By Ankit Rana

Entrepreneur or Entrepreneurship has been a relatively new word

for me and I have only truly started to understand the meaning of the word since I joined Biruwa Ventures. “Entrepreneur” is a very popular and frequently used term in the Biruwa community, where we house several startup companies covering wide areas of businesses. So what is this word, that seems to have magical powers and the power to bring a revolution or a change?

This past week I attended a special event called the “Last Thursdays with an Entrepreneur”, made

possible by the group: Entrepreneurs For Nepal, Samriddhi (the prosperity foundation), Biruwa Ventures and DECC. The event takes place on the last thursdays of every month. During the event, an experienced guest entrepreneur comes in and talks about their experience

and their entrepreneurial roller coaster ride. This has always been a free event to attend, gain insight and experience, and a way to network with like-minded individuals.

Why is this event particularly interesting than any other speeches given by politicians or any other boring sit down presentations you have attended? Well, first of all, these guest speakers share real life experience, it is not a theory or a prediction that something is going to happen, most of the stuff that the speaker talks about has already happened. Since personal experience and stories are shared, it is more like a conversation rather than a boring presentation.

Mr. Sunil Pokharel from Gurukul

This months guest was Mr. Sunil Pokharel from Gurukul. Gurukul is Nepal’s first theatre school, which also hosts and organizes various acts and plays to entertain and educate their audience on different social issues. In Nepal, Gurukul is the oldest and the only institution that provides such services. Mr. Pokharel gave a simple reflection on his

experience being an integral part of Gurukul followed by question and answer sessions.

Mr. Pokharel comes from a Brahmin background and being an actor gave him this unlimited freedom. He could become whoever he wanted; whenever he wanted. His biggest passion was to act, and to share his acting talents with other individuals. Passion is what drove him to success and he did not want fame or riches to fuel his passion. Those who have heard of or seen Gurukul’s plays definitely rank the performance and entertainment level very high. While Mr. Pokharel shared most of his experience and journey being a part of Gurukul, it was clearly understood that to run a business successfully, proper management and financial planning is very important, maybe something

that caused Gurukul of Kathmandu to close. After his presentation, a short question answer session followed where inquisitive individuals asked deeper questions.

By attending the event, I learned a lot about the important aspects of running a business. Yes, for a lot of us, passion is what drives us to achieve the unachievable, but without proper management, planning and research, a venture has higher risks of failing. Each and every individual present in the event could relate to Mr. Pokharel’s experience in some sort of way and learned what to do and what not to do.

Audience at E4N Last Thursdays Event

We could clearly see that entrepreneurs help bring development, create opportunity and lead the economy in the right direction. Attending the Last Thursday’s event was just an awesome way to learn more about the power of the word “Entrepreneur”. I learned that attending the event was not only a way to know more about how to successfully start a new venture, but also a way to be part of a group that brings a cultural, social and industrial revolution. Those who stayed behind for the networking session benefited additionally by getting to meet new people and learn

of more entrepreneurial journeys that are happening all across Nepal.