When 19-year-old Money Singh left Punjab for San Francisco in 2006, he had no idea that years later he would be running a $2 million business in the United States. The journey has not been easy – marked by loneliness, debt and sheer perseverance.
“I was depressed for almost a year. I wanted to come back,” said Singh, now 38 CNBC Make Ithe remembers his beginnings in the USA.
He initially attended college in the Bay Area, but dropped out when his academic credits from India did not transfer. Encouraged by his mother to start earning, Singh began attending odd jobs—first at a local drugstore and later as a dispatcher at his uncle’s taxi company for about $6 an hour.
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This job marked the beginning of a 12-year career in the taxi industry. Singh started as a driver, later expanded to a fleet of five cabins and eventually started his own shipping company. He then founded Driver’s Network, an advertising and marketing platform for independent drivers.
By 2018, Singh wanted a change. Taking inspiration from his mother—who owned a salon in Punjab and later in Northern California—he decided to try something new. He and a local barber launched Dandies Barbershop & Beard Stylist in Mountain View in 2019.
“I wanted to do something else, but I understood something – business,” he said.
Setting up the Dandies wasn’t easy. Singh invested nearly $75,000 of his savings and spent nearly a year getting permits before he could even open his doors. Then, six months after launch, the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to temporarily close. His business partner left, but Singh refused to give up.
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He told CNBC Make It that he maxed out his credit cards, borrowed from friends, liquidated his investments and even cut back on food to keep the business afloat. “I had to eat $1 meals to make sure the business stayed open,” he recalled.
During the lockdown, Singh attended barber school so he could handle customers himself once the shop reopened. When Dandies reopened in 2021, it quickly became a community space – catering for men, women, children and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The hard work paid off. Singh now owns three Dandies locations across California, employing 25 people, including 15 barbers. According to CNBC Make It, the deal brought in $1.07 million (approx ₹8.9 million) last year, while his other venture, now known as ATCS Platform Solutions, earned $1.18 million (approx. ₹9.8 million crowns).
Singh has cleared most of his debts and draws a combined monthly salary of approx ₹5.8 million. Dandies became profitable in 2023.
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His resilience, he says, stems from his childhood in Punjab, where his family faced violence during the Sikh separatist riots of the late 1980s. “Those were tough times,” he said. “But this fight built my work ethic.
Additionally, Singh is developing an app called Barber’s Network – a booking platform for barbers and clients, similar to apps like Booksy and theCut.
Despite the long hours, Singh says he has no plans to slow down. “I don’t think I’ll ever retire,” he told CNBC Make It. “I breathe business.”
