16th Edition of Startup Masterclass – IIT Kanpur Alumni – Mr Amitabh Kant and Saurabh Srivastava
New Delhi: Startup Master Class ( SMC ), the flagship entrepreneur event of Alumni Association IIT Kanpur, is organized along-with IITK Incubation centre, E Cell and other participating IIT’s and IIMs. Fostering and nurturing budding entrepreneurs, it brings together start-ups, mentors and investors to build interactions and strengthen the network within the entrepreneurial community.
The vision of the overall event was to showcase current opportunities and the future of the technology in an exciting mix of verticals that weave in the key areas and lay them on the background of deep-tech & innovation. To bring Central and State level Initiatives, areas where competencies are built and the area where delivery can be assured together.
Through its 14 editions, organized across various cities in India – Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Patna, Kanpur, Mumbai, SMC has engaged more than 6000 start-up enthusiasts, 500+ delegates, 1000+ start-ups and. This has created an ecosystem for start-ups to leverage the power of the Alumni – the expertise, mentoring, funding, government and corporate connects – to support their journey.
SMC Delhi | Stepping into 20-20 on 6th April at India Habitat Centre, Delhi
16th Edition will trace the changing game with string leadership at Delhi, exciting entrepreneurs & the proximity of the central policy driving dignitaries. The focus areas for Delhi edition includes:
1. Healthcare
Healthcare Infrastructure, affordable care along with the innovations that are important for the right scaling up in India
2. Mobility
Transport continues to evolve given the expanse of the country, its large population. Besides being affordable, renewable, efficient and non-polluting sources are the key
3. Fintech
Currency, payments, security and the ease of transaction all are required in the near time . How Fintech will evolve in India and the changing role of the stake holders will be considered
The program format included the following:
· Plenary session
· Entrepreneur speaker
· Theme Panels with speakers with a mix of entrepreneur, investor domain
· Workshops
· SMC Select: Top 10 startups pitch to the investors and mentors
· 1 on 1 for the attendees to meet the speakers and the mentors
Saurabh Srivastava (Founder NASSCOM)
Mr. Srivastava included some of the major pointers that any startups should look for, in terms of what Investors would want to know, in order to make an informed. It includes:
– Customer: Knowing the customer is an important thing for any startup, to understand the kind of people that the product or service may serve.
– Market Size: How big the market may be, for any startups is also a major factor that Mr. Srivastava included. After a startup may understand the size and potential of any market, it is important to see the market from an economic point of view and create a USP accordingly as per the competitors in the related domain. It is often not a big yes for any investor if there is no or little competition.
One of the interesting things that Mr. Srivastava mentioned was the importance of the brain behind any initiative, more than the data that may fancy any spreadsheet. It is important to understand the potential of any team and how well the team may execute the solution of any problem in hand. The potential of any team may decide whether or not; how well it may cover all the bases. Arrogance, on the other hand is a big no in an investor’s eye. It is important for an investor to understand his exit options and the return that he may get for his investment. The entrepreneur in case should ask himself/herself whether he/she knows the different between cash flow and profit. In order to make sure a healthy relationship and the overall growth of a startup, an entrepreneur must choose the investor very carefully. In the end, Mr. Srivastava mentioned that it always good to be passionate but if something is not working, one must never be afraid to drop and idea or to fail, for that matter.
Amitabh Kant (CEO, NITI Aayog)
A huge round of applause greeted the presence of Mr. Kant on stage before he started announcing the different ways and schemes that the government has implemented, to ensure a better and helpful environment for the emerging startups in the country. He went forward praising the excellent efforts by the Startup Masterclass community in nurturing the entrepreneurial cultural in the country and extended the support in various aspects. NITI Aayog has been working in making the whole startup spirit to glow further in the country envisioning an overall productive and efficient ecosystem, where startups may nurture in the country.
He mentioned that there is a difference in the startup culture and market of India and USA and further suggested some ways in which Indian startups may grow and the ways in which different government initiatives like Startup India may help the enthusiastic entrepreneurs of the country. It is good to observe the positive environment that is being envisioned by the CEO of NITI Aayog and his efforts in making the whole ecosystem to flourish and work efficiently. Mega events like SMC may help providing a helping hand in making sure that such efforts may benefit the members who are in this game of making money and taking the economy to a new high