SmashUP! is inspired by the thought of giving startup entrepreneurs the centre stage in a platform that will converge different stakeholders of the startup ecosystem in India. It will be a giant mashup of creative energy, product showcases, networking opportunities and an insightful agenda which will cover startup issues.

SmashUp - The Annual Startup Event

Why Should You Attend?

Showcase your big idea and make yourself visible in the startup community
Generate real customer feedback through product demos @ SmashUP! Expo
Interact with angels, VC’s and mentors
Network with hundreds of potential partners, customers, team members and more…

SmashUP! atmosphere and format will encourage startups to bond in an informal, open, interactive culture that will enable them to share & collaborate, help them learn from experience & create new ideas.

Agenda – Key Themes
• Power Breakfast: 20 leading CEOs meet budding entrepreneurs to share insights
• Keynote Panel: The Founder’s Dilemma
• StartUP! Marketing: Conjuring a Zero Budget Mega Marketing Campaign
• StartUP! Culture: Superglue that Attracts, Binds and Motivates High Performance Teams
• StartUP! Stories: Marquee entrepreneurs recount their early days of poverty, multitasking, jugaad and everything in between!
• SmashUP! Showcase – Top Shortlisted startups get an opportunity to present their ventures
• Incubate & Accelerate – Interact with leading incubator’s and startup mentors
• StartUP! Funding: Angels & VCs share tips & where they will put their money in 2012

Power Breakfast – SmashUP! agenda starts with a breakfast that will enable entrepreneurs to interact with experienced CEOs/investors/established entrepreneurs in an informal setting.
Confirmed entrepreneurs/CEO include:
- Raman Roy, Quatrro
- Dhruv Shringi, Yatra.com
- Rajesh Agarwal, MicroMax
- Ashish Rajpal, iDiscoveri

SmashUP! Showcase
Provides a platform for startups to gain visibility & attract investor attention apart from accessing mentoring support. Top 8-10 startups selected through an exhaustive shortlisting process will be given this opportunity.

Venue: Epicentre, Apparel House, Sector 44, Gurgaon
Date: 10th Feb 2012
Time: 9 am – 6 pm

For more details contact Manish Joshi@manish@tienewdelhi.org / 9971766455

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Happy to announce that ET NOW, TiE Delhi & Lufthansa have come together for the third season of “Pioneering Spirit”, more details below.

Pioneers of today are once again looking for pioneers of tomorrow in the path breaking TV series, Pioneering spirit – A product of Lufthansa, now in Season 3.

In the extremely successful Season 2, ten budding entrepreneurs like you got an opportunity to transform their business. Grand Prize winner Saumil Majmudar of EduSports won a sponsorship by Canaan Partners to a business programme at Cambridge. In addition, each episodic winner received a coveted TiE mentorship and a Lufthansa Business Class return ticket to Europe.

You could be next. Share your business story for a chance to meet business pioneers face to face, impress them with your business plan, and take your business to the next level.

You can register by clicking here

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TiE Delhi is organizing its annual start up event – Smash UP! which is a giant mash up of creative energy, product showcases, networking opportunities and an insightful agenda covering key start-up issues & challenges. Smashup! Atmosphere and format encourages participants to bond in an informal, open, interactive culture that will enable them to share and collaborate, help them learn from experience and create new ideas.

It will bring together:-
1. New Entrepreneurs, start ups and idea stage entrepreneurs
2. Veteran entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals
3. Angel investors and Venture capitalist
4. Mentors & Advisors

Smashup

This year start ups get a great opportunity to showcase their innovative product and services at stalls being offered at throw away prices:-

1. Stall Size 2 Mts X 2 Mts – INR 5,000/-
2. Stall Size 3 Mts X 4 Mts – INR 10,000/-

To register for the event please click here

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It’s hard to pick up a newspaper or watch TV, without hearing about the need for inclusive growth. Many business leaders are stressing the need for adoption of a new business model. Understanding the need of the hour, FSG (Social impact Consultants) has created a report titled, ‘Creating Shared Value in India’ that shows various examples of Indian companies that are viewing opportunities and taking a systematic intentional approach to creating economic and social value.

So what is Creating Shared Value (CSV)?

CSV is an intentional, systematic way for companies to create lasting competitive advantage. It entails identifying business constraints that are tied to societal problems, and leveraging the core assets of a business to solve those problems in innovative, sustainable and scalable ways. When companies are able to balance creation of both social and economic value, the social impact grows as the business itself grows, strengthening the cycle of impact and generating lasting competitive advantage.

