The rise of Indian-born entrepreneur, Nitin Khanna, didn’t follow any pre-packaged, linear track. From academic pipeline to the untested waters of cannabis oil, Khanna has never hesitated in the face of opportunity. Whether that’s growing his first company, Saber Corp., to a $420 million exit or guiding entrepreneurial ventures across Portland, he brings a standard of excellence to everything he touches.
Beyond the numbers, though, his influence has extended to produce progressive and people-positive workplaces across the U.S. This ability to build sustainable workplace cultures is what has allowed for more than a one-hit exit success, but has paved a proven record of consistent success.
Early Life
Born and raised in India, Nitin Khanna can trace his entrepreneurial spirit back to his family. His father served in the army, but the rest of his family ran many different businesses and Khanna was exposed to what it meant to be an entrepreneur from a very young age. A cement plant, a motorcycle parts factory–you name it. Growing up, Nitin Khanna was exposed to business in all walks of life, and these early familiarities seem to have wired his brain for entrepreneurship.
Khanna would emigrate to America at the age of 17. This wasn’t his first spell away from home though. At just 8 years old, Khanna left the small village of Sanawar for The Lawrence School–one of Asia’s most prestigious educational institutions. There, he would gather the foundations which made him a prime candidate for a leading U.S. program–Purdue University, West Lafayette.
He went on to complete both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering at Purdue (the Purdue program being ranked one of the Top 5 in the nation). On finishing his Master’s, Khanna toyed with the idea of completing a PhD in Robotics which he would have continued in West Lafayette. This would have been a natural next step for someone in the academic pipeline, making him a valuable asset to any employer coming out of his Doctorate Program. However, the pull of academia which brought him to the U.S. had by then taken on a new direction–while he still felt he had plenty to learn, it would lie beyond the classroom and out in the world of business.
Khanna’s Career: From Paper to Tech Investor
Initially, Nitin Khanna started his career in the paper industry. It was a hands-on, tangible kind of industry which made things–in many ways similar to the manufacturing companies which he’d been around as a young boy in India. However, Khanna could see that the future was heading rapidly toward technology and that paper was not the end destination for him. This was during the 90s when information technology was just starting to become a source of major development, so he quickly started working for Oracle Corporation, a multinational computer technology corporation.
Although Khanna held several senior positions at the corporation, he knew that there was more he could accomplish. His brother had recently emigrated to America as well and had the same discipline and drive. He was studying to get his MBA to secure a well-paying job, but Khanna convinced him that starting a business of your own was the way to get ahead and become successful. Despite his successful studies and a few years in the workforce under his belt, he concluded that, “the best way to make money in this country is to start your own business.” His brother Karan, who was just 20 years old at the time, agreed, and together they co-founded their first technology company, Saber Corporation when Nitin himself was only 25.
Just as Saber Corp. was finding its feet, the U.S. government was making necessary changes to their electronic balloting system. In 2002, the Help America Vote Act was signed into law by President Bush, largely in response to the controversy surrounding the 2000 Gore v. Bush race. During that election, nearly 2 million ballots were disqualified since automatic voting machines couldn’t read the data. With the new HAVA in place, U.S. states would be required to find adequate solutions locally to update their voting systems. This marked an important opportunity for a young startup technology company to gain a license on the way the American people secured their votes.
Saber Software’s Growth
Starting with Oregon, Saber quickly became the go-to solution for this software, which greatly increased security, usability, and affordability for government providers. After winning that first vital contract with Oregon, it made sense for other states to follow suit with a proven software solution.
Before long, Saber had a stronghold nation-wide. And while this was the foothold for Saber to earn trust with the U.S. government and state bodies, it was far from the only solution they provided. Saber Corp. soon grew to become the largest standalone provider of state government solutions in the US. They provided necessary services, including driver’s licenses, voter registration, and unemployment registration.
Through these operations, Saber grew to 1200 employees and over $120 million in revenue under Khanna’s leadership. He then sold Saber Corporation to EDS for four times its annual revenue at $460 million. While many technology companies tend to get in the press for their ‘potential growth’, they can also be risky acquisitions. The success of Khanna’s sale was no small feat. In fact, it was this success which gained him much respect in the technology and start-up communities of Portland–where future ventures awaited.
