be the change you wish to see in this world – Mahatma Gandhi
what’s inspiring?
I paid respects to Gandhiji at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Jan 2015
do the impossible
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Nelson Mandela
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.” Mother Teresa
“It’s kind of fun to do the Impossible.” Walt Disney
“My best wishes to everyone for a very happy, healthy, and prosperous year! Life is good, Live it gratefully and meaningfully!” Sanjay Dalal, forever learning. #Peace #Love #Non-violence
what is my latest (ad)venture?
oGoing Business Community. “My goal is to make oGoing amazing for small and growing businesses, and make it a killer marketing and networking platform for small business. Interested in joining me on the oGoing journey? I am always looking for partners, investors and mentors. Shoot me an email at ceo at ogoing dot biz or ceo at ogoing dot com” Sanjay B Dalal, founder & CEO, oGoing
what I am amazed about?
I launched the Innovation Index in 2006 of the top 20 innovators in America, an index that correlates disruptive innovations, business performance and market valuations (my original investment premise was to follow the Warren Buffett model for these American innovators.) I authored the Definitive Guide and Innovation eBook on Creativity And Innovation in Business, downloaded by over 1,000 corporations and organizations around the world including HP, Pepsi, Hallmark, Cleveland Clinic, EDS, Ericsson, Best Buy, University of California, Irvine, Indian Institute of Sciences, LG Electronics, Nokia, J&J, TATA and many more. In 2006, I started my blog on Creativity and Innovation Driving Business, and that led to writing the eBook! I am humbled and grateful that so many leading organizations and universities have downloaded my eBook, and are using the key tenets to drive creative innovation at their business. My next eBook on Apple & Steve Jobs – Apple’s Innovation Strategy was also well-received and downloaded by over 1,000 innovators and entrepreneurs around the world. Steve Jobs’ passion, focus and leadership inspired me to innovate and work hard towards starting oGoing in 2009 and making it valuable for SMB! I also authored the WOW Product Guide – Creating Amazing Products ebook for product managers, developers and engineers on Amazon. I also invite innovators, disrupters and entrepreneurs to learn more and download 100+ pertinent strategies and tools, hands-on techniques and uncommon insights to unleash creativity and innovation at your business – The Innovation Bootcamp.
my aspiring YouTube video channel
I have been sharing a few of the insights and knowledge that I have gained over the years on my YouTube channel. Here you will find spontaneous, unrehearsed videos on oGoing, marketing, entrepreneurship, business owners roundtable, business community and more …do give me your feedback!
my hobbies & interests
Business & Social Networking, Mentoring, Creativity & Innovation, Small Business, Indian Cricket, Longhorns Football, NFL Football, Fantasy Football, NBA Basketball, Walking, Sightseeing, Comedy, Music (Bollywood & 80’s), Nice Drive, Education, Community Service and Family time
my thoughts on being happy
“Life is Great, Live it Happily“
1. Laugh out Loud
2. Be passionate, pragmatic & optimistic
3. Have a positive attitude (even this too shall pass)
4. Be brave and have no fear (Love God)
5. Work hard, but don’t sweat the small stuff
my community speeches
ABAOC President-Elect Nomination Speech
What is American? Coming from India… Rotary club
Rotary club of Newport-Irvine induction speech
Federation of Indian American Association speech – Independence Day
University of California, Irvine launching Innovation conference
what drives me?
“I am passionate about my family, my work, community, education, innovation, culture and customs of people worldwide. I love the freedom, entrepreneurship, education and opportunity that America offers to me, my wife and my children. I am proud of my Indian roots, tradition and culture. I am always busy with my two growing kids – our charming and beautiful daughter who is 25 (dual degree in environmental science and journalism, enrolled in PhD), and our boisterous son who is 30, an Aerospace Engineer from UT Austin (quite proud of our kids). I think I am a devoted husband to my beautiful wife for 32+ years (devotion is a relative word 😃 )” – Sanjay B Dalal
inspiring life quotes
“My parents and family, Bhagwaan Krishna, Bhagwaan Rama, Bhagwaan Shiva and Bhagwaan Swaminarayan inspire me!”
