It was nearly 40 degrees inside a sweltering workshop located in the small town of Bhit Shah, Sindh, Pakistan. With no air conditioning, fans, or hope for when the electricity would return, I disrupted a group of artisans toiling away at their craft by asking for insights into a traditional Sindhi art form called "jandi", the process of turning wood into colourful swings, cradles, toys, and other household treasures through meticulous carving and lacquer work.

While filming, I picked up an intricately designed peacock toy (that seems much too beautiful to hand over to a toddler, if you ask me).

"Gift! Gift!" a man in the corner shouted.

My Sindhi-speaking friends went to confirm with him that he did indeed want me to keep the toy I was admiring, claiming that it was tradition to give a present to a "daughter" when she visits their home for the first time. And, when they asked him how much we could compensate him for the sheer amount of time and painstaking labour that went into building this magnificent creature, he replied, "We cannot put a price tag on something that is given to someone as a gift."

The compassion and generosity of this stranger, whose face lit up when I accepted his gift, serves as a profound and transformative milestone on both my personal and professional paths. He and I come from different parts of the world, speak different languages, live in unacceptably different socioeconomic circumstances, and prescribe to different cultural traditions, but from that moment on, he became a permanent part of the Birdwings journey.

We often think of investors as wealthy businessmen who can help us build the capital foundation to manifest our wildest dreams. But, I am convinced that love provides a far stronger foundation and motivation for a social enterprise. The above evidence of our capacity for human connection with people from diverse walks of life was the very point I wanted to showcase through my startup, and it is one of the greatest privileges of my career to have experienced not only this, but countless other encounters with strangers whose contributions far outweigh any financial investment that I can ever expect to receive.

No MBA nor accelerator programme will ever teach me that. Artisans like Zaitoon taught me that. Who is better equipped to train someone to take a blank canvas and give it wings than a toymaker who spends his days making beautiful things that bring people joy?

Dadhi meharbani, Saien. Birdwings Media and I are forever grateful.