Cover Story Article: Roadless Travelled Chan Patel Interview by Karuna Pai

This is the inspirational journey of a man hailing from Mumbai, India who landed in USA in 1965. His path led him to prestigious schools from Stanford to Johns Hopkins University. He came out carrying a vision of financial independence. A man who refused to be a cog in someone else's wheel and was on a mission to start his own venture. He took risks and made some bold moves and became the first pioneering Indian to open hotels in Dallas in 1976. He didn't stop there; he recognized a need to help fellow immigrant Indians without credit or capital and was passionate to start a bank. Against all odds, he opened State Bank of Texas in 1987.

We are talking about none other than Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of State Bank of Texas - Mr. Chandrakant Patel aka Chan Patel.

Top Pick Media had the privilege of hearing his grit to greatness journey, one filled with sacrifice, perseverance and triumph.

Karuna: You have a very accomplished educational background, with degrees from Mumbai, Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities. What role has education played in shaping your career and business?

Chan: Education is the most important aspect in anyone's life and will always help you in anything you undertake. In Banking terms, we have a Balance Sheet- which is a statement of Assets and Liabilities. So, education is an asset, and the important point about this asset is, it never depreciates but only appreciates. It has definitely played a very big role in all the successes I got in my life

Karuna: You were the first Indian to open hotels in the metroplex in 1976, and grew from 1 to 13 hotels. Your success, in turn inspired other Indians to move to Dallas and open hotels. What were some challenges you had to overcome building this business?

Chan: I was the First Indian hotel owner in Dallas. As far as challenges are concerned, I didn't face much, the difference being my education and professional background (laughs). Owning and running a hotel is a no brainer, especially independent hotels. But, the big sacrifice I made was on my personal life- we moved from our house to live in the hotel, which was tough but had to be done.

Fellow Patels saw my success and moved to Dallas to start their own hotels. Within two years between all of us combined there were 17 to 18 hotels on the same street.

Karuna: Despite the ups and downs in the banking industry, what inspired you to start a bank, learn the trade, and build a profitable enterprise over 3 decades?

Chan: All of us hoteliers back then banked at Trinity National Bank on Fort Worth Ave. I would often get called by the President of the bank to cosign loans for other Patels, which I did. I knew they were good guys, who just didn't believe in borrowing money, so didn't own credit cards therefore their credit reports would be blank. That inspired me to start a bank and help them However, securing the capital was another issue. I had a tough time, raising the 2 million dollars to start the bank. This was also during the RTC (Resolution Trust Corporation) days in 1986-87, when banks were failing and no one was willing to help me since I did not know A-B-C of banking.

At that point, I came up with the idea that if anybody invested $100,000 which would amount to 5% ownership in the bank, I would make them professional bankers and put them on the Board of Directors. Within 2 weeks I got 10 investors with $100,000 & opened State Bank of Texas

I told my shareholders that it was now time to prove to the community that Patels can not only run hotels but they can also run a bank. So we all started working at the bank at no salary, (we had other income which helped). The women trained at new account school and teller school and the men went to the key punch schools. We had only one paid employee.

Within 6 months, the bank made a profit and in the last 30 years has never declared a loss. I kept my promise to my investors to retain them on the board till I couldn't vote anymore and till date I have the same board. Today the bank is worth 400 million dollars.

Karuna: Community Well being and Give Back is very important to you, and State Bank of Texas has changed several lives. Can you share an instance where your bank impacted a client's life?

Chan: First and foremost, I would say Financial Independence. I encourage everybody to quit their jobs and go into business for themselves, (laughs reassuringly) I agree is very difficult to do and needs courage. The start is very difficult but Perseverance is the key. I highly recommend this to anyone in our community; in fact all my children are self-employed! Second is Education, it plays a very important role. Finally Hard Work, especially in this country if you work hard, I guarantee 99%, you will be successful.

Karuna: They say success depends on the strength of your relationships, who are some key people who helped you achieve your goals?

Chan: The number one person is my wife; she has supported me all the way. Any time I was ready to start a new venture she has always stood by me.

Number two are my investors. I remember, when I started this bank, I had tough time raising capital (nervous laugh)! The day they came to me with their $100,000 investment, still means a lot to me to this day. Though I have rewarded them tremendously, I am very thankful to them.

Karuna: What are some important life-lessons you have shared with your children, which will help them carry on your legacy?

Chan: Ethics is very important; without ethics, you may experience short term success, but if you have ethics you can count on long term success! Being a banker, I am the fiduciary officer, managing one billion dollars of other people's deposits, so obviously I am trusted by the FDIC, who has verified me and has faith that I am an honest person. So I would add Honesty to be the number one principle, and what is important is, being honest even when no one is watching you.

Karuna: You experienced a life changing incident at a young age, you survived a heart attack. In what way did this change your life? karuna: You experienced a life changing incident at a young age, you survived a heart attack. In what way did this change your life?

Chan: I am 74 years old and I was half my age when I had my heart attack at 37! It changed my life tremendously; I was in shock for 6 months. The first lesson I learnt from this was 'delegation of authority'. Before my heart attack I used to micro manage my hotels, but had to stop after my attack. After 6 months of not micro managing, I noticed that my P&L remained the same! I said to myself, this is like “the dog that walked underneath the bullock cart thinking he was the one running it” (laughs). So I implemented this lesson in my life& the principles I had learned at Stanford and Johns Hopkins. I am very happy to say, that most of my financial success came after my heart attack. Secondly, it changed my Life Style. I became an unofficial cardiologist; in those 6 months while recovering at home I studied cardiology. I also attended the ACC (American College of Cardiology) conventions. Now, when anyone in my community has a heart attack, I visit him/her and share my experiences to help them.

Karuna: What advise do you have for maintaining balance in life while pursuing career at the same time?

Chan: The most important advice I can give here is that Money is not everything! It is hard to believe; when you don't have money, it does feel like money is everything but when you gain a certain level, you will realize that it isn't, because you cannot take it with you when you are gone (laughs). The important goal you should have is to help members of your family, maintain good relationship with the society and earn a good reputation in your community and friends circle. Achieving this will give you more satisfaction than being rich.

Concluding Message: It is true that I have been successful in hotel business, in my airline career and in banking. But, I've had failures as well and that is also part of life. Not every new project initiated will be successful, however, if you experience failure in your very first project, it could be hard to absolve. So, I would suggest starting your first project with a conservative approach and once you succeed in a few you can start taking risks. But the key to success is education, hard work, honesty and perseverance and sooner or later it will pay off.