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Jesus Christ
“Health is the greatest gift, Contentment the greatest wealth, Faithfulness the best relationship.” Buddha
“Riches are not from an abundance of worldly goods, but from a contented mind.” Prophet Muhammad
“What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your neighbour. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary.” Hillel
“No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end, either here or in the world to come.” Bhagavad Gita
education – forever learning
Sanjay is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin in Electrical Engineering (Computer Engineering) (Dean’s Honor Roll, Engineering Scholar, President’s Honor Roll at University of Oklahoma) in 1992, completed graduate coursework at Arizona State University for Masters in Computer Science in 1995, and achieved executive certification on Leading Management Teams (eCornell – Leading with operations, creativity & innovation) at Cornell University in 2006. Sanjay received the first position in the 50th William Lowell Putnam Math Competition, five states, in 1987-1988 at the University of Oklahoma (Sanjay started his undergrad at OU, and before coming to America, at the L.D. College of Engineering in Ahmedabad, India)
my ordinary political views
Sanjay became a citizen of USA in 2008, and voted for President Obama and Vice President Biden, and is a moderate democrat or progressive republican or independent (“I am a newcomer trying to figure out who does what and what local leadership stands for”). He has no political aspirations, and is not connected nor affiliated with any political, radical and hateful organization. He enjoys debating and talking about current issues with openness, and has moderate views. He loves the democratic election process, and supports local community leaders who favor strong family values, education, health, safety & security, honesty & openness, humility, peace, and treat all citizens with respect (regardless of any affiliations). Detailed views
Hindu values
Sanjay is a Vaishnav Hindu and married to Mamta, a Jain Hindu. Sanjay met his wife Mamta at the University of Texas at Austin in 1989 (yup, both of us were studying 🙂 ). Sanjay respects non-violent and moderate religious beliefs of our friends and community. Sanjay firmly believes in non-violence, compassion and peace (Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa have inspired me tremendously), and treating everyone with respect, kindness, honesty, humility and calmness. Although, I am still learning the parenting & husband thing… 🙂 Sanjay resides with his wife in the beautiful city of Irvine, California.
my personal story (long version)
“My father, Rotarian Bharat C. Dalal, Stanford MBA 1959, and inaugural professor in Marketing at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (appointed by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai), and mother, Ashaben Dalal, inspired my sister and me to come to this great country USA in 1987 in search of the American Dream. My father had this amazing opportunity to come to USA for education on a Rotary Foundation Scholarship in 1957 at Stanford University. My father’s story is all inspiring to me… my grand-father Chandulal Dalal, who studied in the street lights in India and went on to become one of the best criminal lawyers in Gujarat, inspired my father, my uncles and my aunt to go to Wilson college in Mumbai to study in 1950’s; my father tells me that my grand-father had only one pair of clothing to wear; so he will wash them every night and dry them overnight so that he can wear them the next morning! My grand-father worked hard and become a great lawyer in Nadiad, Gujarat, bought a car in those days and even built the Dalal family home (which I have been to many times as I was growing up! I unfortunately never met my grand-father since he passed away long time before I was born). Both my grand-father and my grand-mother fought for India’s Independence as well. My grand-mother Kapila Dalal established the first Mahila Samaj in Nadiad, and led many marches with the women in Gujarat, some alongside Kasturba (Mahatma Gandhi’s wife). Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India Freedom Fighter and Iron Man, used to know my grand-father also, and he had asked him to join the freedom movement full-time. However, my grand-father used to joke with him that “Patel, you have so many farms and a lot of money; I on the other hand have to work hard to support my family.” I grew up hearing stories from my grand-mother about how they used to work hard to make ends meet and raise their family. An interesting story is that both my grand-mother and grand-father were arrested by the British for different offenses during the freedom fight and ended up being in the same jail!
My grand-father Chandulal Dalal had a dream that one of his sons would excel in college. Although he did not live long enough to see this dream, my father worked hard in college, and stood first in all of Gujarat, then competed for the Rotary Foundation scholarship award versus over 700 aspiring students in India and succeeded, and came to USA via Europe (he went to Rotary clubs all over Europe and shared his experience and story, got lots of monetary gifts that helped him go to New York via ship; and then he came to California). My father loved his time in America. He always stayed as a paying guest with an American family (he loved the food and hospitality!). One of his mentors once took him in a piper plane and they flew all over Northern California area. He started at Stanford in Chemical Engineering in 1957, but after a semester realized that he may drop out altogether (I guess he couldn’t get past Mathematics). When Stanford helped him with an aptitude testing, they realized his strengths were in business. And then he got his MBA. Another interesting story is that my mother never met my father before they got married… yup, it was an arranged marriage, my mother flew all way to America to get married! My parents were married in Washington D.C., but later went back to India to support my grand-mother and their extended family. I am lucky to have one of their wedding gifts from 1961! My parents worked really hard to save money, grow our family and provide us a solid foundation. We lived for most of my childhood in a modest flat in Ahmedabad, India. The best part: I made a lot of friends while growing up in the Gandhi Baug society, enjoyed playing Cricket and Badminton, and on many occasions climbing the society wall to go to my school GLS (which was literally next doors)
