Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad conducted a Startup Fair 2011 on October 15, 2011. This event was organized by the Entrepreneurship cell of IMT. 40 Startup entrepreneurs and many Venture Capitalists participated in the event making it a grand success. These professionals shared their knowledge and experience of setting up their companies with the students, which proved to be very valuable exercise.
The event kick started with Dr. Bibek Banerjee, Director of IMT Ghaziabad, inaugurating the event by lighting the traditional lamp. Thereafter, one by one, the entrepreneurs came up on the podium to share their insights on their Startup business. They were all given two and a half minutes to speak. The notable among all the speakers and the first in line to share his entrepreneurship skills was Mr Hitesh Oberoi, founder and COO of Naukri.com. He shared his experience about starting and managing Naukri.com along with a string of portals such as shiksha.com, jeevansathi.com, foodiebay.com and brijj.com. He shared information about the business of the digital world. He said that if a business is directed towards the needs of the target audience, it will turn out to be lucrative and thus has the makings of a successful venture. However, this requires patience and persistence as it would not be wise to anticipate results from day one.
After the entrepreneurs, it was the turn of the venture capitalists to express their expectations from a Startup and list down factors that made an investment highly attractive for them. Ms. Padmaja Ruparel from Indian Angels Network conveyed that they judge Startups on the basis of the content of their pitch: PODs, scaling of strategies, returns planned in 3-5 years, revenue modeling and eminent members. Bipul Kumar from Tatsam Sports and an ex-IMT’ian, who runs a start-up company himself, expressed that the biggest hassle of a Startup is getting into the cobweb of operational hazards like finding office space. And here, IMT G Incubation center comes to the rescue as it is an aggregation of all services which may be required in the beginning, so that the focus can be solely directed to core strength and core business. Founder of Beyond Plus 2 shared valuable insights on entrepreneurship. He said, “Entrepreneurship means doing something differently and no faculty can teach 60-70 people that at one go. However, a B-School like IMT gives you a kick start and makes you believe that there is life beyond a job. Giving emphasis to real life cases instead of theoretical knowledge helps in assimilating hands-on knowledge. Fairs like Start-Up Fair 2011, help you get in touch with many like-minded people by giving a detailed view of the market, helping you connect with people who can help you grow and also giving you a morale boost.”
To encourage the students further, a motivational talk was conducted by Rashmi Bansal, who is the author of ‘Stay Hungry Stay Foolish’, ‘Connect The Dots’ and ‘I Have A Dream’. She is also the co-founder of youth magazine JAM (Just Another Magazine). Bansal underlined the fact that students, at this stage of their life, are usually unclear about their career path and goals.
This dilemma can be solved by deciding between two paths – ‘to do what one loves’ or ‘to love what one does’. Giving a real-life example she citied her own case and explained that how choosing between these two options she chose to be a writer and entrepreneur, despite being from one of the finest B-Schools in India.
The Start Up fair 2011 ended with a promise of putting forth a grander show next year. In the 30 years of its existence, IMT Ghaziabad has been constantly encouraging students to dream and help them realize it as well. Start Up Fair 2011 is just one of the innovative ways; IMT is encouraging and motivating students to push their boundaries. The Fair definitely had a positive effect on the students as most of them were beaming from ear to ear and had stars in their eyes!
Sky is the limit!
The event kick started with Dr. Bibek Banerjee, Director of IMT Ghaziabad, inaugurating the event by lighting the traditional lamp. Thereafter, one by one, the entrepreneurs came up on the podium to share their insights on their Startup business. They were all given two and a half minutes to speak. The notable among all the speakers and the first in line to share his entrepreneurship skills was Mr Hitesh Oberoi, founder and COO of Naukri.com. He shared his experience about starting and managing Naukri.com along with a string of portals such as shiksha.com, jeevansathi.com, foodiebay.com and brijj.com. He shared information about the business of the digital world. He said that if a business is directed towards the needs of the target audience, it will turn out to be lucrative and thus has the makings of a successful venture. However, this requires patience and persistence as it would not be wise to anticipate results from day one.
After the entrepreneurs, it was the turn of the venture capitalists to express their expectations from a Startup and list down factors that made an investment highly attractive for them. Ms. Padmaja Ruparel from Indian Angels Network conveyed that they judge Startups on the basis of the content of their pitch: PODs, scaling of strategies, returns planned in 3-5 years, revenue modeling and eminent members. Bipul Kumar from Tatsam Sports and an ex-IMT’ian, who runs a start-up company himself, expressed that the biggest hassle of a Startup is getting into the cobweb of operational hazards like finding office space. And here, IMT G Incubation center comes to the rescue as it is an aggregation of all services which may be required in the beginning, so that the focus can be solely directed to core strength and core business. Founder of Beyond Plus 2 shared valuable insights on entrepreneurship. He said, “Entrepreneurship means doing something differently and no faculty can teach 60-70 people that at one go. However, a B-School like IMT gives you a kick start and makes you believe that there is life beyond a job. Giving emphasis to real life cases instead of theoretical knowledge helps in assimilating hands-on knowledge. Fairs like Start-Up Fair 2011, help you get in touch with many like-minded people by giving a detailed view of the market, helping you connect with people who can help you grow and also giving you a morale boost.”
To encourage the students further, a motivational talk was conducted by Rashmi Bansal, who is the author of ‘Stay Hungry Stay Foolish’, ‘Connect The Dots’ and ‘I Have A Dream’. She is also the co-founder of youth magazine JAM (Just Another Magazine). Bansal underlined the fact that students, at this stage of their life, are usually unclear about their career path and goals.
This dilemma can be solved by deciding between two paths – ‘to do what one loves’ or ‘to love what one does’. Giving a real-life example she citied her own case and explained that how choosing between these two options she chose to be a writer and entrepreneur, despite being from one of the finest B-Schools in India.
The Start Up fair 2011 ended with a promise of putting forth a grander show next year. In the 30 years of its existence, IMT Ghaziabad has been constantly encouraging students to dream and help them realize it as well. Start Up Fair 2011 is just one of the innovative ways; IMT is encouraging and motivating students to push their boundaries. The Fair definitely had a positive effect on the students as most of them were beaming from ear to ear and had stars in their eyes!
Sky is the limit!
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