Fatherhood and Purpose, Shaz Memon on Wells on Wheels
The father whose daughter turned a rolling water cooler bottle into a lifeline for girls in rural India
Shaz Memon runs Digimax Dental, a marketing agency built after years of saying yes to almost any client, and he is a father to his daughter Helena. Two childhood trips to India with his mother left an early mark, watching women his grandmother's age beg on the street while adults around him warned that giving money would only make things worse.
That contradiction sat with him for years. It surfaced again just before Helena was born, when he and his wife were choosing the best car seat money could buy while children elsewhere walked hours a day for water. In 2019 a water cooler bottle rolled down his office stairs and gave him the idea for a portable water wheel. He found a factory in China, placed a ten thousand pound order before he even knew where to send it, and founded Wells on Wheels.
The charity now delivers water wheels to villages across India, freeing girls from hours of daily walking so they can stay in school instead. "I don't like speaking about myself or what I've achieved," he says, a line that sums up how little credit he takes for the work. A short documentary about Wells on Wheels is available on Amazon Prime.
Quotes
"There is no more money you can give me today that is going to give me more peace, more freedom than I have now."
This Episode Is About
This episode is about fatherhood and the moment it reshapes how a man sees his responsibility to the world. Shaz Memon explains how becoming a father pushed him to found Wells on Wheels, a charity that gives water wheels to villages in India so girls can stop walking miles a day for water and start going to school instead.
The conversation moves through money, focus, and what happens once the reasons behind chasing success stop making sense. It ends on the discipline of switching off, and what a father's actual presence gives a child.
Who This Episode Is For
- Fathers building a business around family
- Men rethinking their relationship with money and success
- Men of colour navigating dual expectations at work and at home
- Founders who struggle to switch off from work
- Anyone who wants to turn personal frustration into practical purpose
What You'll Takeaway
- Fatherhood can turn private frustration into public mission
- Wells on Wheels started with a rolling water cooler bottle
- One water wheel costs 28 pounds and saves hours of walking
- Switching off protects family time and business focus
- Turning down 800,000 pounds made room to specialise
- Money stops mattering once peace and freedom are covered
- High personal standards matter more than your circle
