‘Hustle Your Tail Off, But Do it With Kindness’

Manpreet Singh ’03 has advice for current students and recent graduates: “Follow your dreams, hustle your tail off, achieve all the success in the world, but do it with kindness and selflessness while also serving your community.”

Those values guided his own career, which started when he was in high school. That’s when Singh and his brother co-founded a social network for South Asian Americans called Desi Vibes. He studied finance as an undergraduate at the Smith School, then was hired as the first employee at Washington, D.C.-based Profit Investment Management. He rose to senior equity analyst and in 2006 became one of the world’s youngest CFA charter holders.

In 2011, Singh went on to co-found TalkLocal, a search engine to connect consumers with local businesses by phone. The company raised $4 million in funding, including from investors in the Smith School’s Dingman Center Angels network. TalkLocal has delivered more than 4 million calls nationwide and drew accolades, including being named “DC’s Hottest Showcasing Startup” in 2013 by Tech Cocktail.

But his most successful venture, he says, circles back to family — “building our family office Singh Capital into an institution that invests in venture capital, private equity, real estate and philanthropy.”  The latter is especially significant. “I believe that our philanthropy focused on the Sikh community in the United States may be what sets us apart,” says Singh, who is CIO for the firm.

Singh Capital’s internship program has hired more than 75 summer analysts over the last five years, “launching successful careers for countless young professionals in our community,” he says. “And our charitable contributions have democratized alternative investments for minority communities that traditionally don’t have access to them, creating long term wealth for these communities.”

Singh says the biggest accomplishment recently is building out the firm’s SCP Investment platform with “seven innovative, driven, talented professionals and our operations team that serves as the foundation for all the work we do. Our team’s work ethic and culture will push us to excellence.”

As a member of the Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship’s board of advisors, Singh also stays focused on his alma mater. “The Smith School alumni network and the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship in the school’s programs has most impressed me in recent years,” he says. “The Smith School community has continued to serve as the cornerstone to my success — from my time as an undergraduate to now as a board member.” 

Throughout his career journey, Singh has focused on his values and aspirations – which he says are not mutually exclusive. “Especially in the United States, many folks lose their identity, values, and principles as a sacrifice for success.”

But that doesn’t have to be the case, Singh says: “Stay true to your values while you chase and follow your dreams.”