FLAME University’s Entrepreneurship Centre all set to catalyze the Indian Startup ecosystem
Mumbai: FLAME University, the pioneer of liberal education in India, will bring together a stellar group of successful entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders at BLAZE- its flagship start-up summit on March 1-2, 2019 at its campus in Pune. Designed with the aim of supporting and growing start-ups, the summit will be led by Darshan Doshi, Director of the FLAME Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (FCEI).
Making the announcement, Professor Dishan Kamdar, Vice Chancellor, FLAME University said, “BLAZE is an initiative by FCEI at FLAME that envisions to bring together thought leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders on a common platform to support deserving entrepreneurs. We will provide them the opportunity and incentive to reach their potential and hope that they build ventures that will create jobs and wealth in the future.”
The theme of BLAZE is to understand the challenges faced by innovators and startups in their journey to scale through workshops, talks and panel discussions with trailblazers in this space and give aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to grow through the new venture competition. As a part of this, FCEI will select 15 truly amazing new ventures and business ideas from applicants across India to present their business-pitch to an ‘Investor Panel’, comprising of eminent names from the industry and the start-up world.
Outlining the value-add that BLAZE will provide to start-ups and idea stage ventures, Darshan Doshi, Director of FLAME Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (FCEI) at FLAME, said, “BLAZE will play the role of a catalyst in accelerating the growth of entrepreneurship across the country. What differentiates BLAZE is that it offers a multifold ROI to the promising ideas and selected ventures. We will partner with the entrepreneurs to identify their growth areas, solve their challenges and hand-hold them till they are ready to go to market. We will also connect them with prospective customers and Investors for potential funding support and provide them the much needed boost to grow and scale their ventures confidently.”
The agenda for the two-day summit and the speakers who are expected to speak at the summit is as follows
Friday March 1, 2019 (1pm – 8pm)
· Opening address by Dr. Dishan Kamdar, Vice Chancellor, FLAME University
· “Startup Opportunities from the eye of an investor” by Pranav Pai, Partner 3one4 Capital
· “Scaling & Exiting a Fintech Startup” by Patanjali Somayaji, CTO, Capital Float and Cofounder, Walnut App
· Investor Panel Discussion: “What Investors want to see in Startups” with Pranav Pai, Vaibhav Domkumdwar, Sachin Oswal, Abhishek Prasad
DEMO Day – Eight Early-stage startups Pitch to Investors
· “Building a Brand in India” by Riya Shah, founder, The Quick Wok
· “Indian Startup Ecosystem: Deriving benefits from events, incubators, accelerators” workshop by Praveen Dorna, cofounder, StartupByte
Product Showcase – Student Exhibits across FLAME Campus
Saturday March 2, 2019 (9am – 6pm)
· “How to Build Scalable Global Startups from India” by Tarun Davda, Partner & MD, Matrix Partners
· ” RealLives to Real Life – Training Youth in Empathy, Sustainable Development & Changemaking” by Dr. Parag Mankeekar, Ashoka Fellow, Leader – RealLives Global Scaling, Founder Director – Neeti Solutions, Founder – YoungChangeMakers Conference
· “Enterprise AI Landscape and Data Science General Practices” by Rohit Pandharkar, Head of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Mahindra Group
BLAZE New Venture Competition – 15 Selected Startups Pitch to Investors
· “Changing Global Trends in Media Consumption” by Tapas Sen, Cofounder & CPO RadioMirchi
· “Working with Legends in the Indian Music Industry” by Shameer Tandon, Founder, Music Boutique
· “Should I Startup | Succeed not Fail” workshop by Vikas Kumar, serial entrepreneur, investor and founder, LoanTap
Key Initiatives at BLAZE – Igniting Ideas:
· New Venture Competition – Startups with less than INR 5 lacs in annual revenue as well as game-changing new business ideas from students from universities, technical and management schools across India are eligible to apply before February 22, 2019. Top three winners will receive INR 85000 in cash prizes while 15 startups selected to pitch to the investors will receive an opportunity to incubate their ideas at the FLAME Incubator Program to achieve next stage of growth. New Venture Competition Application Link: https://www.flame.edu.in/research/centres/centre-for-entrepreneurship-innovation/blaze-igniting-ideas
· FLAME Origins Program Demo Day – FCEI’s startup accelerator initiative, the FLAME Origins Program, has accelerated eight early stage startups across India over the last five months. These startups will making their business pitch to prominent angel investors and venture capitalists.
· Product Showcase – Over 30 FLAME entrepreneurship undergraduate and postgraduate student groups will display a range of products created over this academic year.
· Workshops, Speakers and Networking – Aspiring entrepreneurs and students can attend the two-day event for free upon registration and get the opportunity to network with prominent business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and talented students. Individuals interested to attend BLAZE startup summit can register here: https://www.townscript.com/e/blaze-igniting-minds-204341