Startup Kickoff Boosts Small Business A platform where startups can pitch their business plans to a panel of investors/ VCs/accelerators.
By Samiksha Jain •
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At times, reaching out to investors or mentors can become tricky for entrepreneurs considering their busy schedule. To make entrepreneurs' life easier in terms of getting funds and mentors, Entrepreneur Media has created the platform called "Startup Kickoff' where startups can pitch their business plans to a panel of investors/ VCs/accelerators.
At the fourth edition of the Startup Kickoff powered by The Indian Retail and eRetail Congress 2016, investors once again praised and encouraged the innovative startup ideas. In this edition, we found that apart from pitching, startups were given an opportunity to showcase their products and services to the funders in Demo Zone, an area specially dedicated for the startups. With various applications they received, the panel selected 20 companies to showcase their product in Demo Zone.
The startups were from a broad spectrum of sectors – from fashion, tech, social, fintech to foodtech, all drew applause from the delegates attending the event. Few prominent names included Leg Stylee, Kisanyard, Safety Kart, Pethawala Agra, Happay, SecureMe App/s and Device/s, Biome Environmental Solutions, Lal10, Cupdey, Morphedo, Precious Pet Services Pvt. Ltd. (Tail Lovers), Rivir, Table Bandi and Rugs & Beyond.
Startups All Set to Create Ripples
Out of these 20 ventures only 5 startups qualified for the final round where they got a chance to present their business plan on the Startup Kickoff stage directly to investors and delegates. Kisanyard, an agri eCommerce platform; Biome Environmental Solutions, a Bangalore-based design firm focused on ecology, architecture and water; Happay, a prepaid visa card based online business expenses management software solution; Momzjoy.com, an online maternity fashion platform and Pethawala Agra, a start-up that sells Pethas online are the 5 startups that managed to grab the attention of the investors. However, it was Divya Gupta's startup Momzjoy.com that stole the show and the hearts of the VCs.
Showstopper: This is how this young founder pitched her business idea
Out of all the 5 entrepreneurs, a simple yet powerful business plan of this young budding entrepreneur won her praises from the investors.
On asking about her startup, she said, "We conducted a survey of over 200 Indian expecting mothers and found that they are actually very anxious about finding the right fit of comfortable yet fashionable clothes due to the problem in fit, size and longterm usability. As a result they generally use their old clothes and get them altered. So, they end up settling for less comfortable, fashionable and less useable clothes. When we realized this problem, we decided to empower them with fashion and use a power of fashion to help them create life with happiness."
This article first appeared in the Indian edition of Entrepreneur magazine (June 2016 Issue).
