agency in the world is recognized by both) as well as by popular accelerators and incubators. 

 It’s very important to maintain a positive workplace culture in today’s world. People want to feel valued; employees want to feel challenged and respected. They are a small team, with most working remotely, but they’ve seldom had communication or performance challenges. They are all aligned to the common goal and that’s something very important to Samit. Having worked at multiple businesses and agencies, He knows how poor work cultures can impact performance and creativity! 

Most important challenges faced as an entrepreneur

Everything was like a stumbling block. He started a business without taking contracts seriously. He was naïve, hoping things would work out on its own. Then He didn’t have enough finances to keep him afloat, so he had to pick up on a few jobs, make the money and then inject it into his business. he had to work for free a couple of times just to build a portfolio.

He worked hard to get to where He is today and He is still working hard because this industry is so dynamic and changes are happening so fast that He can’t slack even for a day. He need to always be on his toes, and know what new algorithmic changes have happened and how they can impact his clients. To run a marketing agency for a highly competitive niche in a fierce business environment is a huge challenge in itself. It doesn’t really get harder than this. 

Moments of Proud

He started a business from scratch and have been able to help more people than he’d ever imagine. Every time a client’s project brings in $$$$, he is proud of the work he does. Every time a product hits its intended market, he is proud. Every time a product rakes in profit, he is proud. This work is truly rewarding and he is proud that he has been able to make it happen for so many founders and startups. 

Wise words on Choice

“Well technically, I’d have hoped to get a job, learn from the experience, and save enough money to be able to use it in my business for later. That’s the advice I give to budding entrepreneurs too. You need money to be able to do anything in your life, so it’s unwise to quit your job and hope to run a business successfully.”- Samit. 

He believes life is about learning from your circumstances. All the struggles he has been through have made him who he is today and has given him clarity which he’d probably never be able to gain had things gone the smooth way. You do get tired and you do wish sometimes for things to be easy, but then again, what’s the fun in that. This is life. Failing, learning, trying, failing again, trying again. Eventually, the whole journey becomes a success in itself and you’d never want to redo anything to change a thing. 

“This may sound cliché, but, it’s ‘just do it.’ Quite literally that’s my motto. Things are never going to be perfect. I can’t wait to have a perfect website first to start a business. I can’t wait to have the perfect team member to build a workforce. I can’t wait for the perfect client to earn rewards. You have to be able to see, identify and grab opportunity by the horns. That is not to say a great website, a good employee and a great client are not important – they all are, but they are a byproduct of your efforts, not the starting point of your efforts. The starting point is your willingness to ACT.” – Samit quoted. 

Future Plans

Samit wishes to inspire one million people! Growth doesn’t end with a business. Your business is just the starting point. True growth is when you’re able to help people. His goal is to inspire a million people, to push them to bring their dreams to life. Through his speaking gigs, he want to help people get where they want to be in life.

You can learn more about him and his work in the following links:

www.samitpatel.net 

www.joopio.com 

You can also connect with him on his official Instagram handle: @iamsamitpatel

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.