KOCHI: Nearly four years ago, three freshly graduated techies had some grandstand ideas about starting an IT firm. But V Premchand, Mithun N S and Varun Prakash did not know how to approach their goal, before stumbling across an online advertisement about Technology Business Incubator (TBI).
They wasted little time in making an enquiry with the National Institute of Technology (NIT), which offered the TBI programme for aspiring start-up businessmen, and enrolled for it in May 2012 for a period of three years. The move brought a U-turn in their life and career.
“We were clear about starting an IT firm of our own even when we were students at the Vadakara Engineering College.
The TBI programme helped us immensely because if you start a new company then it will take a long time to establish yourself as a brand. The NIT tag really helped us develop as a brand, and the subsequent growth of the company. It is the biggest benefit of the TBI programme,” said Premchand.
Cut to present, the TBI programme is all set to spread its wings this year. A six-week Technology Based Entrepreneurship Development Programme (TEDP) in Food Processing, and another TEDP in Applied Electronics and Networking later this month.
The latter programme could open job opportunities to several aspirants in areas like LED products, security systems, solar systems installation, inverter etc.
C V Vijith Kumar, Administrative Officer of TBI that had its birth in 2004, said the programme could be useful not only to tech students, but also to aspiring entrepreneurs.