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The company he co-founded grossed $10 million last year andshould reap around $15 million this year. But Asheem Aggarwal,co-president/CEO of urban wireless inc. in New York City, says helives the same life he did three years ago. "It's notabout making money," says Aggarwal, 33, who co-owns the PCSdigital phone distributor with Jae Kim, 30, and brothers Peter andPaul Chu, 28 and 31 respectively. "It's to showthere's not only one road to take. It's to do things ourway and really make a difference."
The biggest impact the kids at urban wireless have made is thatnow, not only rich kids and stuffy corporate types driving Jags cantalk while they walk. Launching three years ago with $50,000 frommaxed-out credit cards and private investments, the partnersfocused on an unexplored niche: marketing cell phone service toethnic communities and creating a way for consumers with littlecredit history to purchase pre-paid AIRdiscs for various amounts oftime. "We showed people who didn't have credit that [they]aren't downtrodden," says Aggarwal.
Using Paul's marketing expertise, the company, which wentfrom service carrier to branded distributor after selling its35,000-strong customer base to strategic partner Omnipoint for $4million in October 1998, has reeled in the masses with the streetfashion look and vibe of its phones and ads.
Now also in Miami, urban wireless is looking to become a"force to be reckoned with" nationwide. Besides reshapingcellular culture, Aggarwal stresses the importance of shaking upcorporate culture. He and his partners have hired friends"from the neighborhood," family members (Aggarwal'sdad is CFO) and employees of all ages. And co-workers have beenknown to go on fishing trips to Brooklyn. After all, if work'sgoing to be your life, it better be a good time.
