The 'Innovation Ecosystem' as envisioned by the young and dynamic people of the non- profit HeadStart Network Foundation(http://
Over the 18 months, the Headstart Foundation, as part of their vision of creating this Ecosystem, have, through their various events connected with over 5000 upcoming entrepreneurs. They also run an online collaboration portal, where the number of discussions exceeds 1000 members (and counting). The Foundation also manages a Startup Incubator at IISc, Bangalore. Today's event will see over 500 people attending, including new age entrepreneurs, professionals and investors.
A Startup Saturday (since March 2008) provides a forum for entrepreneurs to discuss, present, network and learn from peers, prospective customers, adopters, partners and investors. Each Startup Saturday has a relevant theme that captures current issues dominating the markets and future potential of that sector. Each event will have a couple of insightful talks by experienced entrepreneurs / academics / professionals who share their life experiences apart from analyzing the current theme of the event.
There is usually one showcase talk by a young entrepreneur who has a product rolling and a few customers in the kitty. This startup is then reviewed and debated on by the audience followed by incisive questions and healthy arguments from all parts.
The sizzlers of the events are the lightening pitches (usually two) which are of ten min duration where a very young startup gets to introduce their product/idea and it is pounced upon by an enthusiastic audience.
Saturday’s event promises to be a gala event for entrepreneurs, businesspeople as well as professionals. Everyone will return from the event enriched, having been integrated into the 'Innovation Ecosystem'.
Mumbai Agenda: Event Description
The November 2009 edition of Startup Saturday Mumbai concentrates on the
"Ecommerce / Online Retail" space. The event would bring together some experienced industry minds that have facilitated online trade in India for a long time. At the same time we would have some interesting startups showcasing / demos at the event.
Venue: NCR4 (EMBA1) SPJIMR, Andheri (W).
Timings: 3PM-6PM
Participation Fees: Rs. 100/- (For Students: Rs. 50/-). Amount shall be collected at the venue
Agenda:
Showcase: Under Cover Productions - Mr Abhigyan Jha
Talk on challenges and role of logistics in Online Retail
Talk on 'How online payment gateways work in India'
Showcase: Brew Crafts (India's first Microbrewery)
Lightening Pitches
Click here to know more about Startup Saturday Mumbai.
Bangalore Agenda: Event Agenda:
• 10 - 11:00 AM - Lightning Pitches
Lightning Pitches as the name suggests are quick presentations for a duration of 2 minutes or less followed by a Q & A session with the audience. They can help you in various ways including providing with a valuable audience to gain feedback, suggestions, and ideas to move ahead in your business.
Presenting startups in this month's LP session:
1. Printisfun (www.printisfun.com)
2. Noesis Info Services (www.noesistec.com)
3. DonateYourPC.in
4. Beezang (http://www.beezang.com)
5. Vpe Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd (www.vpeksolutions.com)
6. Indian Drinks (By Anirudha & Nivedita)
7. Campus2Hire (www.campus2hire.com)
8. ZimZim
9. Sportskeeda (www.sportskeeda.com)
10. Almechants Systems LLP(www.almechants.com)
• 11 - 12:30 AM - To be or not to be an Entreprenuer
Session and Moderated discussions by Surya covering
• Pre start up
• Firming up the idea
• Formation of the team
• Boot strapping
• When to raise money
• How to reach cash stability
• When to call quits
About Suryanarayanan:
Surya, a Chartered Accountant by qualification, is the Chief Operating Officer at the NSRCEL. He is also an alumnus of the International Masters Program in Management of IIMB.After spending the initial years in the finance function at Union Carbide and Nicholas laboratories, he joined a family run
pharma start up company, Recon and served as its Group Finance Director. His stint as a serial entrepreneur started in 2000 and since then he has successfully founded, funded and exited healthcare ventures including MedyBiz, a disease management company and LifeKen, an organized pharmacy retail chain.
• 12:30 - 1:00 PM - Questions and Networking
Delhi Agenda:
The November edition of Startup Saturday Delhi is all about Foodies.We are having a theme based SSD - "Food and Beverages Businesses". The presenters are all business owners with a strong focus on retailing.Hope to find a lot of foodies attending to what people in the business have to say.
Here is the Agenda for Startup Saturday Delhi, November 14:
1. Preet Saini from Mrs Kaur. Mrs Kaur was started 3 years ago, and has gone onto become a big store with own factories for production. Preet is going to talk about the journey he took.
2. Nitin from Naisha Foods. Their company is present online at the
address http://www.chakhle.com . With a USP of higher quality edible products, they are also moving towards becoming a brand in themselves.
3. Akhilesh Bali from MithaiMate. We will be hearing a lot about the logistics and economics part of their business. Since they function more like an online retail franchisee for some known brands, it will be an interesting talk from an
operations point of view.
Click here to know more about Startup Saturday Delhi.
Kolkata Agenda:
For November we have the following agenda:
Business Showcase: uHook USB Disk Security
Vikram Kumar
CEO & Founder, DataResolve
uHook Personal is a data theft prevention product to protect your files from getting stolen or accidently leaked out of your PC through unauthorized USB storage devices like Flash Drives, External USB Hard Drives, IPODS, Cameras, Cell Phones etc.The product is designed keeping in mind the requirement of a home PC user.
In this showcase, Vikram will take us through their whole experience of how the product was built, his learnings from that and how they went about & are going about selling the product.
Reality Check: The Juice Station
Arundhati Dutta
Founder, The Juice Station
A health-drink startup, The Juice Station is one of its kind in India, and a first one we suppose. It's first outlet is going to be launched just a few days before the Startup Saturday.
Pune Agenda:
• 3:00 - 3:40 pm - Sunil Nikhar, Promoter, Pyxis IT on "Information Technology in
Financial Sector"
• 3:40 - 3:55 pm - Ravindrakumar Kshirsagar, Startup Showcase on "Bio- Excellence"
• 3:55 - 4:05 pm - Break
• 4:05 - 4:45 pm - Kaushik Gala, Venture Center, NCL on "Academic research to a startup"
• 4:45 - 5:00 pm - Startup Showcase"
Hyderabad Agenda:
Event Theme: Online Marketing!
Businesses large and small face marketing challenges. Whether you are a product company, an online retailer, website owner, or an entrepreneur preparing to launch a new internet company, you need to understand the new world of online and social media marketing and how this applies to the Indian Consumer.
• Making the Best Use of SEM - Rama Raju, Founder, CEO, GapMiners
• SEO and Site Optimization Techniques - What Works and What Doesn't - Pankaj
Joshi, SEO expert, founder of an SEO analyzer startup
• Understanding your Target Customer, Market Sizing and Segmentation - Vivek
Singh
• Panel Discussion by 3-4 startups experience in various marketing channels
Sridhar K - (Director at a Tamil Matrimony site)
** we are looking for local startups who can share their online marketing experiences **
• Lightning Pitches:
1. Deepesh Agarwal's (RideInSync)
2. Send us a request if you are interested in a slot for a lightning pitch. Email your requests to mamtha@investmentyogi.com
