Harinder Singh arrived in the U.S. at age 14 with “dreams in his eyes.” He started his first venture at age 18 as a small clothing retailer in a shopping mall. At age 24, he ventured into the hospitality industry, and within a year he had a chain of Indian restaurants across Missouri.
“Leaders and entrepreneurs sacrifice and take risks to get where they are. Becoming an effective leader and successful entrepreneur takes time to occur. Instead of looking at tasks as risks or challenges, I saw them as opportunities to grow and overcome,” he said. “This allowed me to overcome my challenges faster and allowed me to learn. .
To support restaurant expansion, Singh wanted a central commissary. He acquired a defunct Italian frozen food manufacturing company by the name of Maria & Son, taking it out of bankruptcy and into a profit-making venture in just two years.
“It’s crucial to see any issue or challenge as an opportunity. You can learn and advance in your success by overcoming these difficulties; open-mindedness is the first step,” he said. “Maintaining a positive attitude is essential because failure is a part of life. I then grasp the issue by taking a broader view of the situation. I then focus more intently on the core issues. This enables me to comprehend the issue, address it, and find a workable solution.”
In 2018, he added a barbecue sauce manufacturing plant to the business. And in 2019, he acquired Mama Lucia’s “The original St. Louis style frozen pizza,” adding pizza manufacturing to the company as well. With each operation, Singh keeps core products that are performing well in the market and develops new items to meet customer demand.
“The most significant risk I took that helped me achieve my success today was entering the food manufacturing business. I took the risk of acquiring a bankrupt and closed food company, Maria and Son, in 1999. I relaunched new products and brought them back into the market, turning Maria and Son into an INC 5000 Company in 2021,” he said.
“It is a matter of pride for us that it has also been recognised as one of the fastest growing companies by Inc5000 for two years in a row. And that is just the beginning,” he said.
For others who want to succeed, Singh’s advice is simple: “Learn fast. Implement fast. Evaluate fast. Pivot fast. It’s all about speed.”
