00:00:00 – 00:00:08 Nitin Bajaj

Hey everyone, welcome to the industry show. I’m your host, Nitin Bajaj, and joining me today is Kenny Dewan. Kenny, welcome on the show.

00:00:08 – 00:00:10 Kenny Dewan

Thank you, Nitin. Good to be back.

00:00:10 – 00:00:15 Nitin Bajaj

Great to have you back. Now, let’s start with: who is Kenny?

00:00:16 – 00:00:34 Kenny Dewan

It’s been a journey. It’s been some time. You know, I was 18 years old when I came to this country with $400 in my pocket and after a few different businesses, and now two different nonprofits, it’s come along pretty well. It’s come along pretty well, and I’m very grateful, very, very grateful.

00:00:35 – 00:00:59 Kenny Dewan

I now have a mission that I’m working towards, and my mission is to positively impact 1 million lives, one person at a time. It’s a huge statement, but I measure progress through lives changed, families supported, and hope restored. And I pursue this mission four different ways.

00:00:59 – 00:01:36 Kenny Dewan

ACUA, which is the behavioral healthcare company that I founded in California, we operate mental health and treatment facilities all over California, saving thousands of lives every month. Pratham. I’m honored to be a board member at Pratham, and I started a nonprofit called MRF, Mahalo Recovery Foundation, three years ago. Very proud. We’re saving lives, helping people with financial aid, and now Together in Giving that I started two years ago. So I use these four different ways to achieve my mission in life and pursue it.

00:01:37 – 00:01:47 Nitin Bajaj

Kenny, first off, congratulations. I have known you now for a few years, and you’re the most humble person. You’ve had tremendous success.

00:01:48 – 00:01:55 Nitin Bajaj

And when you say things have been going well, that’s, I know, an understatement, and that’s proof of your humility.

00:01:56 – 00:02:13 Nitin Bajaj

I love the work you do. I love your passion. I love your support, helping children, women, youth, and people that need help, being there, supporting them, and truly changing lives and impacting them in a positive way. So kudos to everything you do.

00:02:13 – 00:02:15 Kenny Dewan

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you.

00:02:16 – 00:02:33 Nitin Bajaj

Now, like many immigrants, you could have done many things with your time, including making more money. What drove you to do this instead? What’s the why behind what you do?

00:02:34 – 00:03:02 Kenny Dewan

Good question. Yeah. You know, I think in everyone’s life, there comes a time when you realize that you’re not taking it with you, right? You got to leave everything, all your bank balances and assets, you got to leave it behind, right? And so you start thinking, what will you leave behind? What positive impact can you make while whatever time you have left, right? And each of us have a different time.

00:03:02 – 00:03:37 Kenny Dewan

Hey, we could get hit by a car driving on a freeway, and our time is over, right? That’s how simple it could be. But let’s just say you got 20, 30, 40 years left, right? I personally, from my experience three, four years ago, experienced after I exited my last company, that I needed to do more. I was very grateful that I was part of a business that we were treating and helping people with mental health and addiction treatment. So that itself gave me a great mission in life.

00:03:37 – 00:04:14 Kenny Dewan

But then when I exited my company, I realized that I think I can do more. That’s when I joined Pratham, and then I started MRF and TIG. Hey, whichever the guy is upstairs or the woman, the God up there, hopefully when we get up there, they can ask you, what did that one thing that you did that helped other human beings who needed help? And that’s the key, right? There’s so many people in our lives who need more help, and if we are in a position to help, then we must. And that’s kind of my foundation where I come from, is if I can do it, I will.

00:04:16 – 00:04:33 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. And that’s one answer for sure you’re going to nail because you have so many options. Now, tell us about Together in Giving. What’s the mission, the vision, and the impact you want to create, but also what you’ve already done in the very short time it’s been around?

00:04:34 – 00:05:12 Kenny Dewan

Yes. I started, I founded Together in Giving, a nonprofit, 501(3), to put families together. So it’s based on families. It’s not based on individuals. It’s based on families coming together and who are also in the same state of life where they have a second generation who are adults. So most of the families we have in Together in Giving have young adult second generation kids. And we are all in a space where we understand that, hey, 99% of what we own and have are going to pass on to this younger generation.

