Business owner. Lifelong learner. Human, first.
I build businesses. I collect experiences. I keep learning.
I've spent 28+ years building businesses, learning from people, and discovering that life has far more to teach us than any business plan ever could.
Now, I'm building NeerNation — and figuring out how to make the journey better for thousands of other business owners, too.
Still learning. Still curious. Still a work in progress.
The story behind the story
One industry. Many chapters. Plenty of plot twists.
My story started around water. At 19, I founded Apurva Water and began learning what it really takes to build a business.
Along the way, I explored Kinelectrolines, Xotik and Patanjali, made friends across India, and eventually sold Apurva Water to a private investor group, on the strength of well-deserved and well-built brand equity and valuation. Then I set off to find my ikigai — and started something new.
What happened next? That's where NeerNation enters the story.
Plot twist
Building NeerNation and helping other business owners grow.
The water connection
Some stories begin with a business. Mine began much earlier.
My family's journey in water treatment goes back to 1975. Growing up around this world, I couldn't have imagined just how much it would shape my future.
These old water-treatment plants came first: the machines, pipework and practical lessons that formed the world I grew up around.
Before the bottles, there was water treatment.
Then came Apurva Water
I started Apurva Water at 19.
What followed was a long, sometimes challenging, always educational journey of building a business, serving customers, developing relationships, and learning what it takes to keep going.
Along the way, I also explored Kinelectrolines, beverages through Xotik Jeeru, and the Patanjali Divyajal chapter.
India — my greatest classroom
I've travelled for business. I've stayed for the people.
For more than two decades, my role as National Secretary General of FIPMA and my association with state-level industry bodies have taken me to AGMs, meetings, and events across India.
My industry involvement also includes the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) technical committees FAD14, PCD21 and CHD-36 — another part of my connection with the technical side of this industry.
Along the way, I've made lifelong friends in different states — people who have supported me, welcomed me, shared their experiences, and enriched my life in ways I can never fully measure.
Then came the Patanjali Divyajal project. I travelled extensively, visited more than 1,000 plants, and worked on a network that ultimately involved over 80 manufacturing locations.
Not every visit became a deal. Not every meeting became a partnership. But many became friendships.
And a few moments with people I've admired along the way.
“The projects may end. The friendships stay.”
2016 – 2024
A chapter with Patanjali Divyajal.
From 2016 to 2024, I was CEO and shareholder in the Patanjali Divyajal venture. It was one of several chapters along my Apurva Water journey — and one that took my work across India.
I travelled extensively, visited more than 1,000 plants, and worked on a network that ultimately involved over 80 manufacturing locations. Behind those numbers were plant owners, teams and conversations — each with a different local reality.
This chapter brought together my experience in bottled water and the chance to work on a national scale. When I look back, the plants are part of the story. The people and friendships are just as much a part of it.
20,000
waterpreneurs by 2030 — the bigger ambition.
Because success isn't just about building a bigger business. It's about building a better life around it.
What I'm building now — NeerNation
Building Better Businesses & Better Lives.
I sold Apurva Water to follow my ikigai — the thing that makes getting up in the morning worth it. For me, that turned out to be this: helping business owners build better businesses and better lives.
After decades in the bottled water industry, I realised something: business owners need more than equipment, products, and suppliers. They need practical knowledge, trusted connections, access to expertise, and a community that understands their challenges.
That's why I'm building NeerNation — through industry education, NeerNation University, practical resources, technology, AI, and collaboration.
One of our flagship initiatives is Bottle Your Freedom — a practical learning journey designed around the realities of building a bottled water business.
My operating philosophy
I may not have all the answers. But I know how to find them.
Experience gives me perspective. Intuition helps me spot possibilities. Logic helps me evaluate them. Emotional intelligence helps me understand people. And curiosity keeps me asking questions. Sometimes, the real skill is knowing which questions to ask, where to look, whom to involve, and how to work towards the answer together.
Your network can be one of your greatest forms of wealth.
For me, a network isn't a list of contacts or business cards. It's built on trust, goodwill, shared experiences, and people willing to show up for one another. Over the years, the people I've met have taught me things no single project or textbook could have.
Intentions matter. Actions make them real.
I believe in approaching people with genuine intent, understanding their context, and looking for solutions that create value. Good intentions need integrity, effort, and consistency behind them.
I believe in the 5 AM Club. Only since the last decade, though.
