Marine Drive to Chicago penthouse: The journey of entrepreneur Sanjay Shah

Till some months ago, few outside the business circles had heard of Chicago entrepreneur Sanjay Shah. Yes, he owns a business software company, Vistex Inc., which is estimated to be approaching $200 million in annual revenue.

Still, not many knew about the 46-year-old Gujarati Jain and a father of two daughters. But you can no longer fly below the radar once you buy an 89th floor penthouse (nearly 1,200 feet from the ground). And not just in any property but the Trump Tower in Chicago for a price of $17 million (Rs 105 crore approx) — a record in the city's residential real estate history.

Life, Shah says, has changed "quite dramatically" after the purchase. It instantly aroused the interest of media across the US and India. "People wondered, 'Who is this guy who just dropped $17 million on Donald Trump?'" Shah says laughingly in a phone interview from Chicago.

Trump was meant to keep the penthouse for himself. It took Shah two years of negotiation with Trump to bring down the apartment's listed price of $32 million to $17 million. He paid the sum in cash. There was no bank or financing involved, an aspect that resonates with his work as well.

Vistex is bootstrapped and has managed to keep investors at bay since its inception in 1999. Not surprisingly, after Shah became famous for being the new owner of the penthouse, he's been flooded with investment requests from private equity and venture capital firms.

Trophy apartment

Shah has put in a lot of money to acquire the penthouse, which is almost 15,000 sq feet in area, with a 16-18 feet high ceiling. He will spend $12-15 mil lion more on doing it up.

The understanding he had with Trump was that he would do justice to the space. "We are not going to cut corners because we want to make it into a truly e xempl a r y piece of residence," says Shah. "It will be elegant not ornate. So, no diamonds or gold." But it will remain his second home — Shah has homes in Germany and India as well.

As yet they have only had a New Year's Eve party for close friends there. Shah intends to use it for entertaining clients and hosting fund raising events. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago, close to his office, in an estate house, which he bought around the same time of starting Vistex. His home, which is roughly 10,000 sq feet, is spread across three levels, comprising six bedrooms, eight bathrooms and a gym room, where he exercises at night.

Call it the game fate plays. Shah says it's funny that while he's bought an apartment on the 89th floor, he grew up in an apartment on the first floor on Mumbai's Marine Drive.

Cloud and tech

The penthouse is on the 89th floor. But given the high ceilings of the apartments, it is akin to being on the 120th floor. "If it's cloudy, you're engulfed by cloud. It is interesting because in our world of business software, everything is moving to the cloud," Shah says. The apartment offers a 360 degree view that spans several landmarks — Navy Pier, United Center (the home of Chicago Bulls), North Shore, Lake Shore Drive, Wrigley Building and the Chicago river.

Who's this guy?

Shah describes himself as Indian at heart, American in the head and internationalist at work. He spent his formative years in South Mumbai, where his parents still live. He did his B Com from Sydenham College and cleared his CA simultaneously in 1988.

Shah then left for the US to do his MBA. He attended the same university — Lehigh University — as his idol Lee Iacocca, the chairman of Chrysler in the 1980s.

Entrepreneurial journey

At the time Shah was toying with the idea of starting something on his own, he was part of an elite, handpicked consulting group in SAP. He was, in fact, one of the early employees of SAP when it set up its US office in 1992.

His career not only gave him exposure to multiple countries but also helped in widening his contacts, which aided him in hiring the initial Vistex employees, a task which proved to be very difficult. The problem was although technology was hot at that time, not much attention was being paid to business software because of the dotcom mania.

Also, few Asian entrepreneurs had ventured into this aspect of tech business. "Everybody was doing consumer software; everybody was going to change the world," he recalls. Shah, who calls himself a lifestyle entrepreneur, wants to take Vistex public but is in no hurry. For now, he will enjoy a cloud or two of the real kind.

Favourite apparel brand

Shah's not much into clothing brands, but has a weak spot for Chicago's renowned Hart Schaffner Marx suits. "I like to buy their suits as a manifestation of my love for Chicago," says Shah. The brand's fame grew when Barack Obama wore their suits.

High flyer

Shah's passion is flying. Few people know that he's a licensed pilot. He got his basic pilot's license in 1992. Now he is flown around in his corporate jet — a Cessna Citation. "I can't live without my BlackBerry and this aircraft. It's a time machine for me," Shah says.