Epsilon 2010 finalists to be announced on 25 December

The eight finalists of Epsilon 2010 will be revealed on the 25^th of December. The selected teams will be provided mentoring by entrepreneurs specific to the fields of their plans. We hope that the advice and the assistance the teams receive will not only help them to improve upon their business plans but also go a long way in enabling them to actually start- up.

Epsilon 2010 began with the ‘Idea-Farm’ which took place in September 2009, and was all about coming up with innovative business ideas that can be implemented in the real world. The next stage involved submission of entries; and judging by the number of entries and enthusiasm shown by students it won’t be wrong to say that Epsilon has managed to create quite a buzz on campus. From the 200 “Ideas" received from all the three campuses, 43 teams were selected for the next round which required them to submit an executive summary of their plans.

In the meanwhile, six Business Plan Workshops (BPWs) were organized for the benefit of the teams. The BPWs were conducted by successful entrepreneurs who delivered talks on a wide range of topics like 'Sales and Marketing’, ‘Tactics to grow a Start-up’, ‘Fundamentals of a Business Plan’ and ‘Social Entrepreneurship’. These workshops went a long way in making students understand the actual intricacies and the otherwise tricky concepts involved in writing a BPlan and also made them aware of some common mistakes that can prove to be detrimental to their BPlan­­­.

Now with the results coming out shortly all the teams will have to gear up for the challenge ahead. The finalists are required to submit their complete business plans and as is the norm, the winner of Epsilon gets a direct entry into the finals of Conquest, our international BPlan Competition.

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!