Forbes India felicitates business and entertainment leaders at 'Tycoons of Tomorrow 2022' event

Forbes India recently hosted ‘Tycoons of Tomorrow 2022’, in which it felicitated the high-flyers from business, entrepreneurship and entertainment sectors.

Presented by Neom and powered by Reliance Industries, the gala event was successfully organised on September 30, at Four Seasons, Worli, Mumbai.

The ceremony included four insightful discussions among the business chiefs and stars on the trend-setting topics of today’s time. While Alia Bhatt shared her entrepreneurial journey and gave insights on her stint as a producer, she said, “When I was younger, my relationship with money was restricted. I got pocket money from Mom and I would have to carefully save and then spend." Harping more on her investment acumen today, she shared an interesting instance of facing a gap of individual style in her wardrobe, which led to creating her maternal line, Edamamma.

The evening went on with the first panel discussion titled ‘What will it take India’s unicorn club to become profitable?’ comprising Varun and Ghazal Alagh of Mamaearth and Aditya Sharda and Souvik Sengupta of Infra.Market. “Strong fundamentals of business are necessary for sustainability,” said Varun, adding that to make a mark in the beauty care industry, one must provide personal solutions to consumers. “Every Indian manufacturing company is sitting on cross-border opportunities,” said Sengupta.

The next panel titled ‘First-gen founder or next-gen entrepreneur—what would you choose?’ comprised Kairav Engineer, VP- Business Development of Astral Pipes, Sudhakar Adapa, founder of Commerzify, and Ashwin Damera, founder, Emeritus. The speakers dissected the differentiators between the challenges and opportunities by first-generation founders and second-generation entrepreneurs in equal measure.

Spilling the beans on work-life balance for a second-generation entrepreneur, Engineer said, “When there are several family members involved in the business, there are bound to be arguments. You need to leave your differences at the door before you come home.” Mentioning the benefits of a start-up entrepreneur, Ashwin Damera said, “The founder of a fifth-gen conglomerate offered Rs 2,500 crore to build their edtech business. I declined but I wish someone had offered me that when I started out.”

Echoing Ashwin’s concern, Sudhakar Adapa said, “The ecosystem hasn't evolved much since I started over a decade ago. That is the biggest challenge.” Concluding the session by demystifying the perception of ‘easy runs’ by second-gen scions, Kairav Engineer said, “There are two types of second-gen founders; one who are born into a legacy and the other who have seen their parents grow the business. I’m a part of the latter and I call this group ‘Generation 1.5’.”

The final session for the evening, titled ‘How OTT is redefining entertainment, talent, and creativity’ featured OTT stars Rasika Dugal, Pratik Gandhi and Mithila Palkar. When asked about popularity during and post-pandemic, the three actors stated unanimously that OTT has broadened the scope of actors to taste success with sheer talent. “Scam 1992 gave me national and global recognition,” said Pratik Gandhi, adding how the virtual alternative to theatres gave birth to different forms of storytelling.

Dugal, who tasted national success with the hit web series Mirzapur, said, “My Indie film Kissa, a project very close to my heart, released in only two theatres in Mumbai in 2013. I had to carry its DVD to every interview until Mirzapur happened. OTT also proved that the audience has always had versatile preferences,” she said.

Commenting on her stardom initially as a YouTuber, Palkar, the IT-girl of hit web series Little Things, said, “‘Little Things’ released its finale season last year, but has stuck on with its audience for the refreshing content it brought to the fore. Although OTT tried to compensate with entertainment during lockdown, I believe that there are always films and projects meant solely for the big screen and the ecosystem will level out now that the world has opened up.”

Brian Carvalho, Editor, Forbes India, said, “Tycoons of Tomorrow explores a realm way vast than personal net wealth. It highlights the indomitable spark and passion of luminaries who have revolutionised entrepreneurship, thus leading the country towards a better tomorrow. I’d like to thank our sponsors, guests, and awardees for making this night brilliant.”

Preeti Sahni, COO, Forbes India, said, “It was a delight to see every panellist and speaker uphold the spirit of entrepreneurship and business acumen. This is what Tycoons of Tomorrow stands for, and the amazing response from participants and guests prove Forbes India’s legacy of providing an empowering narrative for entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”

The awardees for this event included 26 leaders from the business and entertainment industries. The list of winners is as under:

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