The Bengal Business Council conducted a masterclass aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and business growth in Bengal on Saturday, August 24. The event held at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, New Town. With The Telegraph Online My Kolkata as the digital media partner, the session attracted a diverse audience eager to learn from the best.
Felicitation of Manosh Sengupta at the event
The Bengal Business Council has a clear mission: to promote business in Bengal. To achieve this, it brought together as many as 10 angel investors on stage, giving budding entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their ideas and secure the support needed to grow their ventures. Manosh Sengupta, founder and brand-parent, nurturer, expert in services sector branding and marcom and mastermind of Idea Cellular brand was the speaker on the occasion; and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, founder and former MD of Bandhan Bank, was also present on the occasion.
The angel investors were Rudra Chatterjee of Luxmi Tea; Suborno Bose of IIHM & Indismart Group; Subrata Dutta from The George Telegraph Group; Debaditya Chowdhury of Chowman Hospitality Pvt. Ltd, Avelo Roy of Kolkata Ventures; Angshuman Ghosh of Quadra Medical Services; Meghdut Roy Chowdhury of Techno India Group and Aninda Banerjee of Enkon Pvt Ltd. Suvankar Sen of Senco Gold and Diamonds and Sourav Ganguly, Chief Patron of Bengal Business Council, are part of the angel network group but were not present at the event.
The event started with a masterclass, titled ‘Putting the Human in a Brand’, covered two essential topics: ‘Labour Pains: The Art of Brand-Parenting’ and ‘Selfie-Branding: Because People Bet on People’.
The audience at the masterclass session at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, New Town
In the first part of the session, ‘Labour Pains: The Art of Brand-Parenting’, Sengupta emphasised the importance of nurturing a brand with the same care and attention as raising a child. They discussed how brands must be developed thoughtfully, with a focus on long-term growth rather than short-term gains. Sengupta highlighted how understanding the market and staying true to a brand’s core values are crucial in building a successful and lasting brand.
The second part of the masterclass, ‘Selfie-Branding: Because People Bet on People’, was equally engaging.
Avishek Auddy, the chairman of Bengal Business Council, interacts with the speakers and audience members
A special tribute was paid to Ghosh. For the felicitation, he shared the stage with Samit Ghosh of Ujjivan Financial Services and the duo shared their experience of building and working in the banking sector together.
This followed the launch of Bengal Business Angels Network led by Avelo Roy of Kolkata Ventures.
“We are developing the overall business atmosphere and one crucial thing in that is funding. One needs funders and backers for business. The angel investors who are here today are not only here with money but also a lot of experience on the field to support the entrepreneurs’ idea. As part of the process, somebody who is interested in getting investments they put their case to the council and the council then takes it forward to the body of investors. We welcome people to apply for this in the near future,” Avishek Auddy, the chairman of Bengal Business Council & Chandra’s Chemical Industries (1973) Pvt Ltd, told My Kolkata.
The event showcased Bengal Business Council’s commitment to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs in the state. The masterclass not only offered practical advice but also inspired many in the audience to take the next step in their entrepreneurial journey.
General secretary and founder Subhashis Dutt, vice-chairman Meghdut Roychowdhury and chairman Avishek Auddy at the event Official Press Release
“The idea was to help the small businesses and start-up ecosystem. Hence, we got together a galaxy of reputable and well-known business people to start with the first set of angels who would be part of the network and mentor the start-ups and fund them if they are interested. We started this as a channel and now in the website itself, people can apply. We will be sitting with it every quarter and the angels can take it over from there,” Subhashis Dutt, general secretary, Bengal Business Council, told My Kolkata.