00:05:12 – 00:05:49 Kenny Dewan

And the two major goals are, if we can accomplish the second generation to be humble and smart. And those are the two key things, humble and smart. Humble because financially they’re all well off, the second generation. They have more money that they can spend. So that’s important that they realize that, right? So they need to be humble about it. And smart is they need to know how to manage that money, how to use it in different ways, but also more importantly, sharing that wealth with people who need more help. So that’s what Together in Giving is about.

00:05:49 – 00:06:20 Kenny Dewan

We have around 60 members. We get together six times a year. Two of those times we travel. We get together. The bonds are greater, better when you travel. We have fun, but more importantly, we learn from each other. And the most important part is we have selected local nonprofit charities, local charities who need our help, where we can go and participate with them and of course financially help them.

00:06:21 – 00:06:34 Nitin Bajaj

You know, I’m a big fan. I love the cause. I love how you’re bringing families, making sure the next generation stays humble but smart and has their heart in the right place. They’re grateful for what they have.

00:06:34 – 00:06:53 Nitin Bajaj

But the one thing that struck me the most was the way you have set this up. So 100% of the funds that come in go towards these causes, and you’re underwriting every other expense. Together in Giving is taking on. So that is so amazing.

00:06:54 – 00:07:12 Kenny Dewan

Yeah. When I first started the nonprofit, I had a little good experience with Pratham and MRF. So when I started Together in Giving, I wanted to do something unique, something different, but also take out the hesitation that people have when they join nonprofits, right?

00:07:13 – 00:08:02 Kenny Dewan

So the two of the biggest hesitations that people have is where is the money going? Who is getting paid? Where are the salaries? Who is managing them? And I wanted to do something where that question kind of goes away completely. And so what we have is 100% of member contribution goes 100% to charities selected by members. Not 1% is spent on administration or operational costs. And that’s what I think we are unique in the nonprofit world. We stand out. Hopefully there’s nobody anybody else who knows that, but maybe people will get it. 100% given to charities selected by members. All the operating costs are on me, which is the founder, and I’m happy to do that.

00:08:03 – 00:08:26 Kenny Dewan

At the same time, I also am doing this just for me to learn from other smart people. We have some amazing people in Together in Giving, people who have accomplished great things in life, both just by being humble, by being smart, by being hardworking. And when you surround yourself with good, smart people who are at the same time humble, you learn from them.

00:08:26 – 00:08:45 Kenny Dewan

So that’s the other part. You know, we give to people who need it. We learn from people who we surround ourselves with. And that works really well with the current members we have. We want to grow this, but not too much that it gets out of control. We feel that we can have around 100 members here in Southern California.

00:08:46 – 00:09:16 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. You’re right. There is a way to do this and do it right. And I think you’ve found the right balance, the right formula to do it. Now, people, good causes and challenges and beneficiaries that need the help. Lots of moving parts. I’m sure there’s many challenges you have had to work through and continue to. But if you had to call out the biggest one, what would that challenge be?

00:09:18 – 00:09:31 Kenny Dewan

Time. Time for sure. We all take up so much in our lives, right? You, I know you’re amazing, the work that you do and the show that you put up, right? We are all challenged with time. That’s something that you cannot buy, right?

00:09:32 – 00:09:49 Kenny Dewan

Between the work, the businesses, the family, health, you know, activities, you have to create time for just charity work, nonprofit work that is for other people. And that’s the biggest challenge, not only for just other members, but for me and our board.

00:09:50 – 00:10:06 Kenny Dewan

We have a great board. We have some amazing people on our board who have done amazing work in their lives. We got Usha Patel, we got Nikki Sood, we got Raj Thaker, we got Amar Shankar Das, we got Mayan Patel, just amazing people who have accomplished so much in their lives, right?

00:10:06 – 00:10:20 Kenny Dewan

But just like me, time is a challenge. And how do they create that extra little time, that extra little time for TIG, for nonprofit work? That’s the biggest challenge.

00:10:20 – 00:10:29 Nitin Bajaj

So true. Now, on the flip side of challenges come opportunities. What’s the one that you’re most excited about?