Till my 30s I had never watched a sunrise. Somewhere in the last ten years that changed — I now wake up around 5 a.m., and the morning has quietly become the most useful part of my day.
I'm not here to pretend I know everything. I'm here to listen, think, connect, and help us make better choices together.
The student within me
Experience is valuable. Staying curious is priceless.
Over the last year, I've invested deeply in my own learning.
The goal isn't to know everything. It's to keep getting better.
Mentors I've learned from include my Mama Sanjeev Vora, my Mama Gautam Patel from the USA, Thaddeus Lawrence, Mac Attaram, Blair Singer, Siddharth Rajshekhar, Surendran Jayasekar, and Dr. Velumani.
The work on the inside
Building a business is one thing. Building yourself is another.
I've learned that ambition means very little if you don't take care of the person doing the building.
I quit smoking in 2012 and alcohol in 2013. Since 2023, I eat before sunset. In 2025, I completed my first half marathon alongside my daughter — a reminder that it's never too late to challenge yourself.
My mornings usually begin around 5 a.m., with time for prayer, Swadhyay, meditation, reading, and exercise.
Jain philosophy has influenced the way I see the world, particularly Ahimsa, Anekantavada, and the practice of observing rather than reacting.
Still learning to live these more fully. No claims of having life figured out!
Home ground
Family. The reason for all of it.
Husband, father, son, and friend. Before any business, there was a family — and everything I build comes back to them.
My grandparents were among the biggest influences in my life. Their example belongs at the beginning of the story, not at its edges.
And then there are the three strongest ladies in my life — three generations, and a strength I continue to draw from.
The influences behind everything I became.
What each of them taught me
- My maternal grandparents
- Frugality and simplicity.
- My paternal grandparents
- Investing and agility.
- My father
- Learning.
- My mother
- Perseverance.
- My wife
- Discipline.
- My daughters
- Living in the moment — still learning this one.
Beyond business
The things that make me feel alive.
🎵 Live music is my happy place.
From Michael Jackson and Lata Mangeshkar to Sonu Nigam, Atif Aslam, Arijit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, Bryan Adams, Farhan Akhtar, Papon, Prateek Kuhad and Anuv Jain. I especially love discovering independent artists and young musicians.
😂 A good laugh goes a long way.
Samay Raina and Kapil Sharma. Life can be serious enough on its own.
🌊 A beach, a mountain, or a trail.
Travelling with friends, swimming in natural surroundings, hiking, exploring.
🍽️ Local food. Jain style.
Finding people who can recreate a regional speciality as thoughtful, delicious Jain food.
✨ The good stuff, really.
Music. Conversations. Nature. Laughter. Friends. Food. Business is a big part of my life. It isn't my entire personality.
Shekhar Jakhete
My closest business partner and personal friend, from Jalgaon.
🤝 The people, mostly.
Friends from different chapters of life — and group photos where everyone's trying to fit into the same frame.
What matters to me
Six things I try to live by.
Integrity over shortcuts.
Trust takes time to build.
Learning over ego.
Almost everyone can teach you something.
People over transactions.
Relationships matter beyond immediate outcomes.
Perspective over being right.
There's often more than one way to see a situation.
Freedom over endless busyness.
A business should improve your life, not become your entire life.
Impact over applause.
What matters is whose life became better because you were here.
These aren't boxes I've permanently ticked. They're principles I keep trying to live by.
A few more things about me
- Family man
- Husband, father, son, and friend.
- Business experience
- 28+ years.
- Industry leadership
- Over two decades.
- Lifelong learner
- Books, podcasts, mentors, and real-world experiences.
- Morning person
- Up around 5 a.m. — a 5 AM Club believer of the last decade.
- Fitness milestone
- First half marathon in 2025, alongside my daughter.
- Food philosophy
- Jain vegetarian. Eating before sunset since 2023.
- Ikigai
- The reason for getting up in the morning — NeerNation.
- Current mission
- Building NeerNation and helping business owners grow.
- Philosophy
- Stay curious, stay grounded, keep moving forward.
So, what's your story?
Maybe you're building a business. Maybe you're figuring out your next chapter. Maybe we share an interest in the bottled water industry, personal growth, music, travel, or simply living a little more consciously.
I may not have the answer ready. But I might know where to look, whom to ask, or how we can figure it out together.
No formalities. No perfect pitch needed. Just say hello.
Or scan to chat on WhatsApp.