The Entrepreneurship Cell of IIFT, Delhi organized LIIFT (Launch Pad at IIFT), an Entrepreneurship Summit conducted in collaboration with UDAANSKILL and KITTES-Knowledge for Innovation in Trade & Technology for Entrepreneurial Start-Ups at IIFT; a CSR initiative of Mitsubishi Corporation of India and Metal One Corporation of India on Sunday, 20th August, 2017. The NGO partner for the event was Arya Bharat (NGO).
The event was inaugurated by Shri. Amitabh Kant (IAS), CEO – Niti Aayog and was presided over by Dr. Manoj Pant, Director – IIFT amongst the presence of distinguished guests including Shri. H. K. Mittal, Advisor & Member Secretary, NSTEDB who graced this
occasion with his august presence.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri. Amitabh Kant expressed his delight on visiting IIFT for LIIFT, which is a great platform for encouraging innovation and disruption that is imperative for addressing the challenges facing India. Mr. Kant highlighted that the government has created an ecosystem for entrepreneurs to grow and now institutions like IIFT are furthering this agenda by providing a conducive atmosphere and support, that acts as a motivator for new and budding entrepreneurs to solve problems like availability of drinking water, health of soil and other such crucial solutions that are imperative for a robust 9-10% growth which
India needs to lift millions of young citizens out of poverty.
The maiden session of the summit had a discussion around the theme – ‘Journey from ideation to my first sale’. The esteemed panel consisted of Mr. Kaushik Saha, Chief Technology Officer at Samsung R&D Institute India, Ms. Kanupriya Seghal, Founder at Beepositive++, Mr. Vivek Dhaiya, SBU Head at @SagaciousResearch and Mr. Juergen Hase, CEO at Unlimited- Reliance Group IoT.
The panelists answered many important questions such as- how does one identify a viable ideation, how to build a team and cultivate a sense of partnership among them and lastly how to deal with rejection at the ideation stage. The speakers stated that for an idea to flourish, execution has to be done with passion. Networking should be considered of importance; before jumping the gun, one should have a plan in mind. The speakers agreed that while failures are inevitable in start-ups, what matters is that one gets up and does it again but differently.
The second panel of discussion of the summit was based on the theme – ‘The Story Behind’ and the esteemed panel consisted of Priyanka Chaudhary, Co-founder – Gracia Raina foundation, Tripti Shinghal Somani, CEO – KGS Advisors, Niraj Sharan, Chairman and CEO – Aura Inc., Mukesh Malik, CEO – Project GK, Manasvi Singh, Co-Founder and Co-CEO – Buddy4Study. Many different and interesting points were discussed in the panel which ranged from how social entrepreneurs go about their journey, what are the major guiding pointers and steps every budding entrepreneur should follow and how criticism and failure are part of the entrepreneurial learning curve from which one shouldn’t run but rather embrace and learn.
The final panel discussion was based on the theme – “Why Investors Say No” The esteemed panel consisted of Mr. Vikram Gupta, Founder & MD – IvyCap Ventures, Mr. Gagan Ghai, Business Mentor – IvyCamp, Mr. Dhianu Das, Angel Investor & Serial Entrepreneur, Mr. Amit Kharabanda, MD – MyBox, Ms. Roma Priya, Founding Partner – Burgeoning Biz Support and Mr. Rajan Bhatia, Director – Rajan Bhatia & Company. The discussion covered a wide variety of topics such as why it is important to find the right investor, build the right team and come up with a correct valuation for your start-up. The panelists also highlighted how these aspects influence the decisions of potential investors. They also stressed on why it is important for start-ups to have solid proofs, especially evidence of profit. They concluded by saying that it is important for start-ups to understand that investors meet up with entrepreneurs on a daily basis but choose to invest only when they can be sure of good returns on their investment in the long run.
The Annual Entrepreneurship conclave proved to be an informative and enlightening session for all involved with it and will surely serve as a future guiding light to upcoming entrepreneurs.