Khanna continued to lead the operations side of Saber Corp. as the company continued its growth. By the time he left a year later to pursue other goals, it had 1500 employees and a revenue of $300 million: making the $420 valuation seem like a very reasonable deal on all fronts.
The Beginning of a New Company
Khanna’s experience at Saber fueled his next company, MergerTech. Khanna had already led eight M&A transactions at Saber and used this experience through the early years of starting MergerTech along with his brother. Founded in 2009, MergerTech is a Mergers and Acquisitions advisory firm that caters to technology start-ups and companies that are looking to sell their businesses and expand for anywhere between $10MM-$200MM. Mergertech provides valuable M&A advice as well as banking services and has a network around the world to help match buyers and sellers.
Khanna might have already had enough experience to run a company like MergerTech, but the idea was far from spontaneous; rather, he was filling a need which he was almost forced to become aware of. After news of the Saber Corp. acquisition went public, Khanna began to receive requests for advice on mergers and exit deals. The success of his exit was something uncommon, and founders in the industry wanted to understand how the Indian-born entrepreneur had managed to pull off such an impressive valuation. With some successful cases already under his belt and plenty more new companies popping up in the region, Khanna realized that the demand in this particular niche was strong.
MergerTech’s key is in how it sets up sellers and buyers. Khanna found that non-US and non-technology buyers are willing to pay more for US-based technology start-ups than the traditional larger US-based technology buyers. As a result, MergerTech has had enormous success in helping to create much larger deals by finding the ideal international buyers for these smaller companies. As a result, MergerTech was listed as the #1 mobile bank in America, winning out against large banks such as Bank of America and JP Morgan.
Untested Waters: Nitin’s Success in Cannabis
While continuing in his role as CEO of MergerTech, Nitin Khanna also brought his expertise into the world of cannabis. In 2015, he saw an opportunity within the trending momentum of legalized cannabis. He began investing in the industry–one which is expected to grow to $100.03 billion by 2025–and was quickly invited to play a larger role in one of the fastest-growing companies of the segment. 
Cura Cannabis was recently acquired in the largest deal of the industry’s history (at a little over $1 billion); needless to say, by the time Nitin Khanna stepped down as CEO, it was one of the largest CBD oil providers around the world. Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is a non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant which has been connected with numerous health benefits and promising research into curing conditions such as severe epilepsy. While recreational cannabis, including the psychoactive THC, is also an area of the industry which expects to see major growth–Nitin’s efforts with Cura Cannabis were focused on bringing CBD health benefits to more individuals who need them.
In just two short years at the helm, Nitin Khanna was able to grow more than an exponentially successful bottom line: he grew a company culture which set an example for the cannabis industry at large. As an emerging space with a lot of surrounding excitement, it’s easy for new entrants to get caught up chasing profits and get a little loose with “how business is done.” Nitin’s efforts as CEO were monumental for showing that a company could be both financially successful and a great place for its employees. Cura Cannabis has been included in Oregon’s Best Companies to Work For, and Khanna’s work to set those cultural foundations was essential.
Although Khanna stepped down as the company’s CEO in 2018, he wishes well for Cura’s continual growth, “I’d like to be able to say one day that we built the Coca-Cola of cannabis.” Today, Cura Cannabis Solutions is one of the world’s leading cannabis providers.
The Power of Company Culture and Mentorship in Nitin Khanna’s Success
Nitin Khanna’s companies and ventures may cover a variety of industries, but he keeps the same set of underlying principles that drive each business. He chalks up his amazing success in entrepreneurship to creating the right team and a healthy company culture. Always the first to acknowledge the importance of surrounding yourself with competent team members, Khanna understands that his rise has only been possible with the support of talented employees and colleagues. For that reason, he has never held back on providing guidance and mentorship across companies.
