Entrepreneurs share their takes on investment culture, CSR, and personal learnings in Kolkata conclave

She said, "As far as Shark Tank is concerned, a lot of startups that came were pre revenue or low revenue and to a large extent you are betting on the founder and you look for that fire in their eyes, passion and whether they are on top of their numbers and then you decide whether you want to be a part of their journey."

Thapar said that she has broken down her investment strategy into four F's including founder, foundation, financials, and fit.

Speaking about Corporate Social Responsibility, Chairman and M.D for Keventer Agro Ltd. Mayank Jalan said, "To have the ability to give back to society is a very rare privilege and to still not do so would be a colossal crime.

"When we look at CSR, my belief is it has to be done for sustainable reasons. One should do it because you're willing to take that step and also because the cause is close to your heart."

Sharing a personal anecdote about giving back to society, Jalan said, "In 2005, one of my colleagues who was a worker had six children including four girls and two boys. When asked about their education, the father informed that two of his siblings went to two schools and none of them were girls.

"On the same day, Keventer decided that all the education expenses of their employees' children would be paid by the company."

Talking about learnings from his entrepreneurial grind, CEO and Co-founder of Wow Momo Sagar Dayani said, "My entire journey has made me realise that there are days when you are happy and then there are days where you are dejected and you can't sleep.

"The dreams have to be so big that they are the reason that you don't sleep."

He said, "More importantly, you have to stand by yourself first and you need to have your own back, otherwise don't expect your family or friends to have your back. The other realization I had was that every adversity should be taken up as a challenge."