There is a popular proverb that “Do not judge a book by its cover”. And there is a strong resemblance with the feature we are about to showcase not too long from now. The 40 under 40 2025 Edition is one of the most premium monthly publications by Business Outreach Magazine and we aim to collaborate with nothing but the best. So the best minds are the ones who are thoughtful, compassionate and defy the natural order of things to achieve exceptional success in life.
Zeel Patel’s story comes to us as a stark reminder that entrepreneurship and its opportunities are rather indefinable. Being in his early twenties, Zeel Patel is moving forward to add immeasurable value to the global business ecosystem. At just 23 years old, Zeel believes in walking towards a life purpose as young as possible. He also dictates his own journey to evolve in a global context, i.e, not to be restricted by laid boundaries when looking for a market to expand a business. As an editorial, we laud such a mindset as a global perspective allows an entrepreneur to cultivate a business that is born out of diverse cultural metrics with a broad customer base.
To highlight a few of Zeel Patel’s brilliant achievements, he has built multiple businesses and expanded those to international markets, represented India on prestigious platforms like the United Nations and G20, and authored ‘Spoken by Chanakya’, which is a book that teaches its readers about modern leadership, bridging the topic with timeless wisdom and truth. This urge to build something extraordinary started when Zeel Patel was 18 years old. Back in the day, Zeel was in college, and he was balancing academics and setting up his first startup, Ioconics, India’s first IoT-based digital shopping cart.
During the early phases of building Ioconics, Zeel Patel reflects on the challenges that he surpassed with nothing more than patience and perseverance. There were investors who were skeptical about the business scalability, considering the young and vibrant age of Zeel Patel, delayed payments from international trade, financial crunches that affected business sustainability and many others. But did Zeel Patel back out? The editorial believes that if that had been the case, Zeel Patel wouldn’t have doubled his accomplishments by building yet another startup, Solstice Trading International LLP and leading the company as the Founder and Managing Director. Solstice Trading International LLP is his global F&B venture, which today operates across India, UAE, Vietnam, China, and other Gulf & Asian markets. They specialize in exporting and importing fruits, vegetables, and food & beverage products, connecting farmers to international buyers. Through both ventures, Zeel is connecting innovation, trade, and global collaboration to create businesses of the future. They have partnered with supermarkets, distributors, and wholesalers across the Gulf and Asia. They specialize in premium agri-commodities like fruits, vegetables, green millet and F&B essentials.
Zeel Patel has expanded his businesses to more than ten international markets. Something holistic that struck us has been Zeel Patel’s appreciation towards his education, which he completed from the Ganpat University (Gujarat, India) with an Information Technology degree. He was also recognized with the highly coveted Director General Award. But he also owes his entrepreneurial brilliance to the real-life industry experience, to the meetings with stakeholders and understanding the mindset of global markets.
To understand a bit more on the two ventures of Zeel Patel, Ioconics is India’s first digital shopping cart powered by IoT. Their priority has been to provide a seamless process of digitizing retail experiences. Zeel is pretty proud and fulfilled about the fact that Ioconics received immense appreciation from industry experts and policy-makers. Taking us down memory lane, when Zeel Patel spoke about Ioconics at a university competition, his idea was stamped as ‘ambitious’. And that ambition took Zeel to reach a new benchmark in entrepreneurship. And Zeel Patel has taken every experience along the way as an important life lesson. Ioconics is also a startup recommended by leaders like Shri Rajiv Chandrasekhar (Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India), Shri Acharya Devvrat (Governor of Gujarat) and Shri Bhupendra Patel (Chief Minister of Gujarat). Solstice Trading International LLP is his global F&B venture, which today operates across India, the UAE, Vietnam, China, and other Gulf & Asian markets. They specialize in exporting and importing fruits, vegetables, and food & beverage products, connecting farmers to international buyers.
When a person builds great companies, empowers youth and strengthens an economy, awards become a great byproduct. Zeel Patel has been invited as a speaker at Google’s offices in Singapore and Bangalore, featured in 48+ debates and news channels for insights on policy, innovation, and entrepreneurship and honored as the youngest importer in Dubai’s Al Aweer Central Market, Gulf’s largest food hub. Zeel Patel has also been a policy contributor in the G20 held in 2023. Looking ahead, Zeel Patel is about to transform Ioconics into a global IoT & AI hub. He is also looking towards publishing more books and cultivating thought leadership. Furthermore, Zeel aims to continue representing India at international forums like the UN and G20 and mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs, proving that global leadership can begin as early as 18 years. For the world to look up to Zeel Patel and take notes, he says, “Start young, dream fearlessly, and build something that inspires others before your journey ends.”
