OdishaLIVE Bureau
Would-be entrepreneurs had 54 hours to pitch, hone and to sell their genius business ideas. Nine groups of entrepreneurs had that opportunity here on Sunday at XIMB to present their innovative business models after 3 days of StartUp Weekend exercise.
“The StartUp Weekend is a global platform for all those young mass who dream to bring a change in this society by their pioneering ideas and enthusiasm. Bhubaneswar became a hub of such talents in recent years, and we are happy to host those young minds to join us with their thoughts and passion” said Amlan, Google for Entrepreneurs.
The Bhubaneswar edition of 54 hours StartUp Weekend was organized by X-SEED, the Entrepreneurship Cell of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) and was powered by Google for Entrepreneurs for the third time in a row at XIMB campus from 25th-27th August, 2017. This event was a joint collaboration of X-Seed, Techstars, OdishaLIVE, Print View, Curry Nation, CuttackPulse and DailyDukan.com
“It was a 3 day event which basically aimed at building and promoting entrepreneurial ideas where the participants start from scratch and have a complete business model at the end of day 3. The 54-hour event was where designers, developers, marketers and StartUp enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams and launch start-ups” mentioned Karunaditya Tripathy, Coordinator of X-seed.
“The organizers are dedicated to fostering local entrepreneurship for strengthening the community. I took lot of pride to be a part of such initiative. This was an immersive weekend to engage with other entrepreneurs and we got an immense exposure too to understand the different entrepreneurship models and start ups” said Akanksha Mohanty, one participant.
On Day 1, the participants first pitched their ideas following which they were grouped into teams. They chose projects they would be working on for the next 2 days. They were divided into nine groups and each of them worked on the nine selected ideas. On Day2, the groups mingled and worked with new people who could be their next co-founder, mentor or investor. Participants were introduced to new resources available near them and the next step they can take for their ventures. Mentors coached the teams with hard problems. They were given resources and supports to materialize their ideas. They were responsible for everything from finding customers to building the product and even identify their target market.
And on Day3, the teams had to present their ideas in front of the panel of judges. Given the plethora of entrepreneurs and industry stalwarts that attended the drive, the participants were free to interact and mingle with them. Team ‘Insta-vita’ was declared winner and the Runners up was team ‘RFDS’ (Rural FMCG Distribution Services).
The event featured eminent entrepreneurs and leaders who are set to inspire and ignite the participants, who talked about their journey and experience. They were Prof. DV Ramana and Dr. Shridhar Dash from XIMB, Sibasish Mishra, Founder, Bookingjini, KC Mishra, Founder, eKutir, Debashish Mohapatra, CEO, Verve Consulting, Nilambar Rath, CEO, OdishaLIVE, Barada Prasad, National Entrepreneurship Network, Sujit Mohapatra, Founder, Bakul Foundation and Swagat Baral, Co-founder, Dew Drops Aquatic Systems.
“The conclave was aimed at inspiring the future entrepreneurs to shape their ideas into successful StartUps and to make the participants aware of the opportunities as well as the challenges faced in entrepreneurship. Being a part of the mentors and judges’ panel, I feel exited to motivate youths to come out with new ideas and promote innovative products and services for the cause of socio-economic development of the State” said Nilambar Rath, Founder Editor and CEO of OdishaLIVE.
In recent years, Odisha is taking giant leaps towards the development of a vibrant and dynamic StartUp ecosystem in the state. Apart from the State Govt, lots of professional and management institutions along with corporate are taking keen interest in developing a pool of entrepreneurs to chase their dreams, live with their passion and build something new and innovative. This again created a new generation, who are no longer job seekers, but they are creating meaningful engagements for hundred others.
