Diamond in the Rough

Bauer Alumnus Scales Fine Jewelry Business

^{By Donna Keeya}

Bauer College alumnus Asit Shah (BBA ‘17) knows diamonds aren’t made without pressure.

More than eight years into owning his jewelry business, Zazzy Box, Shah said he’s just getting started and recently had his best month in business yet. While the path to success wasn’t always easy, Shah knew he was destined for more than a nine-to-five and wasn’t scared of betting on himself to get there.

“I never imagined myself in the traditional roles to begin with, so I'm not surprised that I ended up an entrepreneur,” Shah said. “Anything and everything that's worth pursuing is going to take a little bit of sweat.”

Shah grew up in the jewelry industry, watching his parents operate their wholesale diamond small business. Throughout his childhood, a regular corporate life was never modeled as he watched his family work with unconventional schedules.

However, just because he was surrounded by entrepreneurship doesn’t mean Shah always knew he wanted to start a business. If you would have asked him in 2016 during his junior year of college what his life would look like in 10 years, he wouldn’t have known what to expect.

As a Bauer student, Shah went above and beyond. In the Business Honors Program, Shah majored in management information systems and supply chain management with minors in finance, marketing and energy and sustainability. Shah was also involved on campus and served as the Student Regent on the University of Houston Board of Regents.

“The reason why I had so many majors and minors was because I was lost,” he said. “I think that's a very common college student problem. When you feel lost, some people stick to the one thing that seems convenient. Some people study everything.”

You need to build the grit to keep going.

Asit Shah (BBA ‘17)
^{Founder & CEO, Zazzy Box}

After graduating, Shah continued weighing his options and trying to find the best career fit. At that point, following in his family’s footsteps was still not on the list.

“I had sworn that I'd never step foot in this office,” Shah said. “I didn't know anything about diamonds or jewelry.”

In between waiting to hear back from job applications, Shah finally decided to hear his dad out.

“He looked at me and said, ‘In business, the sky is the limit,’” Shah said. “He kept trying to convince me to consider an alternative route. I finally said, ‘OK, let me try to see what your world is like.’”

BAUER COLLEGE IS IN ZAZZY BOX OWNER ASIT SHAH’S (BBA ’17) BLOOD. HIS MOM, TRUPTI (TINA) SHAH, GRADUATED WITH A BBA IN MARKETING FROM THE COLLEGE IN 1989.

Like most professions, starting out was hard. Shah said early on it was overwhelming, but he remained resilient and continued running Zazzy Box as a parallel shop to his parents’ business.

After a while, things clicked into place.

“You need to build the grit to keep going,” Shah said. “You will get to the point when you realize you’re running a legitimate business. This morning I woke up, and we hit a peak number of custom orders from the time I started.”

During the years of formative business growth, Shah said he relied heavily on the lessons and resources he gained from Bauer. Above all, he believes the community he found in school has made the biggest impact on Zazzy Box.

“A lot of our client base is from the University of Houston,” he said. “Our paid digital marketing campaigns are being supported by a friend I met in Bauer. There are so many parts of my life and business that come from connections with people I made in university.”

Shah has made it a point to preserve that community, and keeps in touch with peers, faculty and staff who had a lasting impression on him, including Professor Saleha Khumawala, Associate Professor Dale Rude and Bauer Honors Adviser Colleen Davies. He’s also prioritized giving back to the next generation of students, judging a freshmen case competition for Bauer Honors and hiring Bauer students as interns.

His advice to current college students is to just keep going and learn to grow from the problems that you face along the way.

“You’re going to have to roll up your sleeves, even if it isn’t glamorous,” Shah said. “Quick success leads to quick failure. When you see someone smiling on a billboard, know that you're seeing the end result. You rarely see the time and hard work that it took to get there.”