By Will Pafford, Staff Writer

Ali Raza Khataw had a net worth of $3,000 when he first came to the United States from Pakistan in 1980.

While studying civil engineering at the University of Texas, he did his best to pay the bills by working as a teaching assistant.

When he graduated in 1984, however, the market was in bad shape.

“There were no jobs open,” he says.

Were it not for a few acts of kindness, Khataw would be living in Pakistan right now. Instead, he owns his own business and has the opportunity to lead community organizations throughout Austin.

Khataw is the CEO of Encotech Engineering Consultants Inc., a firm he founded in his home in 1990 that now employs 19 people.

Although he now runs a successful engineering firm with constant growth, Khataw’s life was much different in 1984.

After graduating, Khataw decided to give himself two weeks to find a job before returning to Pakistan. He posted a map of Austin on a wall and pushed pins in it to mark the location of every engineering firm in the city. He dressed in a suit, grabbed his briefcase and went knocking on doors.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, a secretary at D&W Enterprises, which is now Signature Contracting Group Inc., secured him an interview with the president of the company.

“The president was very impressed,” Khataw says.

Part of Khataw’s appeal may have been his low demands.

“Salary was not a criteria,” he says. “I just wanted a job.”

The persistence paid off, and the president of D&W Enterprises, Grady Wooldridge, gave Khataw a position at the company.

Khataw’s tough work ethic gained attention, and in eight months he went from a college graduate to a project manager at the company.

“I worked really, really hard,” he says.

One month, while Khataw was working as a project manager, Wooldridge noticed he was not eating lunch.

Khataw explained he was fasting and observing Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. Wooldridge decided that if Khataw would make sacrifices like that for his faith, the company could trust his honesty about financial issues.

Wooldridge promoted him to chief purchaser for the company, and even the vice president needed Khataw’s signature to buy items.

“That really boosted my morale,” Khataw says.

By the time this promotion came, Khataw had been out of school for about a year, and his visa was about to expire. He told D&W Enterprises he would love to stay, but he could not legally.

The company hired an attorney, but Khataw had to leave until they could obtain a legal way for him to live in the U.S.

When he returned to Pakistan, Khataw worked in his family’s construction business.

“I did not enjoy working there,” he says. “Engineering and construction are full of corruption there.”

He married but grew increasingly frustrated with his work and lost almost 20 pounds.

“There was no satisfaction,” he says.

After three years, Khataw received the call he was waiting for. He could return to the U.S. with his wife and work for the same firm, which had changed its name to Signature Contracting Group Inc.

The company later went into bankruptcy, but this gave Khataw the opportunity to start his own venture.

Although his services at the time were worth about $75 per hour, he began graphing on computer-aided-design software for $7.50 per hour to make business contacts.

Khataw and his wife sacrificed, but he was determined.

“I literally put my heart and soul into it,” he says.

Encotech finally began to grow as Khataw’s business contacts increased, and now his business is a source of pride for Khataw.

“I’ve been blessed,” he says. “It’s been a long way that we have come through.”

Khataw realizes that it was the kindness of others, especially the president who hired him at D&W Enterprises, that allowed him to come this far, and this motivates him to help actively in the community.

Khataw sits on numerous boards, including the Austin Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, the Network of Asian American Organizations and, the board he most recently joined, the Salvation Army Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area of Command.

On May 8, he graduated from a program at Leadership Austin, an organization that trains community leaders and helps them develop skills to address critical issues.

“The program is amazing,” he says. “It’s been probably the best move I’ve made in the past five to eight years.”

Part of the program’s goals is to inspire passion in its members to solve issues in the community.

Since the program, Khataw has been concerned with social justice in areas such as green energy, healthcare reform and homelessness.

“That really ignited me,” he says.

Khataw also feels a deep gratitude for the people who gave him the opportunities to succeed, such as Wooldridge.

These people allowed him to work hard and become the leader of a successful firm even though he started out with almost nothing.

“The American dream is alive,” he says.

Not everyone has the success he does, however, and one issue that is closest to Khataw’s heart is homelessness.

“That really bothers me,” he says.

In the next year, Khataw hopes to be a part of the solution to this issue by showing the type of kindness to others that helped him become who he is today.

“I feel like its time to give back,” he says.