00:10:29 – 00:10:55 Kenny Dewan

In Together in Giving, the most excited I am is when our younger generation gets it, right? That is the biggest satisfaction for me because I can do this for 10, 20, 30 years, right? But if my kids, my daughter and my son get it, right? If they start thinking the same way, which they are, which they are, they can continue for the next 100 years. And that’s the part that makes me feel the most happiest.

00:10:56 – 00:11:12 Nitin Bajaj

I agree with that. It’s extremely important to not just have buy-in from them, but for them to be excited about this. Because at the end of the day, if they’re excited, they’re a part of it, it’s theirs. They’re definitely going to make sure it doesn’t survive, it thrives.

00:11:12 – 00:11:24 Kenny Dewan

Yeah. I have a family goal, Nitin. It’s a goal between me, my wife Rajika, my daughter Rhea, and my son Kavi. It’s a goal, just the four of us. Obviously, we want to learn from other members.

00:11:24 – 00:11:38 Kenny Dewan

Goal number one, we want to become smarter and more humble. That’s our goal, right? And if each one of us can do that, that itself is a huge accomplishment. But you got to put some financial part to it just to make it more meaningful.

00:11:38 – 00:12:08 Kenny Dewan

So we set up our goal, a financial goal for this nonprofit charity. We said as a family, the first year we will start with 100,000. So the first year we actually gave $123,000 from our family towards the nonprofit, Together in Giving. And we said every year we’ll continue to increase that amount. That’s the goal. Every year we increase that amount of what our family puts into the Together in Giving, which all of it goes to people who need help, right?

00:12:09 – 00:12:37 Kenny Dewan

And I said one day, hopefully one day, before I pass out, before I go away, a million dollars a year. That’s the goal. That the Devan family will contribute a million dollars to the nonprofit, Together in Giving. And that’s a personal goal. Hopefully we get there. You know, we have to work. We have to do well in our business to take that money and give it to Together in Giving. But it’s a good goal. It’s a good goal for all four of us. And we continue to pursue it.

00:12:38 – 00:12:43 Nitin Bajaj

Kenny, knowing you, you beat every goal you set. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re there in two years.

00:12:45 – 00:12:57 Kenny Dewan

Let’s see. Let’s see. It’s a family goal and all four of us have to work towards it. I think it’ll take some time, but hey, it keeps us focused and it keeps us humble. And that’s the key.

00:12:57 – 00:13:25 Nitin Bajaj

So true. Now, as we look forward, I like to use this moment to pause and reflect. I’d love to invite you to share two moments from your past life. One where things did not work out as you had expected. There was disappointment, lessons, maybe some failures. And another instance where things exceeded your expectations and became a success beyond your imagination.

00:13:26 – 00:13:32 Kenny Dewan

Absolutely. And I’m assuming this is business related or is it personal?

00:13:32 – 00:13:33 Nitin Bajaj

Whatever works the best for you.

00:13:34 – 00:14:10 Kenny Dewan

Let’s just talk about business, right? First, I’m a risk taker. I’m an adventurer. So, you know, about 11, 12 years ago, we had the shale, the oil Bakken Shale going on in North Dakota, where they were pumping oil and it was a great thing happening in North Dakota. I, like a crazy adventurer, moved my entire real estate business to North Dakota. While I was still based in California, I took my entire team, I moved it to North Dakota, and I developed housing. That’s what I was doing, real estate housing to lease it to the oil companies.

00:14:11 – 00:14:47 Kenny Dewan

I did my first project with about 40 homes, did very well, and then sold it. And then I doubled down and I wanted to build 160 townhomes, right? What I underestimated is the winter in North Dakota and also the utilities. The utilities were not coming to the site. I was the only developer in the history of North Dakota who was actually building in sub-zero temperatures in the winter. The city officials would come to me and say, “Are you crazy? You guys should go home. Nobody builds here in the winter. The land is frozen.”

00:14:47 – 00:15:25 Kenny Dewan

And it took me longer. I did not understand how to work through the winter, which is very challenging. It took me longer. And by the time I brought utilities to the land, the oil had dropped. It went from $100, it had dropped to below $30. And economically, that business was no longer viable. And so I own a lot of land, which I’m not sure if I’ll ever develop, but it was a good learning lesson that I think you can try a lot, but you cannot fight the environment. You cannot fight the surroundings. It was a good business lesson. It was a good business lesson.