CSV and CSR

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) often focuses on corporate philanthropy and/or efforts to make businesses more sustainable by mitigating the resources used in operations. It is often supported by a department of talented and dedicated staff, who are not part of daily strategic and operational business decisions. CSR departments play an important role in promoting and contributing to CSV strategies in a company. But CSV must be integrated to a company’s core business to have the most impact.

What is FSG?

FSG is a nonprofit consulting firm specializing in strategy, evaluation and research. Founded in 2000 as Foundation Strategy Group by Mark Kramer and Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, FSG works across sectors worldwide—partnering with foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and governments to develop effective solutions to the world’s most challenging issues.

In India, FSG hopes to contribute to the dialogue, partner with people passionate about creating real change, and share the knowledge and lessons learnt, to improve the effectiveness to a variety of stakeholders.

Read the complete interview with Veronica Borgonovi, one of the four authors of the FSG report believes that India has tremendous potential for CSV, and vice-versa. She says, “India is a country poised to take CSV by the horns and show the rest of the world how a new form of capitalism can create real, and lasting, competitive advantage and social benefit”. In this interview, Veronica, talks about CSV, CSR and the challenges that companies face while adopting it.

Read the complete interview here and to read the full report ‘Creating Shared Value in India’ please click here.

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We made our first investment through “The Sustainable Enterprise Fund”, an impact venture fund managed by Ennovent, of an undisclosed amount in Barefoot Power. The co-investors include Insitor, Oikocredit and The Grace Foundation. Unitus Capital advised Barefoot Power in this transaction.

Barefoot Power (BFP), a global, social for-profit enterprise, manufactures and distributes lighting products, solar phone charging and business development services specifically for low income populations that do not have reliable access to electricity. Founded in 2005, Barefoot Power has impacted the lives of 1 million people in over 20 countries.

Over 1.5 billion people globally lack access to electricity and Barefoot Power is on a mission, to bring affordable renewable energy and safe, healthy lighting to 5 million people by 2012 and 10 million people by 2015 to help eradicate energy poverty.

Barefoot Power

Rick Hooper, CEO of Barefoot Power shares with us his views on the investment and their plans for India:

What opportunities do you see in the Indian BoP market?
I see the opportunities in India as vast, a large market with a large off grid population. While our current products are directly suitable to these demographics, I foresee that we will also adjust a variety of products to suit the Indian requirements. With a suitably adapted range and in-country BFP support, I see that our products will be helping millions of people within only a few years combined with a healthy business for our investors and to be established local entrepreneurs.

What is unique about Barefoot’s model of providing power to the BoP?
Barefoot Power addresses the problem at its source, not trying to put in place large scale products that are costly and perhaps out of the reach of many. BFP focuses on Pico Solar that gives good quality lighting, power and phone recharge solutions at affordable prices so the local consumer can benefit immediately replacing costly and unhealthy solutions such as kerosene. Our products are backed by quality of design and warranty. In the small chance that something does go wrong, the level of our support is perhaps unique in this market space.

How can ennovent help Barefoot to access this market?
As everyone admits, India is a different if not difficult market to understand and enter. Ennovent with its on the ground knowledge is an important partner for us in our establishment and setup. I see Ennovent will be providing human resource advice, local conditions (state to state) advice, advice on target entry markets and most importantly introductions to local communities.

What are your global plans for the near future?
BFP continues to enjoy high growth in all our current markets. We, like all companies, continue to work on innovation of products as the market demands evolve. Having recently released our Generation 2.5 products that provide more light and longer battery times, we are now looking to both range extension and distribution reach. India in this case is a key market for our growth.

Read more about Barefoot Power and the investment news here.

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Since the past few years, TiE Delhi has been supporting various student initiatives on entrepreneurship. Even though our programs are designed keeping the entrepreneur in mind, we have been promoting entrepreneurship on campus by way of providing knowledge support to various e-cells in different Colleges, Institutes, Business Schools, Engineering Colleges etc across the country. This year, TiE Delhi as part of their enhanced and more active engagement with the youth, we are delighted to announce “All Asia Business Plan Competition 2012 in association with Rice University”

About All Asia Business Plan Competition

The world’s largest and the richest business plan competition comes to India this time with TiE Delhi – NCR hosting the All Asia Finals in February 2012.

With a $1 million plus prize money for the winning team at the RICE University global business plan competition in the US, the AABPC is a perfect opportunity for start-ups, early stage companies which have at least one graduate student as part of the core team. The Asia leg of the AABPC includes participation from across:

1. India

2. Malaysia

3. Singapore

4. Japan

5. Melbourne

6. Sydney

7. Dubai

8. Lahore

9. Karachi

10. Islamabad

Last date of submission of Executive Summary: 9th December 2011

Submit your Executive Summaries by logging online at: http://tiedelhi2012.istart.org |

Log-in/Register on Chapter Home page – Create account – Fill in application – Upload Executive Summary

Team Composition

At least one graduate student must be a member of the venture’s start-up management team. All the graduate students are allowed to participate in the competition including, Executive MBA’s, MD Candidates, other Master’s Candidates and PhD Candidates. The maximum number of student competitors on a team participating at all level competitions is five (5), although there is no restriction on the total size of the venture’s founding team.

