The Mysuru Startup Pavilion and Conclave on the SJCE college premises in Mysuru drew several curious visitors as well as students from various schools, who participated in activities including quiz contest and startup pitch competition on Saturday.
Apart from the quiz contest, the students’ teams also participated in Shark Teens, a startup pitch competition for the teenagers organised by Think Beyond in which they were required to present their startup concepts to the judges.
In the afternoon, the pitch fest was kicked off with prospective startups pitching their concepts to a panel of venture capitalists. NGSportiwe Technology Pvt Ltd, a community-based app that connects all athletic afficionados; Aeronuts, which is engaged in delivering aeromodelling courses, glider workshops and one-one-one interactive sessions to interested learners; and LearnInk, a social learning platform were among the participants who made their presentations.
A panel discussion with two well-known venture capitalists viz., Sid Mookerji and Vatsal Kanakiya was also held on the topic – Value creation through venture capitalists.
The Fireside chat featured Nivedan Nempe and Chaitra Narayan, both of who had businesses in rural locations, where they practised sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) alongside workplace management.
The Mysuru Startup Pavilion featured “What’s In Your Story”, a unique online marketplace for preloved (pre-owned) books. A statement described What’s In Your Story (WIYS) as an online marketplace where circulating libraries, book stores and individuals can buy, sell and rent pre-loved books.
India has seen a surging demand for secondhand books due to their affordability and the rise in sustainable practices worldwide, the statement said. “Though is demand is enormous, there isn’t a one-stop solution for readers to access these second-hand or pre-loved books. Also, the pandemic has terribly impacted small circulating libraries, during which many libraries had to shut down. By partnering with local libraries, WIYS also hopes to rekindle the relationship between readers and local libraries, which also giving any individual who wants to sell their books the chance to do so n on accessible platform”, the statement added.
Cynefian Pvt Ltd., which had set up a company in rural parts of Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar district near here, had also set up a stall in the Mysuru Startup Pavilion. The company described itself as the first-of-its-kind technology company in a rural setting.
The three-day Mysuru Startup Pavilion and Conclave organised by SJCE-STEP, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission among others is scheduled to come to an end on Sunday.