Draft:Raj Dhonota

Raj Dhonota is a serial entrepreneur and investor in start-up businesses. His business ventures span ecommerce, property, language translation, network marketing, recruitment, fashion and consumer goods. Raj Dhonota first came to the public eye as a candidate on the first series of The Apprentice in 2009 but has essentially been self-employed and involved in starting and growing businesses for over 15 years. Raj runs mentorship programmes for growing businesses, and is involved with a number of business ventures. His unique expertise lies in helping businesses take advantage of new and emerging economies such as the BRICS countries.

Early life
Raj was born and raised in Kent. From his very early years he had a huge fascination with people who were in control of their own business. His strongest memory was of his uncle who was an extremely successful and assured businessman. Raj recalls visiting several of his businesses and imagining what an amazing feeling it must have been for his uncle to have started and grown so many businesses. This proved to be the start of his entrepreneurial journey. Raj studied Law at Anglia Ruskin University and, after narrowly missing out on First Class Honours Degree by 2%, decided against pursuing a career in Law and went to work for HSBC Bank. After 12 months with HSBC, he left to pursue his calling in business.

Bankrupcy
Raj’s first business venture was a new concept for the property market. Whilst the business was innovative and expanded threefold, it continued to make losses which Raj could not financially support. After 18 months, Raj made the decision to close the business down, and at the same time enter into personal bankruptcy. Because of the bankruptcy regulations at that time, Raj was not able to start another business of his own for three years. He moved in and out of jobs, trying to find something that truly satisfied him, but to no avail.

The Apprentice
It was towards the end of his bankruptcy in early 2004 that Raj saw the advert on the BBC website for the first series of The Apprentice. He was very close to finalising plans for his next business venture but was so intrigued by the idea of competing against, what was marketed as, the 14 best entrepreneurs the country had to offer. He was selected as one of the final candidates out of thousands of applicants and made it to 6th place in the series (lasting 8 weeks on the show), which was eventually won by Tim Campbell MBE.

First Success
Having been released from his Bankruptcy at the end of 2004, Raj set up his business Global Proximity, which focused on outsourcing data entry projects to India. Within three years he grew the business into a multi-million pound business and then sold it in order to have the funds to pursue ventures that he had a real passion for. It was a good and very profitable business but not where his heart lay. Over the next four years, Raj took the time to develop these exciting ventures. Never being one for sitting idle, he took time to refresh, consulted for various companies and in parallel oversaw the creation of his new businesses.

Today
Today Raj splits his time between his own ventures, those businesses he has invested in and on mentoring/advising start up or growing businesses.

The businesses that Raj is involved in include:

Igniva Solutions is a software development firm that specialises in website and mobile application development, desktop software development and online marketing.

InstantTranslation.com which offers individuals and businesses real time language translation from certified translators for just a few pence or cents per word.

Step Overseas launched in November 2013 as the world’s first global property portal designed to help realtors and property developers take advantage of the wealth and buying power of overseas buyers from countries including China, Russia, India, Brazil and others.

Vendimal which launched in December 2013 is a global ecommerce platform that opens up international markets to manufacturers, wholesalers and online sellers. Life’s Dream launched in February 2014 with the aim of giving ordinary people all the support and knowledge they need to succeed in business without having to take any major risks.

Launching April 2014, ShoesAboutTown.com is the ultimate place to get those shoes for that night out or for that special occasion.

Mentoring
Raj generally mentors the businesses in which he invests in, and also runs mentorship programs for other companies who approach him for help in reaching a particular goal. Raj operates a structured mentorship program, drawing on his own varied experiences and putting businesses in touch with other specialist mentors. He aims to help companies avoid unnecessary or expensive mistakes which result from a lack of experience or knowledge.

Voluntary work
As well as his own commercial interests and investments, Raj is involved in a number of schemes that are set up to help nurture entrepreneurial talent. He often donates his time to mentoring school children through schemes such as Apps for Good ,as well as providing advice and guidance through public speaking and The Start-Up Academy He is also very active in charity work and has recently set up The Caring Enterprise Scheme that aims to recognise businesses that are willing to pledge percentage of their profits to good causes each year. Raj is a strong believer that we should all do our bit to help improve the world we live in regardless of our own position because there are always others that are worse off than us.

Start Up Fund
In January 2014, Raj launched a £1M Start Up Fund aimed at helping to establish two startup businesses a week by a providing finance, resources, expertise, contacts, and a fixed growth plan. Funded personally by Raj, through a combination of his business ventures, the start up fund is open to startups in all sectors, and people of all ages.

In The Media
Following his appearance in The Apprentice and the launch of his £1M start up fund, Raj has been heavily featured in the business press including; BusinessZone.co.uk, Real Business , Business Today , Fresh Business Thinking , HR Review , Is4Profit , Business Matters , Elite Business , Director and Talk Business.

As well as this, Raj has been featured within regional and national newspapers including Kent Online, The Independent , Daily Mirror and The Guardian.

Furthermore, Raj is a regular blogger for the Huffington Post.

Personal life
Raj currently lives in Keston Park, Kent with his wife and seven-month old son. He is a keen traveller and often stays in his villa in Turkey. Outside of work, Raj enjoys going to the gym, playing badminton, squash and boxing.