Ronnie Screwvala

“Theatre has been a sort of hobby. I regret that I am not active, but given my job that is difficult. But those were learning days. The learning curve was the level of confidence, maturity, and reflexes that theatre teaches you is fantastic. You are alone in front of an audience for two hours and that gives you a different kind of confidence.”

“I play chess with the computer when I feel dull in my mind and after two games - 'out or win', I feel sharp again.”

“When one was looking at getting out of media, I took a fair amount of time to figure out what I want to do for the next 20 years... the one thing I am very passionate about is entrepreneurship in this country.”

“After college I'd take up a job and I'd experience what it is to take up a job, rather than starting out on my own. I said let me just work for six months so that I know myself a little better.”

“We are calling ourselves a startup nation, but the number of people who set out on their own is very low; even 10,000 a year would be low in a country like India. We can say we are a startup nation but the world won't say it.”

“A good beginning is like a honeymoon; it gets over soon. The challenge is in keeping up the momentum.”

“I chose to invest everything in my own private companies.”

“The online education space, especially in higher education, is ripe for disruption.”

“I would say that in the 1990s, I don't think the environment was enough to make anyone ambitious and aspirational. It was a downer, I would think.”

“If you look at Disney's slate compared to the other Hollywood studios, it stands out because of big titles and strong franchise films which also extend beyond cinemas, to merchandising or theme parks given the legacy of the four brands - Disney, Pixar, Marvel and now Lucasfilm.”

“How Hungama became the top children's channel in India is interesting because we were up against, not just Disney, but also Time Warner's Cartoon Network. It was an illustration of the fact that for any company that wants to grow in emerging markets, localizing content is the key.”

“One becomes an entrepreneur to break the glass ceiling and that's when you grow the market. Of course, in that process you have to be prepared to get hurt. You will get hurt. But I'm a doer and I like taking risks.”

“In India, the key is to start at the base and start very young. We need professionally trained talent, talent that wants to make football their career, and people must see football as a strong professional career option.”

“There is no typical day and I intend to keep it that way for the next 20 years.”

“We need to find a different word for 'skills', which to most people sounds very basic.”

“A lot of good movies produced well can be distributed or marketed badly. Of course, a lot of bad movies marketed well can also fail badly. But we want to be in charge of the value chain. And for this we have to be in software production, distribution, and broadcasting.”

“A three-to-six month course can give priority and direction on the five or six important things that entrepreneurs need to do first.”

“When we started our foundation, I was less than 30 years old. We pledged that 10 per cent of our profits, whatever the amount, would be used for a social cause, and that we would be actively involved in that cause.”

“My parents used to play cards on Saturday... all the friends would come across. So it was like one massive Parsee gathering... and the value system kind of creeps in.”

“Somebody needs to position you and introduce you, but after that, most of the bankers get represented with their large clients; mostly investors are their long-term clients and an investee is a short term client.”