Nilesh Makwana values connection over networking
Perth entrepreneur and award-winning author Nilesh Makwana not only crossed the bridge from struggling international student to successful businessman, he’s left behind a trail of breadcrumbs so others can follow his path.
Brought up in a small town in Gujarat, India, the softly spoken and refreshingly humble co-founder of IT firm Illuminance Solutions has become a beacon of hope for migrants.
From selling glow in the dark stickers to his friends in the playground to running a successful consulting and software application development company, Nilesh has made it his life’s work to embody Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy and be the change he wishes to see in the world.
In 2021 Illuminance Solutions, which employs staff from 26 different nationalities, won the State Government’s Western Australia Multicultural Business Award.
Before that, the inaugural 2019 Microsoft Global Partner of the Year – Partner for Social Impact.
That same year, Nilesh received the Rising Star Award for Diversity at the Belmont and Western Australian Small Business Awards.
“We open the door for minority groups because at the end of the day everybody has some sort of skill to offer – we welcome everyone whether you are disabled, young, old, student or a refugee,” he said.
At his core, the Master of Commerce in Information Systems graduate isn’t driven by a desire to conquer the business world. Instead, Nilesh is on a mission to ensure others are given the opportunities he wished he had when he first arrived in Perth as an international student.
“Everybody says ‘be the change you wish to see’, but how do you live by that on a daily basis? We talk about a fair go here in Australia but when there are people struggling and they want a chance, do we really give them a fair go?” he asked.
Creating opportunities
When Nilesh arrived in Perth as a student in 2012, he encountered the all too familiar hardships many other migrants face. Despite more than a decade’s worth of tech experience in the United Kingdom and Mumbai, he struggled to find a job.
Up against the outdated tropes that migrants were only useful for cheap labour, Nilesh decided to create his own business opportunities.
“Migrants sadly were seen as only good for driving Ubers or working in petrol stations, or cleaning jobs, but not necessarily in a professional services role and it is still the case,” he said.
Together with his business partner Vincent Lam, he started Illuminance Solutions in 2012. With their competitors focused on the resources sector and government work, the pair went in the opposite direction and focused on the non-profit sector.
While his entire business philosophy has been built on making a strong social impact, Nilesh’s desire to encourage other migrants to break through unjust barriers has gone a step further with the release of his award-winning book, Terminal 4 – An Entrepreneur’s Journey from Bicycle to Business Class.
The Booktopia bestseller tracks his journey from high school dropout to visionary entrepreneur.
Terminal 4 serves as a blueprint on how to succeed at university, build a business, nourish a network and bounce back after a failure.
But true to his character, the book was never intended as a tool to blow his own trumpet.
Nilesh hoped that by sharing his experiences as a migrant, he could help ignite that little spark for international students, immigrants and budding entrepreneurs everywhere to overcome their own adversity.
“The whole purpose of the book was to help migrants settle into their new country or entrepreneurs who are starting a business– the book is designed for them,” he said.
Top takeaways from Terminal 4
Propelled by his ambition to live a life with purpose, Nilesh encourages the next generation of leaders to build a eulogy instead of a resume and to develop real human connections instead of just making contacts.
“When you die, people will talk about what a great neighbour you were, or a great colleague, son, father, or boss, not that you were a CEO or a chairman,” he said.
“If you’re building your eulogy and people actually like you, they want to promote you, they want to hire you, and they want to do business with you. Your resume and your contact list will start to get built up anyway.
“And the second thing is don’t network but connect. People usually network because of the title but when you connect with the person, you are connected forever and that person could be employed or unemployed, or they could go on to achieve amazing things.”
Creating an exemplary eulogy
In creating his own commendable eulogy, Nilesh has also co-founded the non-profit organisation Borderless Gandhi with his artist wife Lene Makwana.
It aims to promote Gandhi’s teachings, values and philosophies through art and social media.
“We wanted to launch something which is global in nature and positions Perth as a peaceful, non-violent city where everyone is equal,” he said.
Despite Nilesh’s multitude of awards and achievements, he remains grounded and hopes his journey to success will not only become his greatest legacy but will blaze the trail for the next wave of migrants.
A reminder of what truly matters for Nilesh came at the launch of his book when despite having WA Premier Mark McGowan in attendance, it was his father’s presence that filled him with the most pride.
“It would be a big moment in anybody’s life but for me, it was made extra special and very emotional as my father was on the stage and my friends and family were in the audience. What can replace that?” he said.
“It was this big moment and a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life, and that’s when I realised the real awards are your family and the people around you, supporting you every step of the way.”
Written by Raquel de Brito.
