Bangalore: In a bid to put Bangalore amongst the top 10 startup places in the world, The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE) is organising a four-day Startup Festival in the city starting April 6.
TiE is a non-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship.
Ecosytem for funding
The festival will see 60 startup companies with 30 venture capitalists share their experiences and stitch together an ecosystem that will nurture entrepreneurs. The event has already witnessed around 1,000 registrations.
According to TiE officials, the festival would kickstart an ecosystem for angel funding, that has been dormant in the last few years due to a slowdown in the global and Indian economy, coupled with lack of investment from VCs. VC firms which invested about $762 million in India in 2012, which is a 7 per cent dip over 2011, according to Venture Intelligence data.
“With this, we are hoping to invigorate angel funding which is the most critical area to start a business,” said Shashikiran, Co-Founder, Startup Festival and Associate Director, TiE. The festival is open to everyone and this year, the event plans to go beyond technology and encourage startups in education, healthcare and food segments. The event will see startups such as Redbus.in, Printo and Justeat amongst others share their experiences with other entrepreneurs and there will be a focus on how successful entrepreneurs can become angel investors.
Mentoring
“Questions such as where to start business, whom to approach for funding and learn from others’ mistakes are some of the areas that entrepreneurs will be mentored in,” said Naganand Doraswamy, President, TiE Bangalore. Academic institutions such as the Institute of Electricals and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), government of Karnataka, National Entrepreneurship Networks and corporates like SAP and Microsoft have lent their support for the venture. To boost entrepreneurship in India, Finance Minister announced that VC funds have been allowed ‘pass through status’.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