00:15:26 – 00:15:41 Kenny Dewan

And the other lesson in life is health. You know, I’ve always been focused on work and always been focused on something that I’m passionate about. But as you get older, if you don’t take care of your health, you cannot help others. And that’s the reality.

00:15:42 – 00:16:01 Nitin Bajaj

So true. Kenny, again, thank you for always being so transparent. I’m sure as we learn lessons, it’s also that process is not easy, but more so to state it out openly, even more difficult. So really appreciate you being you and helping us all learn.

00:16:01 – 00:16:05 Kenny Dewan

And Nitin, I don’t know if you remember that I’m a cancer survivor.

00:16:06 – 00:16:06 Nitin Bajaj

Yes.

00:16:06 – 00:16:31 Kenny Dewan

So in 2007, I was diagnosed with a tumor there, right? And that was in 2007. So now it’s almost 20 years. I’m a cancer survivor for 20 years. So this is my second life. So very grateful, very grateful that I’m here. I’m still healthy and I’m still going moving forward. And hopefully I would have done some good things in my life by the time I leave.

00:16:32 – 00:17:03 Nitin Bajaj

Oh, not hopefully. You already have done many. And honestly, when I said past life, I do remember that. And that’s why I mentioned it. And again, Kenny, it’s amazing all the work, all the contributions, all the smiles and joy you bring to people. So really appreciate that. Now, outside of all of this, which is more than a full plate, what do you do to de-stress? I mean, I think I see a hint behind there.

00:17:04 – 00:17:10 Kenny Dewan

This is a podcast. It’s called Dancing with Kenny. It’s only for our employees at Akua.

00:17:11 – 00:17:20 Kenny Dewan

We have a large healthcare company that I’m still, I’m the chairman of the board. And our treatment facilities are all over California, all the way from Sacramento to San Diego.

00:17:21 – 00:17:38 Kenny Dewan

And during COVID, we were going through some struggles. We did not know where things would land. You know, every other day we would hear that we have to close down or people cannot work closely together. It was a very challenging time.

00:17:38 – 00:17:54 Kenny Dewan

And I had to do something to just create motivation and hope. More than anything, it’s just hope between our employees that, hey, we’re still doing great work here. We are helping people who need help. And let’s not allow this COVID to distract us, even though it was unavoidable.

00:17:54 – 00:18:00 Kenny Dewan

I created this podcast. It’s called Dancing with Kenny. Not that I’m a good dancer. I’m a terrible dancer. So don’t worry about that.

00:18:00 – 00:18:03 Nitin Bajaj

You’re an amazing dancer. I’ve seen you in action.

00:18:04 – 00:18:21 Kenny Dewan

So it’s a podcast, Nitin, with all our Akua employees. I do it once a month. I started it during COVID and I continue doing it. We get together, it’s on Zoom, and we have close to 100 people who come and attend.

00:18:21 – 00:18:36 Kenny Dewan

And we talk about life. We talk about life. We bring in some alumni who have been through our treatment to share their experiences. And it is quite emotional. We cry. We cry because we talk in life here, right? So.

00:18:36 – 00:18:46 Kenny Dewan

And we feel good that we are doing some great work. And at the end of the show, we always dance. We put on some good music and we all dance. So it’s a good thing.

00:18:46 – 00:18:52 Kenny Dewan

It’s been going on for almost five and a half, six years. And. Very grateful that I have this opportunity with my team members.

00:18:53 – 00:19:02 Nitin Bajaj

And I know your team members love it. I’ve had the chance to speak to quite a few of them. And again, you make it fun. They love and respect you and it goes a long way.

00:19:03 – 00:19:38 Kenny Dewan

I want to share some things so that our business, Akua, is very challenging. So think about it this way. The clients, our patients who come to us, by the time they come to us, Nitin, their family members, their loved ones have already tried everything. So whether it’s the father, mother, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, or husband, husband, wife, they’ve tried. They’ve tried with therapists, they’ve tried with doctors, they’ve tried treatments, medication. They’ve tried so much, so much to help their loved one, right?

00:19:40 – 00:20:02 Kenny Dewan

And now, two, three, four, five years later, they’ve reached a stage where nothing is working. Nothing is working. And that’s when they bring the patient, the client to us. That is our starting point. So imagine that. We start from where the family has now tried everything and not given up, but saying, “We need more help.”

