Where startups met mentors and investors

Every business needs proper guidance from someone who can help them grow. Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies led TIIPS Incubation is a platform that helps budding startups meet the right mentors and get a chance at funding. The second edition of TIIPS Incubation was recently held in association with Touchwood Advisory and Management.

An inspiring opening note

The event witnessed several dignitaries and enthusiastic startups. It was kick-started by an opening note by Dr Srinivasan R Iyengar, Director of JBIMS. He warmly welcomed the mentors, investors, startups, and everyone attending the event online. He summed up by addressing that over 250 students of JBIMS were attending the event online and has set this event with the sole purpose of helping the startups.

Shradha Sharma, founder and CEO of YourStory, joined the conversation through Zoom. She shared an inspiring message that no matter which background you come from, it is important that you work on skills that let you live a happy and fearless life.

Meets the investors and mentors

The second edition saw the participation of investors who brainstormed in order to help the startups. The panel of investors included Soham Avlani (Angel Investor) from the team of Dr Apoorva Sharma (Co-Founder of Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorn); Vikrant Potnis (founder of FundEnable and IAVC); Uday Wankawala (CEO of Atal Incubation); Aditya Pathak (Associate Partner of Product10x), and Farzan Ghadially (Senator India, World Business Angels Investment Forum). Manish Kumar (Vice-President and Zonal Head HDFC Bank) was also present at this event as an investor.

The panel of mentors included Vishal Agarwal, Managing Director — India of Santa Fe Relocation; Arun Sehgal, Principal Consultant of The Winning Edge; Chhaya Sehgal, Founder and CEO of The Winning Edge, and Dr Sarika Mahajan, Assistant Professor at JBIMS. The panel also included Pradeep Pinto — CEO Middle East of Adsync Advertising LLC and Karan Thacker, Managing Director-HT Foods and Alumni of JBIMS.

The event was hosted by Dr Srinivasan R Iyengar, Ganesh Gokhale, Founder of Touchwood Advisory and Management and Shubh Bansal, entrepreneur, running ventures in the fields of tech and media, co-founder of Neta G and advisory to multiple startups. Abhishek Karnani, Managing Director at The Free Press Journal was the Media Partner for the event. The event also saw the participation of banking partners HDFC and Bank of Baroda. Niharika Tewari, Content Strategist of Sociobits, Digital Partner of the event was also in attendance.

Apart from providing valuable feedback and encouragement, mentors and investors also provided pointers that would help the businesses grow and flourish. They generated an engaging conversation after every pitch from which everyone present in the room could learn something.

Enthusiastic business pitches

The startups were present from different states. The first pitch was presented by Navork Innovations from Mumbai with a solution in the agri-tech industry. Alliste Technologies, which had made a presence on Shark Tank India from Delhi presented a power-packed pitch. Exter, an electric scooter solution, and Maas, a meat provider, made an online presentation. Good Fettle Private Limited came up with zero fat ice creams and INFLUENXING a platform that helps connect influencers with brands. These startups are also based in Mumbai.

Ending notes by hosts, investors and mentors

The event came to end on an inspiring with every panellist boosting the morale of the participants. The Dr Iyengar thanked everyone who helped organise the event and encouraged the entrepreneurs to share their experiences with so everyone involved with the TIIPS team can help them.

Wankawala said market research is the core of any business and most startups lack ecosystem knowledge. Manish Kumar, Vice President and Zonal Head at HDFC Bank gave weightage to the fact that every startup should aim to offer a delightful customer experience, the ability to reach the masses, and adapt a robust operational procedure.

Ganesh Gokhale took a moment to add that JBIMS led TIIPS have all the resources like mentors, VCs/investors, who will use their expertise to help the startups; and necessary tools like technology, digital marketing, go-to-market, co-working space, etc., that they are willing to share with startups as well as the students of JBIMS who attended the session.

Shubh Bansal also strongly feels that in India, people have a lot of innovative and extraordinary ideas that remain unexplored because of the lack of opportunities. This is exactly what everyone is trying to provide through JBIMS led TIIPS Incubation startup event. The idea is to give entrepreneurs a push to follow their dreams.

Dr Iyengar concluded by said, “This is not a full stop but a comma for the startups. This is a beginning and if you (startups) succeed then we will also succeed. It is a win-win for all of us.” He also insisted on a networking session after the event because he believes that ‘network is net worth’.

After a great networking session, the Bank of Baroda generously offered a token of appreciation to every startup. Manish Kumar from HDFC bank also thanked the investors, mentors and hosts for their valuable input by presenting them with a gift hamper.

Published on: Monday, February 28, 2022, 07:00 AM IST