My grand-father Chimanlal Shah (mom’s father) and grand-mother Hira ba were equally inspiring to me. Every full-moon (poonam), we will go to my grand-father’s home in Ambawadi to celebrate, do the Satya Narayan Katha with friends and family, and have a huge feast (my favorite being the “sheero”). My grand-father was a self-made businessman who worked equally hard and became the CFO of New Commercial textile mill in Ahmedabad. He did quite well financially and had a huge bungalow, car and was highly respected in the local business community. He used to tell me stories about his business, how he helped grow the textile industry in Ahmedabad, and how he achieved a top position at his company, and then fell hard when it closed down (although he did well enough to build a great bungalow; he introduced me to the “foreign” concept of shares back then). He was also a religious and God-loving man, and used to pray to Lord Rama all the time, and go to Ramji mandir in the city (I went with him many times). He taught me the power of prayer early on, respecting my family members (especially my sisters, since we used to fight a lot!) and showing humility (it’s easy to forget). My grand-mother was a very loving lady, always had the soft heart for me (they used to call me with a lot of affection “Sanjuram”) and even came to USA and visited our home in Fremont, CA
college years and hard work
My parents taught us early on to study and work hard, have a strong determination to succeed, and give back to the community. My father was an active Rotarian serving the community for dozens of years, volunteered a lot of his time in helping the local community in Ahmedabad, and donated a lot of his hard-earned money (my parents live a modest lifestyle). My mother was also an active community volunteer and leader as part of the Lioness club in Ahmedabad. When my sister and I arrived in the U.S. at the University of Oklahoma (OU), we had barely enough money for our first semester’s tuition. I worked at the OU Library to help pay for my expenses, and my sister transferred to the University of California, Irvine because they provided her Research Assistantship. After doing well at OU during my Freshman year in 1987 (I was nominated for the President’s award), I applied to the University of Texas at Austin (UT) for Electrical and Computer Engineering program for my sophomore year. When I was awarded the coveted Engineering scholarship (which also made me eligible for instate tuition), I transferred to my alma mater UT! I worked 20 hours weekly in the Macintosh computer laboratory later on to help students with their programming classes on the Mac, and help pay for my undergraduate education. I was later awarded the International Office scholarship in my senior year. My college was not uneventful… I caught a bout with Mumps in my Junior year, and had to drop out of a semester owing to a lot of weakness, and eventually took almost six months to recover. I learned early on the value of great American college education earned through hard work, and am quite grateful to my professors and advisers at both UT and OU.
UT and beyond
I met Mamta in Austin in the summer of 1989 and fell in love (she was in the Business School doing Accounting). We were both part of the Indian Orientation team and helped arriving students from India at UT Austin get settled. I also led as the Treasurer of India Student Association during my time at UT. I graduated from UT in May, 1992. My wife and I planned and got married on August 15, 1993, celebrating both our marriage and India’s Independence Day in Orange County, California (yup, we lost our independence). I did my graduate school at Arizona State University – Phoenix and Tempe (Computer Science) while working at Bull (Honeywell) from 1992 through 1995. Then we moved to Austin for a year and a half (when I worked at IBM), and we were blessed with our son (who went to Austin in 2013 and starting at UT as a freshman in Aerospace Engineering. ) An opportunity to work at a startup in Silicon Valley with my wife’s brother-in-law drove us to California in 1997. Our daughter was born in Fremont in 2000 (she is a millennium baby!). After spending 10 years in Silicon Valley from 1997 to 2007 and working at various startups (and doing well), we moved to Irvine, Orange County to settle down for the next 10 years (at the very least). I became an U.S. Citizen in 2008 to vote for the first time, and enjoy the freedom of an U.S. citizen!
I believe that the U.S. economy that underwent through a deep recession in 2008-2009 will turn around slowly but surely, and keep growing. As an entrepreneur, I look at glass as half-full, and have a positive spin and outlook on most things. I have realized that maintaining optimism, good health, passion, strong belief in one’s self, and keeping faith in God are very important! I am inspired by my teams, friends, partners and co-workers (great teams, partners and co-workers are what make you successful in both family and business). I do make many professional and personal mistakes! I am always learning from these mistakes, and trying not to repeat them. I like to stay engaged and enjoy life’s simple moments, and have fun time with family and friends.
the journey keeps going
I am driven to create amazing customer value and experience with my latest start-up oGoing, and am working hard to make it the best platform for small business social networking and social media marketing! oGoing is growing, slowly but surely… I have been “oGoing” since summer of 2009. oGoing now has over 155,000 global SMB members. Whether or not OGoing becomes a big success, I don’t know. However, the journey of being an entrepreneur has been the world’s longest roller coast ride with many ups and downs… Call it an exhilarating adventure!” – Sanjay Bharat Dalal (2025)
personal recommendations
July 2010
Hi Sanjay,
You’re the best. Thank you for the many hours that you put into the job of PTA Treasurer and I really appreciate it. I hope that you continue to be part of PTA in some role, because we need parents like you who ask questions and push for a solution or answer. I will still see you at SSC. Again, many thanks.
