Startup Fever Grips VVISM

Covid could not abate it. And now that Covid is behind us, the Startup fever has gripped the PGDM students. Yes, it is time again for the Annual Business Plan Contest named VVISM Launchpad!  As part of the core course titled 'Entrepreneurship and Startup Management' taken by the students of a two-year full-time PGDM program at VVISM Hyderabad, it is an exciting contest.

Forty teams, forty startup ideas. Twelve hours of gruelling pitches. Assessed by 100 peers and six faculty members drawn from marketing, finance and HR specialisations! Eight finalists to battle it out. Five Jury members from India and overseas. The battlefield is set!

How were the finalists selected? After every team pitch, every student as well as a faculty panel made an online assessment. On completion, it was sorted to select the eight finalists. It was heartening to note that 7 out of 8 selections made by the peer group and the faculty, matched 100%. Many times, teachers do not entertain peer assessment by the students. But this is the third year in a row, when it has been proven that both assessor groups arrived at the same merit list! You may browse our previous story listed below proving the same point:

Startup Contest Finalists Selected by the Students Themselves

So, if you are a faculty reading this story, empower and trust your students to be fair and just. After all, we want them to be fair and just in their later life! So, make a beginning now. 

Sharing below few pictures of the selection round.

The Jury

We are grateful to the Jury all of whom are the founders of startups and enterprises. As you can see, the Jury comprises of people from different sectors like manufacturing, agri-business, space-technology, education using AI/ML and microbe-resistant textiles. We thank them again.

The Finalists

Eight Startups which made it to the Finals of VVISM Launchpad 2023, are listed below:

The Startup ideas range from manufacturing to environment to leisure travel to mental health. It was a matter of satisfaction that few teams conceived their startups in the social impact space like Health Therapists, Crunchy Cups and Waste to Wood.

The Contest

Each team was given 8 minutes for making a pitch followed by 7 minutes of Q-A. Sharing below few action shots.

Words of Wisdom

Each of the Jury members shared their experiences with the students drawn from MBA, PGDM and BBA programs. The Jury not only drilled the founders on their B-plans but also mentored the teams very effectively. Few nuggets of their wisdom superimposed on the picture of the Jury member:

The Winners

The winners and two runners up of VVISM Launchpad 2023 were announced by the Jury. Each team received a cash award, certificate and a book prize. 

Winning Startup: Waste to Wood. The founders J Hasmitha and BP Sindhura made a business plan to set up a unit to convert the rice husk into compressed board which can be used for making furniture, false ceiling etc. They received the Winner's cash prize of Rs 30,000.

1st Runner Up: Aqua Lights. The team of Vivek Mattam, Mohd Nawaz and Akshitha Goud proposed setting up a company to generate light out of salt water using magnesium in off-grid regions in India. They won a cash prize of Rs 13,000.

2nd Runner Up: Health Therapists. The team of Anusha Patro and J Sushmitha plan to provide necessary therapy to people suffering from depression and other mental health issues. They won a cash prize of Rs 7,000.

Congratulations to the winners. We hope they will browse the book given to them and implement their startup idea someday. The book titled 'BITS of Social Impact' is a primer on Social Entrepreneurship and carries the stories of 25 founders who have made a social impact on the lives or people. Readers may browse the following link to get a glimpse of the book:

BITS of Social Impact is Released

The readers may also browse other related stories below:

Can Startup Management be Taught?

Get Your Hands Dirty - Advise from Startup Investors

Can 9th to 12th Graders become Entrepreneurs?

Igniting the young minds is always a fulfilling experience. I thank VVISM for providing the platform for teaching and learning. It enables the students to get hands-on learning experience like organising the above event. The org-team in the picture below deserves special thanks.

We end with a quote from Aldous Huxley about things known and unknown. Startups start with many unknowns to convert it to known!

Thanks for browsing the story and encouraging the budding startup founders.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad 26th Jan 2023

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