The Cohort focuses on the specific areas of Health, Sanitation and Waste Management in the context of a Smart City
Mentors with proven track record and experience in the Smart City domain areas. A good mix of senior industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs.
a Mentor for a startup. Matchmaking of right mentor to a startup. 50% of the program sweat equity charged goes to the Mentor.
Aggressive weekly follow ups to assist with rapid pivoting, focus on gaining early business traction.
Visibility through various events and media interactions, at least 2 -3 media exposures during the course of the batch.
Software and Hardware design related support services incl. UI/UX and architecture level design support.
Investment support incl. Investor ready PowerPoint and business model spreadsheet preparation , hunting and pitching support.
Gain momentum and upgrade your venture to the next phase of its business cycle
Help with due diligence, statutory clearances, taxation etc.
Advise on relevant government programs and schemes, Startup India registration
We look at the founding team - their passion, team dynamics, experience; and what will it be like to work with them. We back entrepreneurs who are driven and won't pack up and leave at the first sign of challenge.
We want to understand the rationale behind the idea. Why was this chosen? What problem does it solve and for whom? What makes it unique, viable, and feasible and a winning idea for us to back?
The start-up should have moved beyond the idea stage to execution - preferably with at least a rough prototype or an early proof of concept. Start-ups which are in expansion mode are probably beyond the scope of this cohort.
The last Cohort kicked off with the first contact class at Ashoka University focusing on the mentors understanding the business model canvas of the startups and in turn, working with them on not only their operating plan, but also on various marketing and branding techniques. Startups also devoted time in perfecting the art of pitching their ventures, learning about impact investments, acquiring knowledge about the legal requirements and the importance of technology based solutions in environmental change.
Contact Class-II focused on the developmental aspects of entrepreneurs, with Cohort members learning about Inclusive Enterprises, Design Thinking and Value Proposition. It also had sessions on business operation aspects including Unit Economics, Financial Modeling and picked up from the previous Contact Class focusing on Pitching and Investment Funding.
Contact Class-III was a 2 day affair with the first day comprising sessions on Sociology of Smart Cities, the art of Networking and Legalities of Fundraising. Day 2 marked a couple of sessions on startup valuations, innovation economy and private sector support for startups. The 2019 Demo Day then kicked off which initially saw the Cohort's startups pitch their ventures to investors. This was followed by a roundtable discussion on 'Smart Cities and Startups - Innovation in Policy and Practices' in the presence of Ms. Ira Singhal & Ms. Veditha Reddy (North Delhi Municipal Corporation) and a large pool of investors, smart city entrepreneurs and industry experts.
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