00:20:02 – 00:20:18 Kenny Dewan

We’re doing God’s work. Our work is so challenging. Our work is so difficult that I truly believe that we are helping each and every patient, but more importantly, their families when every time they come. And we try.

00:20:19 – 00:20:33 Kenny Dewan

This is not a quick fix. What we do is not a quick fix. It takes time. It takes energy. It takes a lot, a lot of work. You can feel good after a month of doing it and suddenly things fall apart. So very grateful to do this work. Very grateful to be in this business.

00:20:34 – 00:20:50 Nitin Bajaj

I see the passion and I see it not just in you, but in your entire team. You make them feel great to be able to bring all they bring to this work. Is there a book or a podcast that’s your favorite that you would like to share with us?

00:20:50 – 00:21:03 Kenny Dewan

Well, my book, you know, I wrote a book. It’s on Amazon and it’s all about the business culture by me, Kenny Dewan. Look it up in Amazon. And it just talks about my history of how I founded this company.

00:21:03 – 00:21:29 Kenny Dewan

And I built a culture. I did not. Well, the leaders around me at Akua helped me build a culture which supports our employees with the challenging work that we do. And our goal is, and now we have created an ESOP, which is our employees now own the company. I sold the company to my employees and they’re going to grow it and they’re going to create some amazing work for the clients and families. So really grateful.

00:21:29 – 00:21:44 Kenny Dewan

My goal, I’ve started to write my second book. It’ll take me a little time. And the second book’s title is going to be Dancing with Kenny. And it’s about some other things that I put together in my life that I can hopefully look back and feel good about.

00:21:44 – 00:21:55 Nitin Bajaj

That’s amazing. I’m looking forward to it. Now, onto my favorite part of the show. We call this the one-line life lessons. Kenny, I would love for you to share your life lessons with us.

00:21:57 – 00:22:07 Kenny Dewan

My life lesson is that I think you have to be passionate about what you do. We are all born with some little skills, some little quality. You know, everybody’s different.

00:22:08 – 00:22:17 Kenny Dewan

You do just wonderful, amazing work. I know who you are and how wonderful work you do, Nitin. And just like that, I have so many friends and coworkers who also do great work.

00:22:17 – 00:22:26 Kenny Dewan

And the one life lesson that I continue to share with them is find your passion. Find something that excites you. Find something that excites you every morning and you can do it and feel good about it.

00:22:26 – 00:22:36 Kenny Dewan

And by the time you sleep, you say, “Hey, I had a good day.” And I think once people find their passion, we all have it. Everyone, each one of us has it in them. We just have to find it.

00:22:37 – 00:22:41 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. Are there other life lessons you want to share with us?

00:22:42 – 00:22:56 Kenny Dewan

So many. We could talk for hours. This has been a great life. Very grateful. I think if you have a family, it helps to get them to a stage where they also feel good about themselves and the work that they’re doing.

00:22:57 – 00:23:08 Kenny Dewan

I’m an immigrant. I was 18 when I came. So my daughter and my son are born here and they’re different. They’re different. They think differently than I do. The generation gap is also there, right?

00:23:08 – 00:23:25 Kenny Dewan

So, and we live in this crazy world of social media where our attention span is so little, right? They say the attention span of a kid is six seconds and attention span is seven seconds. I think that’s changing. I think it’s even less now with TikTok, right?

00:23:25 – 00:23:45 Kenny Dewan

I think finding something that you are passionate about, finding something that you can do to help other people, if you are in that position, I think will bring more gratification and more joy to your life than anything else. And that is something that I talk about and hopefully I can inspire people to do it.

00:23:46 – 00:24:16 Nitin Bajaj

Okay, you do inspire me. So there’s validation right away. Kenny, thank you so much for sharing your journey, your story, your life lessons, but most importantly, being who you are and doing what you do. You are a leader in the community. You’re a role model and you’ve inspired, I know, many, many others to step up and help drive a positive impact in the lives of people around us. Thank you for everything you do.

00:24:17 – 00:24:22 Kenny Dewan

Hey, Nitin, thank you. Thank you for the wonderful work that you do. And thank you for having me on your show. Thank you.