Capturing an inspiring journey: Documentary released on Indian American entrepreneur Dinesh C. Patel

Known as the “Godfather of Utah’s MedTech industry,” Dinesh Patel has played a prominent role in the state’s political and cultural spheres for more than three decades.

A recently released documentary sheds light on the remarkable career of Dinesh C. Patel, an Indian American entrepreneur and venture capitalist based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Produced by Desimax, an upcoming Indian American streaming platform, the film delves into his journey as an entrepreneur and philanthropist.

It is the fifth documentary in the American Journey series, which brings stories of prominent Indian American immigrants to a wider audience, highlighting their achievements and contributions in various fields.

DesiMax, an upcoming streaming platform, is set to be launched later this year.

The documentary on Patel, which features several prominent Utah figures, including former governor and presidential candidate John Huntsman, is available here.

Patel was born in 1950, in Broken Hills, which is now known as Kabwe, in the former British colony of Zambia, located in South Central Africa. He was one of four children of Chotubhai Patel and his wife, Savitaben, who had relocated to Northern Rhodesia from the western Indian region of Gujarat in the 1940s.

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Patel arrived in the United States in 1973 after obtaining an undergraduate degree from Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat. He earned a master’s from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan’s School of Pharmacy.

Patel arrived in Salt Lake City in the mid-1980s to start his entrepreneurial journey, after gaining experience working for two major pharmaceutical companies.

He started Theratech, a drug delivery company, at the University of Utah, along with two co-founders. It was a time when Utah and the inter-mountain region were nowhere on the map of the biotechnology industry, says Kelvyn Cullimore, President and CEO of BIOUtah, a biotech industry trade group.

READ: Dinesh C. Patel honored with Utah Governor’s Medal (October 28, 2020)

“The biotech Industry had had some big centers back in the ’80s, including in Boston and the Bay Area and Southern California, but outside of that there weren’t a lot of true centers of biotechnology,” Cullimore says. “So, coming to Utah was truly a leap of faith [on the part of Patel]. There was still no other pharmaceutical or therapeutic industry here to speak of when he came.”

Within seven years, Theratech went public, earning Patel the distinction of being one of the first Indian Americans to take a company public.

In the late 1990s, Patel left Theratech to launch a venture fund, establishing V-Spring Capital in 1999. Fifteen years later, he started an angel investment company, Patel Family Investments, which now has invested in more than 60 private companies and over 35 private equity/venture funds.

Utah’s political and business leaders say the support provided by the Indian American investor to entrepreneurs and startups in the biotechnology and medical technology sectors, through investments and mentoring, has played a pivotal role in establishing the state as a prominent hub for these industries in the inter-mountain region.

“Dinesh has been a critical part of [Utah’s] economic and business success,” says Huntsman, a former Utah governor, who also served as the US ambassador to Russia, China, and Singapore. “I would argue that we would not be where we are today as one of the leading states for business in the country without the help of Dinesh Patel. His leadership, vision, and willingness to engage have been instrumental.”

READ: Utah Governor Spencer Cox celebrates Diwali at Governor’s Mansion (November 3, 2022)

“In Utah, we call him the Godfather of MedTech because he’s so involved at an early stage [companies], in giving of his time and energy and sometimes his money,” says Tony Watson, Chief Operating Officer of Xenocor, a medical technology company based in Salt Lake City. “He has a number of exits to his name, and you won’t see too many things that have promised in MedTech that he’s not involved in here in Salt Lake City.”

“Dinesh really would recognize entrepreneurs’ talent and get excited about their talent,” says Amy Reese Anderson, a prominent Utah entrepreneur and founder of MediConnect Global, founder of a healthcare technology that was sold in 2012 for more than $375 million. V-Spring was an investor in the company and Patel was on its board.

The Indian American businessman is also a well-known philanthropist in Utah. He and his wife, Kalpana, have contributed millions of dollars to a number of philanthropic causes. They have supported more than 25 educational community and religious organizations in Utah and other parts of the country.

READ: Indian American entrepreneur Dinesh Patel appointed Chairman of Salt Lake City museum, The Leonardo (August 11, 2014)

The organizations they supported include Patel’s alma mater University of Michigan and University of Utah, as well as Salt Lake City cultural institutions like Utah Symphony and The Leonardo, a science, technology, and art museum.

He played a pivotal role in the construction of the $130 million James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology building at the University of Utah which houses one of the nation’s finest Innovation hubs. It was funded through the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR).

“He was one of the people who first envisioned the concept of USTAR and he chaired the USTAR Authority, and was a wonderful guide in those early days,” says Rich Brown, Dean of Engineering at the University of Utah.

Patel was instrumental in the construction of two temples in the Salt Lake City area, and the establishment of the India Cultural Center in one of those temples, the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple in South Jordan, UT.

Another major philanthropic effort Patel is involved in, along with his two brothers, Dr. Kiran Patel and Pradeep Patel, is a hospital and a community center in Mota Fofalia, Gujarat, the birthplace of their father, Chhotubhai Patel.

READ: Utah entrepreneur Dr. Dinesh Patel, wife Kalpana donate a million dollars to the University of Michigan (January 14, 2014)

The documentary also highlights the political clout of Dinesh Patel, who has worked with the last four Utah governors, mostly related to the state’s economic development issues.

“If you want to make any changes or if you want to have your voice heard … you have to be part of the system,” says Patel.

“Fortunately, Dinesh is very well politically connected and we have shamelessly used those connections,” says BIO Utah’s Cullimore. When you have the kind of connections that he has, … it enables you to have access to people who make decisions, who are willing to listen because of the gravitas he brings to a meeting.”

Indian Americans in Utah say they have benefited from Patel’s connections as well.

“It’s because of him that we are so well-connected with the political leadership of the State,” says Sneha Kumar Kasera, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Utah’s College of Engineering. “He participates in many of the decision-making bodies. He brings us you know the community. He makes them a partner in many things at the state level.”

On the other side of the spectrum, Huntsman says more than Patel, it is the political side that needs him. “Yes, it’s great to have political connections, but I think the political side has benefited more from Dinesh than he has from the political side,” the former governor says. “We’re asking from him to help us and that’s where uh you know the humility comes into play because Dinesh doesn’t need political support, he doesn’t need political friends, he gets them anyway because they want his knowledge and expertise they want him sitting at the table helping to advise on the way forward.”