Sparks New Ventures: Application Process

The application process for Sparks New Ventures is now up. Major updates are

• Details about what to include in the essay
• A FAQs file to answer common queries
• The course is going to be a Project Type Course
  
• Applicants need to send their applications to 3 email IDs
• Uploaded the slide deck and audio clips used during the Info Session on 1oth Apr.
  

Please download the following files for the complete information. For people inside the BITS Pilani Intranet, please click on the Intranet Link for faster download.

• Sparks New Ventures-Application Guidelines (Intranet Link)
• Sparks New Ventures-FAQs (Intranet Link)
• Sparks New Ventures-Info Slide Deck (Intranet Link)
• Sparks New Ventures-Audio Clips (Intranet Link)

You can download these files from jet's DC++ Hub [172.16.10.74]. User : NOTA. Search for Sparks directory.

For any clarifications, write to me at rachit at celbits dot org or talk to me at 97844 61853.

The Bain Talk

In the thick of the sad placement scenario this semester, Mr. Amit Sinha, a Principal at Bain and Company gave a talk on "Why Start Up Amidst this Economic Meltdown?" today. A modest number of E-enthusiasts including CELites and non-CELites attended the session.

Mr. Sinha, a pro at start-up consultancy explored the various aspects of executing a business plan as a whole from ideating to sustainability to improvisation of the idea for making a start-up into a major business venture. Beginning with the social stigma attached with starting up like parental pressure and financial vulnerability, he went on to stress on the importance of team composition, dedication, faith in the concept and foreseeing the risks involved in a start up. Sharing his own experiences with budding and successful entrepreneurs, he came to the conclusion that an idea only contributes 20% of the success of a start up, the remaining 80% being execution. He also acknowledged the concept of promoting ideation via platforms like "Epsilon" and "Conquest" asserting how the competitions are playing a major role in promoting entrepreneurship.

He also touched the developing nature of the Indian Venture capitalist market and the immature nature of the economy in various sectors. Comparing it with the present US market, he said India still has a lot more to offer than the economies of many developed nations. Being a US return himself, he reassured the faith of the students in the Indian Economy calling it one of unimaginable potential.

Addressing the aspirations of each member of the audience personally and giving them a brilliant insight in the world of start-ups, the enlightened audience dispersed with a sense of purpose as they went on to their usual technological education.

EPSILON updated

EPSILON.The transition from zero to infinity.From an idea to a business plan.
And this transition is a story in itself -wonderful to watch and absolutely brilliant to be a part of.
The annual intrabits business idea competition got off to an amazing start last september.
The publicity was amazing...from a promotional video and its own spoof(which was much more appealing :)) to the many posters that came out nearly every
third day,from having lennon's picture in one of them..to the one saying "do u want yet another
poster?"!
Hilarious,interesting and creative..but most important of all-it created a huge buzz among the junta which resonated brilliantly in the record number of entries we got this year.
The first BPW by Mr. P.K.Padi saw a jampacked lecture hall.We also had some very good bpws by Mr Prajakt Raut(Founder,TIE) and Mr L.Desouza,Dean (academics),ISB.
The judging has been done in two rounds to shortlist the finalists (the results of the second phase are just around the corner-so tighten your seatbelts folks!!)

The finals have been scheduled for february the 14th,as the finale to the E-Week celebrations (and not because of any other traditions being followed on that date:)).
This is the first week of a new semester and its pretty amazing the way the team is working on it right now..the pitch is feverish,the days are closing in..its started to feel a bit crazy already but yes..the stage is being set for a very interesting event:)..
from zero to infinity!

2 BITS Pilani Entrepreneurs on MTV Youth Icon

It is a pleasure to be back to serious blogging after such a long break. I promise, dear E-Factor, that I would not neglect you and not take away your name (not yet).

This post is triggered by the euphoria that is prevailing at the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, BITS Pilani right now. The Pepsi MTV Youth Icon has released 23 of the 30 nominees for this year's award.

We have 2 BITS Pilani alumni on it. And the reason for euphoria at CEL is the fact that both of them are entrepreneurs!

Siva Prasad [BITS Pilani+ IIM Kozhikode] is the founder of dhanaX, a micro finance based start-up. I have always loved the concept of Social Lending pioneered by them. And you know what? Abhishek Nayak, our very own CEL Anna, has worked with him in the past. And you know what? I would not be surprised if I see Nayak on that nominee list very soon.

