The article is based on a conversation with Sanket Parekh, the founder of a Miami-based venture capital fund who joined R360, a networking club for people with a net worth of at least $100 million. It has been edited for clarity.
I have two jobs. One is a family enterprise and the other is a business I started to create a legacy of my own.
I am part of the second generation of a family business that started in India in the late '50s, and I run a venture capital fund in Miami. It's a large conglomerate that makes adhesives and sealants.
I've come across other member-only clubs that didn't appeal to me the way R360 did.
I'm a member of the Young Presidents' Organisation, but most of the other professional networks focus on personal growth as a professional. A lot of them don't focus on family as an enterprise.
This is what made me want to go to R360.
It's ability to help families flourish and drive activities and interests to help grow the human and intellectual capital was a key factor I appreciated.
R360 emphasizes how members can use their collective wisdom to help me be a better steward of the next generation, by engaging with a group of like minded folks who potentially have similar challenges. This is not the same as other exclusive clubs.
It was not easy to become an R360 member. They're looking for people who are genuine and joining for the right reasons. You start to appreciate the group a lot more when you have those conversations. If it's just for the sake of it, you start questioning if it's worth it.
What you put in is part of the benefit from R360. You have to expect things to happen to you. You have to take the initiative to allow for something to happen.
Sanket Parekh was on Necker Island in July of 2021. Richard Branson brought the ring tail lemurs to the island as a way to conserve the species.
Sanket Parekh.
A recent example is a R360 gathering that took place on Richard Branson's private island. I had a chance to sit and have a conversation with Branson about family and succession and how to build a legacy that is beyond just you.
It was fascinating to have a conversation with someone who was magnanimous and who was willing to learn from him. He spent 15 minutes out of the 30 minutes we were talking asking me questions.
Virgin Group and Richard Branson.
Photo by Patrick T. Fallon.
It's about the chance to leverage collective wisdom when you are among people who have experienced life.
The range of members in the club is beautiful. It is not concentrated in one industry. I've sat down with people from advertising to geology. They had different upbringings and are from different age groups.
I learned a lot from my classmates in college, as much as I did from my professors. The people you surround yourself with will either enrich you or drag you down, and that's why R360 is picky about who can join the club.
R360 membership is more about what the club brings to the table than it is about your net worth.