Have a great summer.
Warm regards,
Karen Catabijan
Principal
Turtle Rock Elementary School, IUSD
Irvine, California
May 2010
“I am happy to write this letter of recommendation at the request of Sanjay Dalal. He has made it known to me that he seeks to partner with you in some business. My name is Vanessa Lewis; I am the President of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Turtle Rock Elementary. I have been working closely with Sanjay, Treasurer for the Turtle Rock PTA, for one year now.
As Treasurer of the PTA, Sanjay has shown consistency and reliability in his work and in his commitment. As our organization has an annual operating budget of only $167,000.00, it is critical that the financials are tediously minded. Sanjay has been exemplary in his keeping of our books and records. Sanjay demonstrates his attention to detail as he reviews the Check Request forms and the attached receipts. On three occasions, Sanjay was the one who found mixed receipts- current receipts with one or two dated prior to our fiscal year and thus could not be honored. His careful review saved our organization hundreds of dollars as these extra receipts were not rightfully our expenses to incur, and he avoided our organization being fined during audit. Sanjay has additionally displayed his flexibility and open-mindedness as he has engaged in tasks that certainly are not part of his job description- such as selling t-shirts at the opening of our Fall Festival, and coordinating with the Women’s National Basketball Association to create an incentive program for our PTA membership. Sanjay is without limits in his ingenuity as can be seen in his personal professional life and during Board meeting discussions.
I have had a wonderful experience working with Sanjay Dalal over the last year. He maintains professionalism and integrity that I can only respect and admire in him. Additionally, Sanjay has a realistic perspective while remaining optimistic and solution-oriented as he seeks to expand the possibilities of any given situation. Based on my experience working with Sanjay, I would highly recommend him as a solid candidate for a business partner.”
Sincerely,
Vanessa Lewis
PTA President
Turtle Rock Elementary
May 2010
Sanjay Dalal has asked me to write a reference on his behalf. I have known Sanjay as a member of the Newport-Irvine Rotary Club since he joined a couple of years ago. Sanjay has shown great dedication in providing service to the community and to the members of the club. He is always ready to help on the various community events done by our club. Since July of 2009 he has been the fine master; an activity that requires recognizing the members for their anniversaries, birthdays, and noteworthy events. While simple, in principle, this activity requires getting to know the members (more than 60) and connecting with them during the meetings. Sanjay has done a fine job.
I have observed that Sanjay is always willing to learn new ways and shows commitment and character in his endeavors. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours in Rotary,
Cecil Hess
President 2009-2010
Newport-Irvine Rotary Club
May 2010
I would be glad to provide you the reference for Sanjay. He has been a very active and dedicated ABAOC board member. My dealing with Sanjay has been very pleasant and he always add great deal of value to the various committees he supports. His recommendations are practical and always provides great benefits to our organization.
I highly recommend him as a potential partner for your venture. If you need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely
Vilmer Villaverde
President
Global Outsource Partners
February 9, 2009
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with great enthusiasm that I write this letter of recommendation for Sanjay Dalal. Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of working with this very capable, dedicated parent volunteer.
Mr. Dalal is well organized and thoughtful. He volunteered for the role of secretary on our School Site Council. He took clear, concise notes, and was always well prepared for meetings. He added thoughtful questions and support to conversations. He assisted in defusing hot topics and refocusing the conversation on student learning. We are fortunate to have Sanjay Dalal on Turtle Rock Elementary School’s Site Council.
I highly recommend Sanjay for any position for which he may apply. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
ChrissAnn Shane
Principal
Woodbury Elementary School, IUSD
Hi Everyone,
I want to take this opportunity to thank the coaches (Sanjay & Dennis) for a super season. Thank you.
Sebastian had a great time and us parents are also proud of what the boys have done. Too bad luck was just not on our side but it sure has been super exciting!
Again, thank you!
Steven Chen
Irvine, CA
2008
Sanjay,
Thanks for spending time and coaching the Rancho team. Connor had fun and learn a lot. He really appreciated the opportunity to play for his school.
Thanks again,
Jim O’Brien
Irvine, CA
2007
Hi Coach Sanjay and all:
On Behalf of Keyvan and myself, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for your concern about Keyvan. Thanks God, he is recovering fast. In spite of getting 7 stitches, he had so much fun participating in Irvine Hoops Classic. Keyvan is happy and honored to receive the basketball signed by his teammates and thanks all the players and the coach indeed!
Coach Sanjay: You did a great job coaching our boys. They learned new skills while they had fun. It was a great experience and I can’t express my appreciation with merely words, but profound thanks for your coaching with care and kindness.
Cheers!
Pari Aminzadeh
Irvine, CA
2007