Vote for Siva Prasad here

Sarath Babu [BITS Pilani + IIM Ahmedabad] is the founder of Food King and with healthy balance sheets is on the way to become a literal King in the organized food business. His story started selling idlis with his mother in Chennai before a Chemical engineering degree from BITS Pilani opened new vistas.

Vote for Sarath Babu here

Wish both of you all the best from everyone at BITS Pilani!

An interesting observation was the number of start-up people (like Natasha of Mama Mia) and social activists (Vishal of Dream a Dream or Devika of Mumbai Mobile Creches) on the list. I hope it means as a society we have more meaningful icons to look up to. Amen!

EFactor moves outside the web

EFactor, the center's blog, has now evolved into a mega confluence of entrepreneurs, investors, professionals and students; a day long business conference with over 80 delegates from VC Firms, start-ups, industries and academia and over 500 paying attendees. To be held on 7th February, 2008 at The Taj Palace, New Delhi, the business conference is slated to be the largest student run event in Asia. 

This blog would henceforth contain frequent updates regarding the conference and articles in connection with the motive behind the conference.  

Visit the official website for further details.

Find problems, Solve them

Identifying problems is a key to building successful businesses. A lot of times simply “replicating” a model elsewhere doesn’t quite work. Demographics for instance play a crucial role. One of the most successful starts to come out of Pilani city was Mobile Medics (later acquired by Nicholas Piramal) founded by a BITS Pilani team.

Mobile Medics was essentially a private health care system that would compliment the existing government infrastructure. A van equipped with testing equipment and drug supplies would carry a doctor and nurse and reach the villages in the operation radius. They plan to charge each patient Rs.50 ($1.25) as consultation fees. The system is modeled as “treatment at doorstep”, saving the villager from the long and cumbersome journey to the major hospitals.

A couple of months ago my father told me that a student wanted to do something which sounded very much like mobile medics in Hyderabad and had consulted him regarding that. A mobile medics like start-up is most likely suited with a rural backdrop in mind, one where there is no health care for miles and hence transport becomes a burden. Doing it in a city isn’t quite feasible especially taking into account the running costs as well as sustainability.

Looking around my hostel, I can think of so many businesses germinating with the simple idea of solving problems. Take BITS for example, the entire campus houses around 4000 students and the major eating joint is around 500 meters from almost every hostel. And students are lazy. Now, an effective business that could spring up here is room delivery. Every restaurant might not be able to employ workers especially for delivery purposes. However, if another new venture was established; one which provided room delivery and had tie ups with every restaurant in Pilani (or at least many of them), this could solve a lot of problems. Generating employment, revenues flowing in are just some of the offshoots, but the major reason for all this is because you are providing a service to people which is really useful to them.

Find problems, solve them.

On Internships and Practice School

A short trip to Singapore made me see how much excess money was there. People just have too much money and are in a serious doubt about how to spend it.

But what really got me jealous were not the high rise buildings and the skimpily clad women folk, but the opportunities and exposure the students receive there. Internships where students are affecting the decision-making process, where you knew you were making a serious contribution to the organisation and what organisations Apple, Accenture, Google etc.

The Practice School Option of BITS-Pilani is one good effort made by the college in bringing the industry closer to the students but then again its lacking in many areas, especially PS-1, the compulsory internship after the students second year. First of all, most organisations don’t give you work and if at all you do end up working, the work isn’t anything substantial and in most cases than not you end up simply solving Sudoku puzzles.

True, one could argue that as such your lot does not possess any core technical skills (besides some people having some knowledge in the Computer domains) so you can in no way become an asset to the company in two months( in which time you could probably not even learn enough to contribute). But basics in a lot of mathematical & statistical courses have been established. As have in some basic level manufacturing processes. Maybe the introduction of more companies which can tap this resource would be a step in the right direction. Also, the students should at least be familiarised with the organisational structure of the company and made to show various levels of work. This could probably let the student assess himself and decide which area he would be best suited to work.

Other wise the whole PS-1 feature becomes futile.

People waiting with bated breath!

Six teams battle it out to take home the glimmering trophies and the huge cheques. More than the piece of crystal and cash, it is the Conquest. Results to be declared very shortly. Keep checking to find out who is the Winner of Conquest 2008!

The Conquest Trophy and the Prize Money

The SparkS presentation by Vineet and the subsequent demo of the prototype by Alam Jaideep and Karteek Addanki was amazing! They have developed a automatic headlight dipper system and said and I quote

Only after SparkS happened did we think of turning this college project into a product!

See you soon with the results :)

Blogging Live from the Open Doors Presentation from 5105, FD-5, BITS Pilani !!

