HYDERABAD: The startup initiative chaired by Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC) and T-Incubators & Enablers has received more than 300 applications from diverse sectors and different stages.
Rejig.HydStartups, an initiative by T-Incubators & Enablers to support startups in reimagining and repositioning their business model post-pandemic successfully received more than 300 applications out of which corporate access and investor connect. The initiative looks forward to impacting startups from domains such as lifesciences, fintech, manufacturing, agriculture, Fast Moving Consumer Goods and emerging technology.
Rejig.HydStartups, spread out across three-weeks of mentoring to help startups connect with investors or gain corporate market access, will see a three-pronged approach – understanding the concerns of the startup with a completion of leg work assigned by the mentor, understanding the change of strategy, and a revised pitch.
Of the 300 applications, 100 startups have been selected to be part of the mentoring programme. The programme will culminate in a event where the startups will pitch for equity funding, collateral-free debt funding, or corporate market access.
A webinar involving ecosystem catalysts organised recently sought to understand the impact of the pandemic on the startups and expectations from the founders, to become resilient. Reflecting upon the inclusive approach taken by T-Incubators & Enablers, Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary Telangana Government during the meetup, said, "I am happy to say that Hyderabad today will be standing out for its — City as a Whole Approach — through a this most important initiative Rejig.HydStartups to support the startups in coming weeks to become resilient post-pandemic. Even the applications that we received was a truly relevant mixture of industry sectors that require immediate attention."
The webinar also saw a panel discussion involving Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub & CIO of TSIC, Sridhar Pinnapureddy, Founder Chairman of CtrlS Datacenters, currently the President of TIE Hyderabad, Sateesh Andra, Managing Director of Endiya Partners, is an established VC and investor. Panel was moderated by Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, CEO of IKP Knowledge Park. The speakers given their experiential insights and urged the startups to relook at their business models and be willing to reimagine during the toughest crisis.
Some of the steps founders could take, as mentioned by the panellists ranged from, identifying the alternate market for the existing product or service, rationalising the product or service, smart cost optimisation, to look out for answers by discussing with the customers, mentors, and investors.
One of the important mentions by all the panellists towards betterment was Founders’ Resilience, the fact that the investments largely are done based on the strength of the business model and quality of the Human Capital. Deepanwita of IKP during the meetup added that it is a great opportunity not just for startups but also for the Incubators & Enablers to collectively contribute to the startup ecosystem in the times when mentor access is the important for founders to get a sounding board.