This healthy company culture has also brought him the attention of many admiring entrepreneurs across Oregon and California. While CEO at Cura Cannabis, Khanna insisted that minimum wage be raised to $14/hr in an effort to set a new standard for the industry to follow. He was also a constant source of counsel and guidance for many of his employees–his ability to foster a culture of personal growth for both male and female leaders has been commended by past colleagues, and has been a major contributor to his sustained success. At a time when the challenges faced by female leaders and entrepreneurs are receiving well-earned attention, Nitin’s consistent efforts throughout his career are a beacon for other company heads to follow.
Beyond his own company walls, Khanna has extended his reach to local entrepreneurs from all walks of life. His support for Our Giving Table, a Portland-based non-profit, and its founder Lydia Massaad was influential in helping them approach their vision of eliminating childhood hunger across Oregon. Further, Khanna’s assistance to ventures such as The Initiative, an accelerator for female entrepreneurs in the cannabis space. Big Tent Ventures, a fund working to help female and POC owned cannabis businesses, also serves as another fine example of Khanna’s eagerness to mentor companies and individuals with purpose-driven missions and potential.
Once entrepreneurs reach a high level of success, they need more than money as a motivation to keep achieving lofty goals and continuing to find their passion in creating successful companies. For Khanna, his motivation is found in mentoring others to higher levels of achievement. He takes pride in the team he hires and believes a business’ success relies on its values and mission. He values being able to hire and train well. Nitin Khanna has been investing in dozens of businesses he believes in since first moving to Portland, stating, “I want to see Portland thrive.”
What’s Next for Nitin Khanna?
Still heavily immersed in his work as CEO of MergerTech, Nitin Khanna has recently set his sights on the emergence of Indian-based technology. He invested $5 million in Mohali-Based startup Isos Inc. India, which is quickly growing in entrepreneurship. Isos Inc. seeks to enhance productivity through smart solutions, such as real-time tracking and monitoring, inventory management, cashless transactions, security management, and more. The software can be applied across a wide array of verticals including government buildings, offices, and school campuses. Read more.
Beyond local ventures and funds, Nitin Khanna also invests time in to his hobbies. He is a self-taught DJ and previously owned a club in Portland. He also has an interest in wines and has even created a world-class Pinot Noir called Four Handle. He has a keen interest in movies, which led him to make his own. He has produced two award-winning movies which opened at Sundance Film Festival: “Terms and Conditions May Apply” and “What Lies Upstream.”
Through all of his business endeavors and pursuits, he prioritizes time with his family. In addition to investing in and running various successful organizations, Khanna is a dedicated father to 4 children, ages 1 all the way to 16, and husband. He refuses to conduct business over dinner, and dedicates his evenings to spending time with his family. He emphatically states that it is rare for him to accept a dinner invitation without his children.
But when it comes to predicting what will be the next big move for Nitin Khanna, few could say. His ability to pivot on a dime and follow promising opportunities as they arise is what has fueled his journey since turning away from a Ph.D. Without being whimsical, Nitin Khanna is able to maintain a level of flexibility which allows him to move with the freedom necessary to make an important impact. As he continues to invest time and attention into non-profit ventures and projects such as Big Tent Ventures, it’s possible that this world of giving may begin to take up more of his energies–however, something tells me that the deep entrepreneurial spirit which has forged his journey thus far will not shy away from new opportunities should they arise as vulnerable for the taking.
Nitin Khanna: An Embodiment of the American Dream
Through discipline, focus and an unwavering dedication to creating a healthy and vibrant company culture, Nitin Khanna has managed to replicate his success across multiple industries. Far from narrowing the cone onto his own personal success, he uses his time and resources to propel others to success and dedicates his time to mentoring others.
In a world where entrepreneurial concepts are quickly becoming a part of pop culture, rising in flashiness and attracting individuals who think it’s a quick way to make a living, he is setting a fine example for what it means to build meaningful and purpose-driven businesses across the country. Never sacrificing his core beliefs or family values for some cheap attention or media, Khanna’s success has been built on decades of diligent hard work–hard work which continues to raise the floor for all those who come into contact with his efforts.
Dil Bole Oberoi
