Pratik Patel

MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Professionally, starting RideKleen, a mobile car wash company. The idea started with just a passion for cars and the ambition to build a company from the ground up. In five years, this concept went from a small Philadelphia-based operation to a national footprint extending coast to coast, which was recently acquired by Cox Automotive, a multi-billion dollar corporation. The journey brought many sleepless nights but tons of lifelong learning experiences. It has been a humbling experience to have reached the ultimate goal for a startup and continue innovating while revolutionizing an industry.

HOW DREXEL HELPED: The best experience I gained from Drexel was having the opportunity to participate in the co-op program. In my opinion, being able to gain work experience is just as important as hitting the textbooks. That early exposure helped me to realize that my calling was within the world of entrepreneurship and leadership early on.

WHERE I HOPE TO BE IN FIVE YEARS: I always say entrepreneurs are a different breed of individuals and it’s not for everyone. The hunger and excitement to be part of the building process for a company will never go away and is something that will always be of interest for me. I see myself being involved with more startups and early-stage companies. I am also very excited about a long-term opportunity with the Cox Automotive family and helping to make an impact within the space we are aggressively pursuing.