Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), an international non-government organisation launched its MP chapter in the National Conclave organised at Chameli Devi Group of Institutions on Thursday. About 230 students from Indore, Mhow and Bhopal attended the conclave to clear their queries about start-ups.
Chairperson Crayon Data Shrikant Shastri gave them tips on launching a start-up and further, cleared their queries. President of MP Tie Chapter Dr Sandeep Khadwe welcomed the participants and talked about importance of start-ups for economy. Amit Katiyar, senior manager (IP & Technology management)- BIRAC shared details about funding opportunities for product development and academic collaborations.
Tips for start-ups
Interaction with students
Student: Is it necessary to move to bigger city for starting up?
Shastri: There are endless stories of start-ups that have become successful in smaller cities. In fact, many start-ups are agro-based and move down to villages to become successful. Start-ups in smaller cities can approach investors for funding as well. In fact, start-ups are able to balance their costs in smaller cities.
Student: Being a female, do I have enough opportunities in start-up? Do I have to face more challenges than male counterparts?
Shastri: Every challenge is the route to successful start-up. I will tell you about this girl Neha. She is an engineering graduate in Electronics & Communication, worked in the corporate sector for around nine years in companies like HCL, Nokia and Adobe. The experience of growing up with a visually-impaired father and a physically-impaired mother made her aware of loopholes in the society.
She faced a lot of issues in terms of accessibility and the kind of leisure activities available when we travelled. There were instances when we had travelled 1,000–2,000 miles only to realise that the place is not accessible and does not offer a pleasant travel experience. This led to the awakening that if we as a family is facing such an issue, there might be other people as well who are facing the same. That is how she built her start-up, providing travel services for specially abled.
