‘Entrepreneurship cannot be taught’

Shoukat Dhanani is the CEO of The Dhanani Group, which is the largest franchisee in the Popeye system, as well as the Burger King franchisee, making it America’s third-largest restaurant franchisee. The Dhanani Group is also involved in other business ventures that include convenience stores and gas delivery. The Dhanani Group has been included in FORBES’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies. Dhanani has also recently joined Habib University Board of Governors.

BR Research recently sat down with Dhanani, and discussed his experience in the USA, and his views on entrepreneurship. Following are edited excerpts from the conversation.

BR Research: Given your profile, and the massive outreach of your business in the USA, which has put you on Forbes list, there is very little of you that the world knows. What is the reason behind it?

Shoukat Dhanani:  It is intentional and by design, and always has been low key. Until about 2014, we were pretty much under the radar. It is always good to be low key; you do not want to be too flashy. If anything untoward happens, being low key ensures that the downturn does not make much of a difference. On the other hand, if you are flashy and out there in the open, and then the downturn comes, it could be very hard.

When you get to a certain point, it almost becomes impossible to remain under the radar. Back in 2014, we acquired 255 Burger King outlets. Then the bank we were dealing with, sponsored a study, naming us as the largest franchisees in the US, with the most number of units. Having been named in the top three holders of most units in the US, Forbes approached us, and anything that is out there about us, is because of that.

Forbes has 5 million followers, and once it went to social media, it spread more than I would have ideally liked.

BRR: Does being on the radar now come with any additional challenges?

SD: I would not really term it challenging, although, initially our lawyers and accountants were taken a bit by surprise. The Forbes article was more of a tribute to my late father, and was more of an emotional moment for us.

BRR:  You have been in the successful business for decades in the world’s largest economy.  Could we draw any similarities and differences between how the USA and Pakistan go about doing business?  Pakistan’s ranking in Doing Business has worsened over time. So what is it that we lack and can learn from a market like the USA?

SD:  I have never done business in Pakistan, but from what I have observed is that the biggest difference in doing business in the USA versus that in Pakistan, is that the USA is the land of opportunities. You have got to be honest, sincere and law abiding – and you will be fine. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said about Pakistan with the same degree of confidence.

Secondly, lot of the business in the USA is done on credit, whereas, that in Pakistan it is heavily reliant on cash. To start a business, lot of equity is required in Pakistan, whereas, in the USA you can start a business with little equity. These are the two major differences I am aware of.

BRR: What is behind your motivation to back the academia in Pakistan? Where did the motivation come from?

SD: The academia thing is new to me. It has been a long time since I was in a college, and I dropped out in 1976, and got involved in business. There comes a point in life where making money is not the most important thing – giving back is. I got in touch with the Habib Group and they invited me to be part of their board. And it looked very encouraging, and I take it as a starting point to give back to the society.

I am honestly blown away from what I have seen here. I never thought that something like this [Habib University] existed in Pakistan. I consider myself very fortunate to be part of something as remarkable as Habib University, and am looking forward to contribute in any way possible.

BRR: You touched upon being a college dropout, yet hugely a successful businessman. The question that springs to the mind is can entrepreneurship be taught or is it something in the genes?

SD:  I personally believe that entrepreneurship cannot be taught; either you have it or you don’t. Everyone is cut out to be good at something or the other, and I think I am cut out for what I do. It has got to be in the genes, as from my experience, I see it runs in my family.

Almost 80 percent of even the brightest students, who do entrepreneurship from the likes of Harvard, start their own business, fail. They can learn from the best schools and best professors, but had entrepreneurship been taught, there would have been more successes than failures.

BRR: So what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?

SD:  It takes vision, courage, and determination to be an entrepreneur. The toughest part is getting started, and then it should follow with an appetite for risk taking. You will have ups and downs, but you have to be determined to last as an entrepreneur.  Entrepreneurship does not come easy, and anyone aspiring to be successful, must not look for short cuts and be ready to work hard. Also, when you succeed, always stay humble and keep your feet on the ground.

BRR: Do you think the corporate sector and the academia discourage or at least do not promote entrepreneurship to the extent it should be promoted? Are we not producing more employees from the business schools?

SD: That is correct. They are producing a lot of professionals; engineers, doctors, managers, but I do not know if there is a school here that is really geared upon just entrepreneurship. In the USA, I see this as it is a growing trend among millennial to go into their own business. Hopefully, it will catch up here in Pakistan too.

The linkage between corporate sector and academia needs to be stronger and deeper than it currently is. They want more, smarter and sharper employees, and not entrepreneurs.

BRR: From your experience in the USA, how much the problem is about Pakistan’s image in the USA? Has it improved over the years, and what could be done to improve it further?

SD: The Pakistani community has done a very good job in building a good image of the country in the USA. As hardworking, honest, law abiding citizens; as a community there has been a good collective effort.

But what dooms our reputation as a community is the perception of all the negativity that is associated with Pakistan. It is not a hindrance, but when people hear stories about Pakistan, they naturally tend to think differently of us.