Young Minds Professional Panel

Photography by Bijay Dixit

SPARKING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN YOUNG MINDS

The entrepreneurial spirit among the NexGen was on full display at the Young Minds Panel discussion where college students posed a barrage of questions at entrepreneurs Swapnil Agarwal, Revati Puranik and Rick Pal. Organized by IACCGH Board member Narayan Bhargava, the event was held at the University of Houston to provide college students an insight on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. The mood, which was informal and friendly, allowed the gathering of over 40 students to mingle and network with each other over pizza. Narayan Bhargava briefly introduced the panelists: Founder of Nitya Capital, Swapnil Agarwal; Global CFO of Worldwide Oilfield Machine Revati Puranik and award winning entrepreneur and investor Rick Pal. The panel format led to more than 60 questions from the students who wanted to learn about their experiences, ethical challenges, successes and failures.

The takeaway from Swapnil who chucked a high paying job as a banker to build his own company from scratch was to let go of the “fear of dependency on a salary.” Rick Pal, the founder and Chairman of Innokul, a business incubator and accelerator in Kolkata, India, shared his mantra of success which is making do with what you have “to make frugal innovations that can be used by the masses.”

Over the past year, the NexGen by IACCGH has been making efforts in engaging young professionals and students in the Chamber’s mission.