Conquest 2008 takes off at BITS Pilani

5 months, countless sleepless nights, many tense moments later we are finally here! Conquest 2008 was inaugurated a few minutes ago by Dr GSK Velu, Prof Maheshwari and Prof Arya Kumar with the ceremonial lamp lighting.

As I write this, Dr GSK Velu, a BITSian, is recounting how BITS and his first BITSian zucs, taught him to take failure in his stride which helped him immensely as an entrepreneur. He reiterated the fact that having no attendance has probably made each BITSian a success or as he put it a Bollywood/Cricket star! We love you, Sir! We love you even more for your generous offer to help BITSians.

By the time I was able to click photographs, Prof. Maheshwari, VC of BITS Pilani took the stage and quickly added attendance, or rather the lack of it, is just one of the many flexibilities BITS Pilani provides! He joked that probably attendance for Conquest should be made compulsory :) We would really love that!

Cant upload the pics :(

Technorati Tags: Pilani,BITS Pilani,Conquest,CEL

Countdown to the Inaug of Conquest 2008

Delegates are here! Finalists of Conquest are waiting with bated breath. All it remains are those lamps to light up, the stage to be graced by Mr. GSK Velu, Founder, Metropolis Health Services, Prof Maheshwari, VC BITS and Prof Arya Kumar, our mentor, adviser and guide!

Cant upload pics! Will do so later
Technorati Tags: Pilani,BITS Pilani,Conquest,Inaugration,CEL

Conquest 2008 : Inspire Innovate Conquer

The Grand Finale of Conquest 2008 is just about 75 hours away! We have tentatively added one more panel discussion to the schedule thanks to the overwhelming response to Abhishek's post! As Abhilash put it, its an amazing opportunity to address the 2000 of the brightest minds in the country!

And guess what, a bunch of enthused CELites (the fresh blood has boundless energy man!) decided to make a video for Conquest. Watch it ! (yeah, we almost hero worship the folks at Cupertino)

Conquest 2008 : March 8th and 9th at BITS Pilani

(Mirrored at the my blog : Rach 100% Sach

Technorati Tags: Pilani,BITS Pilani,CEL,Entrepreneurship,Conquest,Business Plan

Conquest 2008 : Grand Finale

CONQUEST 2008, the International Business Plan competition is heading towards its Grand Finale. VCs, Entrepreneurs and the finalists are set to come together on the 8th and 9th of March at BITS Pilani (Click here to download the schedule). It is not just a celebration of the spirit of entrepreneurship. It is the celebration of the underlying human spirit. The spirit to Innovate, Inspire and Conquer. CONQUEST 2008 has something on offer for everyone.

Are you a young entrepreneur with a story to inspire?

Cool. We would love to host you as a speaker. Ping me at +91 99835 25185 or buzz me at rachit.chandra@gmail.com and I'll get back to you.

Are you an entrepreneurial enthusiast?

Conquest Workshops and talks make sure that when you do take the dive, you are well informed and suitably equipped. This time, we have a thought provoking Panel Discussion on "Why is India the Land of Opportunity right now ?" (or as Chinmay calls it LOO) with the charming Rashmi Bansal (of JAM fame) planned as well.

Conquest 2008 has a unique Open Door Presentation where anybody can walk in and look at what it takes to make it to the finals of an International Business Plan competition. And yeah, you get goodies to grill the teams :)

Are you the networking types?

With VCs, Business Heads, Entrepreneurs, Bloggers, Journalists and budding Entrepreneurs coming together it is a Networking dream. And as they say, success is not only measured, but also depends largely on the number of contacts you can pull out of your Rodolex.

Are you a Pizza Lover?

Domino's is partnering with Conquest 2008. So, make sure to grab your slice and extract treats strategically!

Look out for updates on the profiles of our finalists and our speakers soon! A special thanks to our Partners : Google, HP, Perot Systems, General Motors and Patni. Its our honor to be associated with such partners who share our vision of creating leaders through entrepreneurship.

( Mirrored at My Blog : Rach 100% Sach )

The winners are out!

Guys, thanks for the response to BITS Blogger's Challenge! The enthusiasm was great. We sure did get some people to start blogging because of the challenge.

Without further ado. Drumroll...Here are the two winners. Read them, they are fabulous.
1. Rachit Chandra from BITS-Pilani
2. LuckyMurari(Lakshman) from BITS-Pilani

Rachit blogs on efactor too. See, we got a winning blogger here :) .