Lead the way- phase 01 is an initiative hosted by Rotaract Clubs of SLIIT, Panadura and Excellence which took place on the 19th of January, from 8.30am onwards at the HATCH. Under the theme of ‘Discovering your Passion’, this session was held as a panel discussion where speakers representing varied industries or rather industrial backgrounds centered together to share their personal experiences on their pathways towards success while also providing career guidance tips.
There were three main guest speakers who gave an in-depth inkling into their lifelong journey towards being successful,
- Ganatharan Jeyakumar
A serial entrepreneur, corporate trainer and a business coach. He was the face behind co-founding MillionSpaces (A company formed awhile back which has already boomed into being the prime market place for venues in Asia, while also with its expansion to Singapore in January 2019, is one of the very few startups in Sri Lanka which has successfully reached the global market). Ganatharan is also the CEO of virtual tuition, an online learning platform to obtain financial qualifications. Before his entrepreneurial venture, he was employed as the innovation consultant for Mercedez Benz in Germany.
- Kanishka Weeramunda
A former visiting lecturer of University Moratuwa, University of Middlesex UK, Post Graduate Institute of Management in Dubai and Qatar, The American University of Emirates, in Dubai. The founder of PayMedia, DirectPay, Park and Pay, Dream Media and Global Cyber Works while also being the co-founder of Disrupt Asia; Sri Lanka’s first ever tech startup conference. In 2015 he was awarded the title the Most Valuable ICT Entrepreneur, later in 2017 he was awarded the CEO of the year and the Future Leader of the Year of Sri Lanka by Chartered Management Institute UK and in 2018 he was awarded the ICT Leader of the Year by his Excellency President Maithripala Sirisena. His companies took part in Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards and won a Gold award and a merit for Sri Lanka. At NBQSA 2018 he was awarded the Entrepreneur of the year 2018. Being an fervent believer of the quote ‘Give back what you get’, presently, he mentors many young budding entrepreneurs ncluding the world’s 8th best student entrepreneur in the year 2015 and the world’s 5th best student entrepreneur in the year 2016.
- Randhir Vithana
Being a heavily recognized household name in Sri Lankan music, he boasts a decade-long career origination as a member of Sri Lanka’s first Hip-Hop group (Brown Boogie Nation) and later sprouting into a mass market Pop Music icon with evergreen hits such as ‘Namal Mitak’, ‘Ojaye (Remix)’, ‘Kelilola Balmen’ and ‘Mal Madahasa’. Randhir has performed to numerous audiences throughout Sri Lanka and toured most of the continents in the world, engaging with Sri Lankan music fans from all walks of life. His extensive nature comprises of his activism and contribution towards varied social causes ranging from the environment, HIV/AIDS awareness, cancer victim support to peace and reconciliation.
Moving onto the concepts which were discussed within the panel and the attendees; first theme being startups, we identified methods which could be used to fund startups and both sides of the coin (The good and the bad) in each of the methods (Example: We can pitch our ideas during conferences and if we get a business deal how we can utilize that as an advancement to fund the business). Discovering your passion may take time since it is a hunt for real happiness and satisfaction and this journey requires sacrifice while it molds you into a holistic individual who can take up multitude challenges and still come out of it as good as new. Through this knowledge sharing session most of us identified different ways to deal with failure and distress in the journey towards success. After the intense discussion regarding our future and our goals in place Mr. Dushyanth and Mr.Randhir entertained us with a song.
Indeed, a great mixture of entrepreneurial facets and the material they shared with each of us were rich in essence, while their advice is something we all ought to follow when journeying in our unique career pathways. Well, if you did miss out this great opportunity stay tuned for Lead the Way- Phase 2 to keep discovering your passion.
Written by-
Rtr. Tharindhie Alles
Co-editor 2018-19
Rotaract Club of SLIIT 