E-Cell, IIM Kashipur conducted its flagship entrepreneurship event, Uttishtha’18, on 6th October 2018. The theme of this year’s event was A decade of disruption-Future Scope. In the past decade, we have seen several start-ups disrupting the way we see and conduct businesses. The Olas, Facebooks, and Airbnbs of the world have shown us how start-ups can become unicorns without investing in actual assets. Uber, the world’s largest taxi company does not own any vehicle; Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner does not create any content; Alibaba, the world’s most valuable retailer has no inventory. These startups have relied on network effects to build their worth and have succeeded with that model. A panel discussion was conducted on this topic and esteemed guests of the event discussed how budding entrepreneurs can also take advantage of network effects and create valuable businesses.
Another highlight of the event was keynote speakers. Esteemed guests from all over India, who have found success in their entrepreneurial journey, were invited to the event to share valuable insights on their journey and the problems they faced on their way to becoming a successful entrepreneur. The guest list included heavyweights such as Das Gautam, Co-Founder – Oorjan, Jasveer Singh, Founder – Qik Rooms (Forbes 30 under 30), Preksha Kaparwan, Co-Founder & CMO – RealBox.ai, Rishikesh SR, Co-Founder – Rapido, Shineel, Founder – The House of Artisans, Suresh Reddy, Founder – BrightCom Group.
E-Cell, IIM Kashipur embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of IIM Kashipur. Its vision is to instill an entrepreneurial spirit in the minds of the students. E-Cell aims to make its participants job providers rather than job seekers. It inculcates an entrepreneurial culture among its students and promotes new ideas through its various initiatives such as competitions, live projects, guest lectures of successful entrepreneurs etc. Keeping its primary aim in mind, E-cell of IIM Kashipur conducts a national B-plan competition under the umbrella of Uttishtha. The meaning of Uttishtha is to arise and the B-plan competition is held to help budding entrepreneurs arise and solve the problems of our country.
E-Cell, IIM Kashipur has evolved over the years with great success stories and is credited with having more than 15 successful startups under its wing. They recently registered their very own Incubation Centre – Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development (FIED) at IIM Kashipur. The six thrust areas of the incubation center are Agritech, Cleantech, Logistics, Travel and Tourism, Social Entrepreneurship and Fintech. With the setting up of their own Incubation Centre, E-cell, IIM Kashipur looks forward to help more budding entrepreneurs and incubate more startups in the future.
