"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." Pablo Picasso

With this quote, Raj Sharma, Managing Director – Wealth Management,The Sharma Group Private Wealth Advisors kickstarted the discussion on the closing keynote ‘The Next Chapter’ held at Westin Watham at TIECON east annual conference on April 28th. While many tracks were covered, the final day keynote was an interesting one. It focused on what is the next chapter for a successful entrepreneur after he/she builds wealth and wants to now channel it towards Philanthropy The panel speakers included Kate Guedj, Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of The Boston Foundation, Dwight Poler, Founder and CEO,AccelR8,Jit Saxena,Chairman, Neel Capital Management and Samir Desai, Founder, The Desai Foundation

Several key areas were covered ranging from the pathways to find a new purpose and the importance of measuring impact and outcomes in the philanthropic world. The panelists also talked about how to transfer best practices from the corporate world to philanthropy and  giving advice for young entrepreneurs on how to incorporate philanthropy into their lives.All four panelists shared their thoughts. Kate Gedj talked about six easy steps of how philanthropy can be approached. They included the donor’s passion, phase of life, building networks, family values, giving early and learning along the way. Dwight Poler remarked that he always followed the philosophy of ‘Earn, Learn and Return’ as a way to give back. Jit Saxena said his own son’s disability made his family focus on not the ‘why’ but ‘how’ best they can help while Samir Desai talked about his experience growing up in India and how the challenges faced in his village helped him  understand the philanthropy ecosystem.

The session summarized that philanthropy is a process that needs to be followed in a thoughtful manner and that entrepreneurs can help shape the transformation change needed to make the world a better place.

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