PGDM(GM) class of XLRI hosts its flagship Start-up Conclave -“Ingenium”
New Delhi: XLRI, the oldest B-school in India always strives to be a management school fostering future business leaders towards a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. To create an entrepreneurial intent amongst youth and inspire them to build-up start-up ventures, PGDM(GM) Placement committee organized its virtual flagship event Start-up Conclave “Ingenium.” The conclave focused on “The ever-changing dimensions of the start-up ecosystems”. The conclave brought together many distinguished entrepreneurs to nurture entrepreneurial ideas amongst the student community and brainstorm high potential opportunities to pursue new ideas and set up thriving businesses under the guidance of some of the country’s best entrepreneurs, industry leaders & visionaries.
Fr. P. Christie, Director of XLRI, in his welcome address said, “Fast-growth entrepreneurial ventures spur economic growth. It is essential for prosperity and social progress. Promoting entrepreneurship is one of XLRI’s goals, which finds its way into the curriculum in the form of certain courses and case studies. Students need to identify new opportunities and contribute to building a progressive and responsible society. The first edition of Start-up Conclave 2020 is an initiative to encourage and develop an entrepreneurial mindset. He stressed the importance of start-ups and B-schools forging a meaningful collaboration and talked about XLRI’s start-up incubator XCEED – an initiative to promote and nurture entrepreneurship. He reminisced his conversation with former Indian President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who emphasized the importance of business students becoming job creators over job seekers.
The Keynote speaker, Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, a Corporate Trainer and Coach to Start-ups and former CEO of JK Helene Curtis shared his perspective on the changing business rules. To stay relevant in the 21st century, where competition is invisible, indirect, and cross-industry, he advised start-ups to become their own competitors, disrupt and remake themselves, and continuously seek new “Avatars.”
The inaugural session of the Start-up Conclave was followed by various sessions included discussions on the topics of “Digital Innovation & Future of Digital Marketing,” “Glide of Diversification: Freedom, Innovation, Ambition,” “Diagnosing the Path to Success” and “Hurdle the Rates.”
The first panel discussion was on the topic “Digital innovation and future of digital marketing”, which brought together Mr. Amit Chaudhary – the Co-Founder of Lenskart.com, Mr. Ranjeet Kumar – the CEO of Team Pumpkin who is also an XLRI PGDM(GM) alumni, Mr. Shobhit Saxena – the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of ONN Bikes, and Professor Rajeev Roy from XLRI, as a moderator of the session. The free-wheeling discussion delved deep into several points, like – the reducing attention spans of consumers, the experience-seeking consumer, the increasing speed of execution, and the growing efficiency driven by digital technology. The panelists emphasized “the direct-to-customer” channel of marketing, which has become the norm among start-ups and is increasingly driving big corporates’ marketing efforts. The “start-up energy” in the discussion was enriching and fuelled the entrepreneurial ambitions in the business-students.
The speakers for the second panel were Mr. Naveen Khandelwal, the Chief Investment and strategy officer of Hero Future Energies and founder of Green Infra, and Ms. Tripti Shinghal Somani, Founder Womennovator, talked about the opportunities in India’s renewable sector. They stressed the required abilities and approach to work even in the unstructured work environment during start-up stages.
The third session was on the topic “Diagnosing the Path to Success” by Dr. Arokiaswamy Velumani – the founder, CMD of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd. He impressed the audience with his unique take on life and business. He strongly urged the students to have a clutter-free brain and a fear-free heart.
He motivated the students to increase their efforts and appetite to become an entrepreneur. His rags-to-riches story inspired the students towards entrepreneurship, driving home the idea that life and business are a marathon race in which, according to him, we require to build stamina, patience, and perseverance.
The fourth session was on the topic “Hurdle the Rates” by Ms. Swati Bhargava, Co-Founder of Cashkaro, she shared her entrepreneurial journey through idea inception, funding, operations, hiring, and the continued innovation in business. She enthused and encouraged students to seek opportunities and develop as budding entrepreneurs in delivering value to society.
Talking about the conference, Prof A. Kanagaraj, Placement Chairperson for XLRI’s flagship General Management program and the conclave coordinator said,” Entrepreneurship is a crucial factor in the development of any economy. The entrepreneurial mindset can give favorable results even in the midst of an economic downturn. At XLRI, we have always tried to provide the ideal platform for exchanging ideas through discussions and interactions and promoting and nurturing entrepreneurship among Millennials. The first edition of the Start-Up conclave was a great success. The conclave brought together budding entrepreneurs, mentors, experts, professionals, and students who interacted on a common platform”.
“Ingenium- is our flagship Start-up event organized to promote student interest in entrepreneurship and give them a platform to learn from some of the best and most celebrated names in the field of start-ups. At each session of the conclave, speakers shared valuable insights and highlighted the latest trends in the world of Start-ups. I urge students to take more risks, develop a can-do attitude, build the courage to face fear and failure, and continue life with energy,” he further added.