It began in two ways. The national component - tying corporate brands with the sports and entertainment industries - started as a business school project. The local component - which includes events in St. Louis - began when the Dido concert tour bypassed St. Louis. At that time, I expanded our mission to include bringing unique events to town that appeal to young professionals. Obviously, our scope has expanded since the early days.

Copia restaurant, Nectar lounge and Beringer wines are among our local clients. Some of our national clients include Moet Hennessy USA, Red Bull, Hasbro and LG. And some of the celebrities we work with are Nelly, Usher and Justin Timberlake.

How do the various parts of your background help with the work you do?

I believe there's a right brain, left brain synergy. We are definitely a need-fulfillment society. We take people's wants to the next level, where they become needs. Doctors persuade patients that they need a type of medication or procedure, and then the patient decides that, yes, he or she does need that. Branding a product is similar. You want to create an emotional connection when people come to an event. You create a story behind your product.

I have a passion for knowledge and a passion to know about what's on the cutting edge. It's a driving force. I have to credit - or blame - my parents for it. They're both Ph.Ds. My dad, Balram Dhawan, is a chemist. He used to work with Petrolite, and now he teaches at Meramec. My mom, Meena Dhawan, is a psychologist with both a public and a private practice. Both of my parents are from New Delhi, India. Everyone on my mother's side of the family is well-educated. On my dad's side there are more merchants and people in jobs like police work.

My girlfriend tells me that I read more magazines than a Borders carries. I also read a lot of newspapers. Every day I read parts of USA Today, the New York Times, the gossip columns in the New York Daily News and the Miami Herald, the LA Times, the Newark Star-Ledger, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Wall Street Journal and first, don't forget, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I also read scientific journals. Magazines are InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek and Time, the New England Journal of Medicine, Med Ad News, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), Vibe, Rolling Stone, Billboard. Oh, and all the St. Louis magazines.

Her name is Megan Christie. She's 27, and we've been dating for about 3 1/2 years. She's from St. Charles. We met at a friend's birthday party. Not too exciting. I live at the Chase, and she lives in Dogtown. She works in fashion design.

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