Eight years ago, I met Gurpreet Singh when he picked me up in his rickety Toyota Prius.
The next time I ordered an Uber, we were both surprised once again Gurpreet showed up to take me to the airport. At the time it certainly didn’t seem like serendipity, it seemed comfortably convenient, so I asked for Gurpreet’s cell phone number so I could book him directly. Soon after I met his younger brother Jaz who would pick me up when Gurpreet was busy. During rides to and from the airport we learned bits and pieces of each other’s personal histories, including the sacrifices their parents made
to find a better life in America.

During one ride Gurpreet asked me to meet with him and Jaz to learn about a franchise they had recently bought. I thought, here it comes, they are trying to sell me something. But rather than be polite and dismissive, I said, yes. As it turned out they weren’t trying to sell me anything, they were actually looking for a mentor to help them see more clearly how the American dream can be realized, to see that the hard-wired limitations they were born into in their native India were no longer barriers to a new mindset. From there began a journey of mentoring by me, but mostly hard work by them. I introduced them to my business world, including a world class brand designer, CEOs of companies and
strategies to begin and grow their business.

They joke with me that they had to come to America to meet their Swedish American guru. In reality, they have applied their smarts, strong work ethic and Sikh values of honesty, integrity and service to make their American dream uniquely their own. I may have opened the doors closer to the front of the line, but they sprinted to make sure they walked through them. It turned out it was serendipity after all.

Paul Anderson
Co-founder & Executive Chairman