TiE All Asia Business Plan Competition: Rewards

1. Prizes in excess of $1.5 million

2. Additional prizes for elevator pitch and company showcase

3. 2011 had the first team walk away with $6,41,600 worth of rewards including $350,000 investment

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Ennovent is supporting the upcoming 3rd National Rural Development Summit on “Inclusive Innovations and Strengthening Livelihoods” on 1st and 2nd December 2011 at Symposium Hall, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi, hosted by CII in partnership with Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

The 3rd National Rural Summit has been designed as a unique platform to bring together all stakeholders for achieving below objectives and unlock the potential in rural areas.

-Promoting awareness of the concept of Inclusive Innovation
-Highlighting successes of Inclusive Innovation in various social sectors
-Proposing methods for evaluating the impact of Inclusive Innovation
-Examining the barriers to Inclusive Innovation
-Suggesting strategies for fostering Inclusive Innovation and scaling up

Please note: CII has offered all ‘Ennovent Network members’ the opportunity to attend this event for FREE! There are limited seats available, in case you are interested to attend please post in the comments section.

For more details on this event please click here.

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Just learnt from IAN (Indian Angel Network) India’s largest network of Angel Investors that they are looking to actively fund Internet and Mobile based start up’s seeking up to Rs 75 lakhs in investment. They will be hosting a pitch session in early November; and are inviting entrepreneurs to send in their business plans.

The plans received would go through a short listing process led by a screening committee providing valuable feedback. In addition to funding an entrepreneur looks to gain strategic thought leadership and mentoring from leading successful entrepreneurs and successful CEOs from diverse sectors.

In case you wish to apply please send me an executive summary at digbijoy@networktosucceed.in.

About Indian Angel Network
Indian Angel Network, India’s first and Asia’s largest angel network, brings together successful entrepreneurs and CEOs who share a passion to enable more early stage businesses to create scale and value. By focusing on start ups, the Network addresses the current acute lack of funds available to early stage companies. The Network believes that early stage businesses require more than just money to succeed. They require close mentoring and inputs on strategy as well as execution.

Indian Angel Network currently has over 170 members drawn from across the country and some from overseas, including leading lights from diverse sectors on the IAN Website.

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Steve Jobs had a talent for identifying what was important and what was not, and having the courage to toss what he felt was the nonessential. We see this reflected in the Apple line of products and in the Apple retail stores, and we also see it in Apple’s branding and all aspects of their marketing communications. But there was a time when Apple had gotten away from its roots and away from simplicity and clarity, not only in terms of its marketing but in terms of its products too. It took Steve Jobs coming back in 1997 to get the Apple brand back on track after years of neglect. This seven-minute clip below is from an internal presentation that Steve gave in Cupertino to his employees not long after he returned to Apple in 1997. If you are even remotely interested in business or in marketing an organization or cause of any kind in which you truly believe, you need to see this short talk.

Steve says that marketing is not about touting features and speeds and megabytes or comparing yourself to the other guys, it’s about identifying your own story, your own core, and being very, very clear about what you are all about and what you stand for…and then being able to communicate that clearly, simply, and consistently!

Read the complete post here

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One of the biggest issues that faces a lot of us especially first time entrepreneurs is dealing with the equity split amongst the founders. How much equity do we split amongst ourselves? Do we do an even split or is there some method to the madness. I believe ownership while potentially a confrontational issues has the ability to destroy the company if not dealt with appropriately and has to be taken head on right at the beginning of the journey. For me both as an investor and an entrepreneur it does boil down to how much skin in the game is the co founder bringing to the table. Is the founding member a fence sitter or someone who is actually willing to break his neck to see the venture succeed.

I came across this wonderful piece by Frank Demmler on “Cutting up the Founder’s Pie”. Frank has attempted and I must add an a great attempt at coming up with a formulae to help especially first time entrepreneurs in dealing with this equity split. By listing the crucial elements of every business that a founding member brings to the table and then by assigning weights to them based on the nature of the business. Frank develops a unique model to arrive at each of the founding team members equity split!

I strongly recommend reading the complete piece, although he adds caution by saying one should use this tool for guidance only and not too depend upon it exclusively!!!

Read the complete article by clicking here

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