Sheila Gopal Raheja Foundation in collaboration with Bombay Suburban Art and Craft Education Society arranged a Master Class “Pillars of Business Set-Ups” by Mrs. Veena Munganahalli on 9th November 2022.  It was organised by SRBS, LSR and SRIHM and the event took place in the institution’s auditorium in the presence of our trustee, Mrs. Durga Raheja, the Honorary Secretary, Shri Arvind Tiwariji, Heads of our Educational Institutions Dr. H. J. Bhasin- Director of Sheila Raheja School of Business Management & Research, Architect Mandar Parab, Principal of L.S. Raheja School of Architecture, Mr. Conrad D’Souza, Principal of Sheila Raheja Institute of Hotel Management, our distinguished faculty members and students.

The event was led and executed successfully under the guidance of Dr. H.J. Bhasin and Prof. Deepa Nair from SRBS. More than 200 students from our leading educational institutions enthusiastically participated in the event. The purpose of the MASTERCLASS event was to acquaint the students with the nuances of launching their start-ups. Our students were given the opportunity to present their elevator pitch on following topics:

  • Vegan Meal Plan Delivery
  • Pet Product E commerce
  • Elders Home Care
  • Green Zero Waste Wedding Planners
  • After School Kids Home Support
  • Midlife Life Experience Creators

Furthermore, they actively participated in the live polls using Mentimeter.

The speaker of the session, Mrs Veena Munganahalli is:

  • Founder of CircSense – a platform providing solutions and resources for a sensible circular economy
  • Director in Stratinvex Consultants – Providing management consultancy services for international businesses to set up their base in India
  • Advisor/ Board Member/ Angel Investor / Mentor advices / invests in many startups in India and Middle East that are creating impact and adding value to communities in their region and globally
  • Current Co-Chair for TiE Women in TiE Dubai overseeing the MENA Women’s program to enable, empower and help women entrepreneurs from the MENA region to scale and grow their businesses. She is also the Diversity, Inclusion and CSR Officer on the YPO Emirates Board.

Overall, the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, with students and faculty commenting favourably on the experience as can be seen from the testimonials.

APPENDICES

Mrs Veena Munganahalli Profile

Veena MUNGANAHALLI – Brief Profile

An accidental serial entrepreneur, Veena started working at the age of 12 by opening her own dance school in Bangalore in her garage, slowly expanding to teaching in schools and went on to teach dance across 3 continents to more than 300 students. Apart from this, Veena has worked as a TV presenter, ran her own Indian Take-Away restaurant in Africa and and also dabbled in fashion retail.

In 2002, she opened Vividha Home Fashions as an Export Manufacturing and Retail brand providing complete theme based accessories and solutions for kids and teen rooms. Vividha was a for-profit social venture employing nearly 600 women from rural areas, enabling them with skills and empowering them with employment. When she exited the business in 2016, Vividha was present in 45 locations around India and was the leading supplier to many large US, UK and European clients.

Today, Veena holds many positions:

CircSense – Founder / partner – Creating a platform providing solutions and resources for a sensible circular economy

Stratinvex Consultants – Director – Providing management consultancy services for international businesses to set up their base in India

Advisor/ Board Member/ Angel Investor / Mentor – Veena advices / invests in many startups in India and Middle East that are creating impact and adding value to communities in their region and globally

She volunteers her time in mentoring many entrepreneurs through various initiatives like 60Days, TiE Mentoring Program etc

Veena is the current Co-Chair for TiE Women in TiE Dubai overseeing the MENA Women’s program to enable, empower and help women entrepreneurs from the MENA region to scale and grow their businesses. She is also the Diversity, Inclusion and CSR Officer on the YPO Emirates Board.

Fun Fact – Veena speaks 7 languages, has lived in 8 countries, moved 17 homes, collects earrings, can dance all night and loves to be surrounded by friends and family.