New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- When 19-year-old Money Singh left Punjab for San Francisco in 2006, he had no idea that years later he'd be running two million-dollar ventures in the United States. The journey wasn't easy - marked by loneliness, debt, and sheer perseverance.

"I was depressed for almost a year. I wanted to go back," Singh, now 38, told CNBC Make It, recalling his early days in the US.

He initially joined a college in the Bay Area but dropped out when his academic credits from India didn't transfer. Urged by his mother to start earning, Singh took up odd jobs - first at a local drugstore and later as a dispatcher at his uncle's cab company for about $6 an hour.

That job marked the beginning of a 12-year stint in the cab business. ...