Tata First Dot holds bootcamp for student entrepreneurs in Kolkata

Industry experts and mentors worked one-on-one with the participants to refine their business plans, and develop an investor presentation and elevator pitch. 

 

The bootcamp took place at the IEM, Management Campus from December 19-20.

 

As part of the 4th edition of Tata First Dot powered by NEN – an initiative organised by the Tata group in collaboration with National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) to promote, mentor, showcase and recognise India’s dynamic young entrepreneurs – these bootcamps are being organised across 5 cities – Indore, Jaipur, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata to mentor high-potential student start-ups from the North, South, East, West and Central regions of India.

 

The Kolkata Tata First Dot bootcamp focused on the two most critical elements of an entrepreneurial journey – mentoring and venture pitching. 

 

The two days saw experts like Raj Bhat, Chief Knowledge Officer, OUREA;  Subrata Chattopadhyay, Associate Professor & Head-Corporate Relations, Future Institute Of Engineering and Management, Team Future, Vice Chairman - ISTD Kolkata; C.S. Deepak Kumar Khaitan, F.C.S, Practising Company Secretary;  Sudipto Bhattacharya, National Expert on Entrepreneurship at Asian Productivity Organization, Tokyo, Associate Professor - International Business, Entrepreneurship & Strategy Area, VIT Business School, VIt University, Vellore; Dipankar Sarkar, Director – Dream Institute of Technology; inspiring, supporting and mentoring the promising student entrepreneurs to take their start-up to the next level.

 

The interactive sessions provided the participating entrepreneurs with tools, strategies, and confidence needed in order to assess, determine feasibility of, and launch new businesses, or grow existing businesses. On the second day, 6 shortlisted ventures got an opportunity to pitch their business plan to a panel of experts, entrepreneurs and investors.

 

According to Ashok Kumar, Chief (Marketing & Sales), TSPDL, “Change is the only constant. An idea can be simple yet be effective for the masses in the long run. The need of the hour for India is to prepare graduates with employable skills for the future development.”

 

The 14 participating ventures were selected from the 84 entries received from Kolkata, Durgapur and surrounding cities for the Tata First Dot National Competition, on basis of merit. These ventures have proven customer traction and operate across sectors like education, manufacturing, IT/software, hospitality/travel, retail, biotech, among others.

 

The Tata First Dot National Competition is a part of the overall initiative, and it recognises and felicitates best student start-ups in the country by inviting entries from entrepreneurs running commercially successful ventures or entrepreneurs who have prototypes with proven customer traction. 

 

The 2014-15 edition of the competition has received 434 entries from across 87 cities in India. The competition will culminate in early 2015, where five national winners of Tata First Dot Judge’s Choice competition and five national winners of Tata First Dot People's Choice competition will be felicitated at the Tata First Dot National Conference to be held in Bangalore in early 2015.

 

These winning start-ups will receive unique professional mentoring from various entrepreneurs, angel investors, mentors, experts and other student start-ups via NEN’s Mentoring Platform.

 

Tata First Dot powered by NEN brings to current and aspiring student entrepreneurs a powerful mix of business support, industry networking, and national recognition. Through a series of events and activities running over eight months, the platform aims to inspire and support India’s high-potential student entrepreneurs to become tomorrow’s high-impact innovators and job-creators.