“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
Those who have been observing the annual Pune Connect event for the last
6 years may well conclude that Disney’s mantra has inspired Pune’s startups. As
an action-packed Nov. 19thdrew to a close,the abiding impression
participants of Pune Connect 2016 were left with was just how varied, vibrant
and promising the Pune startup scene really was.
As the primary showcase for Pune’s startups the event, organized by
SEAP, has been attracting attention for a few editions now, and 2016 was no
different. The precursor to the event is the call for applications from
startups keen to exhibit in the startup showcase and this year, just like the
last 2 editions, over 100 startups applied when this call went out. After a rigorous
screening of their applications and multiple rounds of interviews with our EC
members over 30 made it to the showcase. What stood out this year was the range
of areas the startups were seeking to make their mark in. Pune has
traditionally beenseen asa software or IT city but this year the applicants
cast their net far beyond that. There were companies looking to make homes and
cities smarter, manufacturing-focused solutions, robots, and innovative
electric cycles in addition to startups looking to leverage technology and the
consumer internet for new and interesting ways to solve consumer issues.
A key part of the event is designed to offer some concentrated doses of
wisdom for the attendees, who are drawn from the wider Pune startup eco-system
as well as some yet-to-be-entrepreneurs. Pune Connect 2016 kicked off with a
very informative talk by Mr. Kuntal Shah, of Sage One Investments, on a topic
of deep interest to investment-hungry startups. He presented the VC’s
perspective on “Investing in an Idea.” Apart from great information on what VCs
look for while deciding on an investment, a segment the startups found
particularly useful was his views on the mistakes startups make over that
process.
Startups that had already made a beginning and were looking for answers
on how to chart an explosive growth path were enthralled by the panel
discussion that followed on “Scaling”. The panelists were 4 Pune entrepreneurs
who had “been there and done that”. Monish Darda, Shridhar Shukla, AjitPatil
and ShachinBharadwaj spoke candidly and passionately about their own
experiences of the various challenges they had faced, and overcome, as they set
about building their successful ventures. The segment contained a wealth of
information on everything from what to do with funds, hiring, market segmentation
and the signs to look for that could signify it was time for the founder to
leave. Look for the startups that attended this segment to grow sharply now!
The keynote address, by Mr. Gopichand Katragadda, CTO of Tata Sons,
focused on technology-led innovation. In a word, this session was
inspirational! As he charted the history, the present and the future of
innovation in India one could almost see the excitement among the Pune startups
in attendance. As the anecdotes about innovations from India’s oldest recorded
history to the shop floors of Tata factories, today added up – it was hard to
escape the feeling that Pune’s startups were being subtly drawn into a wider
national innovation movement, with Mr. Katragadda at the helm.
All of the post-lunch session was dedicated to the startups - time for
the visitors to view them and their offerings in the exhibition. The exhibition
area was buzzing with excitement. This was crunch time for the startups as
potential investors, mentors, associates and even potential customers sought
out and interacted with them. Selected startups also got a chance to pitch to
members of the Indian Angel Network in closed-door sessions.
Then it was on to, what most consider to be, the highlight of the event.
A final shortlist of 5 of the exhibiting startups got an opportunity to pitch
to an all-star judging panel for the startup awards. The shortlist included a
startup focused on converting ordinary cycles into electric cycles, one that
used Machine Learning technology to help B2B sales, a startup that analyzed the
social profiles of potential loan-seekers to approve payday loans, and a virtualization
technology startup.The startups exhibited great conviction in their ideas and
tremendous passion in the face of insightful questioning by the judges.
The chief guests for the event were Union Minister of State for Electronics
and Information and Technology and Dr. Omkar Rai, the Director General of the
Software Technology Parks of India. Before presenting the awards to the winning
startups the MoS and Dr. Rai presented a most encouraging view of how the
government and the STPi were committed to supporting the growthof these sectors
- great news for all the startups looking to make their mark here. The
culmination of the wonderful day was the announcement of the awards, Early
Salary won the big prize as the winner of the startup shootout but it’s fair to
say that all the startups that attended the event won in some way or the other!
The startup ecosystem in Pune is thriving, and over the last 6 editions,Pune
Connect has become a central part of that landscape. Given the success of this
year’s event it seems clear that next year will be even bigger and better –
will you be ready?
