How Jag Panesar's grandfather inspired him to set up his own digital agency

Walking tall: Jag Panesar always wanted to achieve what his grandfather, who came to the UK in the 1960s, had achieved.

His grandfather’s legacy has inspired Jag Panesar, the director of digital agency, Xpand, to succeed in business by forging his own path, writes Ismail Mulla.

On the face of it, Jag Panesar’s family experience is not that different to that of other immigrant families who left behind their homes in South Asia to make a better life for themselves here in the UK. While the stories may have similarities, each individual journey is very different for those that make up the South Asian diaspora in the country.

One thing that is clear is that Mr Panesar’s grandfather’s experience has left an indelible impression on the founder of Saltaire-based digital agency Xpand.

Parkash Singh Panesar came to Britain in the 1960s. Initially the family had left behind its homeland in Punjab, India, and tried its luck in Tanzania.

Mapping out success: Jag Panesar decided to go down his own path and set up a business.

“My grandad moved around a bit,” Mr Panesar said. “They moved to Tanzania and that’s actually where my dad and one of his brothers was born.

“My grandad had a joinery business but things went a little bit wrong for them. There was also a lot of political unrest at the time.”

After returning to India, he tried again. This time the family would move to the UK and his grandfather took up a job as a joiner here.

Mr Panesar said: “He got a job in joinery and having experienced the poverty that he went through, he wanted his sons to set up their own businesses.”

Carrying on a legacy: Jag Panesar was inspired by his grandfather.

His own father and one of his uncles would end up becoming apprentice mechanics before setting up their own garage. Another uncle of his became an electrical contractor.

When Mr Panesar left university in 2003, the option was there to join the family business. However, he chose to go down his own path.

He said: “I left university in 2003 and as is the case with most students I struggled to get work. I ended up just getting a data entry job at Santander in Bradford city centre next to the Interchange.

“At that point I was still looking for jobs in the marketing field. Without experience it was just proving impossible. I ended up getting a job at a garage equipment manufacturer based in Bradford. It was entry level. I was brought in just to do sales. That was around 2005.”

That particular business went bust in 2007 as it ran into cash flow problems. But having operated in a niche sector and introduced concepts such as Google Adwords, Mr Panesar was in demand. He asked instead to work on a freelance basis for them.

That’s how Xpand came to be but it was a rocky start for the business and Mr Panesar had to face adverse circumstances in those early years.

He said: “I proposed in December 2006. In February 2007 we found a house and I put a deposit on it. In April 2007 I was made redundant. I got the keys in May 2007 so I had no job and a mortgage and I was due to get married in July 2007.