STARTUPCENTRAL » Business Plan Contest

Inception 2012: The Five Finalist Business Ideas

StartupCentral — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:11:21 +0000

On Saturday, five student entrepreneur teams turned out to pitch their business plans at Inception 2012, a business plan contest organized by the Pathfinder E-Cell at K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research. The five teams were shortlisted out around 70 applicants. The contest kicked off in early February and concluded on Saturday, March 17, with an elevator pitch to an independent jury. Refreshingly, three out of the five teams — BFF Cafe, Malhar and Anvita — were led by women entrepreneurs.

Here’s a quick look at the five business plans that made it to the finals:

BFF Cafe

BFF is short for Board for Fun. The concept is to create a an offline social networking zone for young people who like to play board games and sip coffee. Target customers are students and young professionals between the ages of 20 and 40. Apart from offering board games, the company also plans to organize tournaments at the cafe to create customer stickiness. It plans to start off with 250 games and also offer merchandize such as tote bags and T-shirts. Board games would be available at an hourly charge of Rs 50 (basic plan).

Anvita

Anvita addresses the problem of locomotor disability. The company proposes to design and fabricate cost effective splints, using an alternative material called Aqua Plast. This material is less expensive and can be moulded easily, so that splints can be re-used for different treatments. The company plans to price its products at close to half the price of existing products in the market, since it would be using a less expensive material. It will initially launch in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai but sees a large potential market in Tier II and III towns.

Krishi Naturals

Krishi Naturals is an organic farming and distribution company, which is already doing pilot projects in part of Gujarat. It works with farmers to derive organic fertilizers, using traditional methods, which claim to increase crop yields. The company proposes to provide training to farmers on organic farming, source their products and process, package and distribute them. It is already selling some of its products through Indiamart and currently has 80 registered farmers.

The Agriculturists

This is also an organic farming venture, but is targeted at promoting urban farming. It aims to leverage the concept of vertical farming. The farming is done inside a multi-storey, glass-walled building. The company proposes to cultivate leafy vegetables and crops across 12 floors, for which it will need about 7,000 square feet of land. Fiber optics will be used to transfer sunlight to every part of the farm and the the farm itself will consume 20 per cent less water than traditional farming. It plans to locate the farm within a few hours or Mumbai, which will ensure that the produce reaches consumer faster and fresher and eliminate the middleman. Produce from the farm will be priced 10-20 per cent higher than regular market prices.

Malhar

Malhar aims to provide people over the age of 50 with a social activity zone. It proposes to offer activities such as yoga, physiotherapy or even music classes. The company initially plans to work with various local activity centers, such as clubs, to offer these services but will eventually set up its own center.

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Editor’s Note: StartupCentral is a media partner for Inception 2012

Healthcare Startups: Piramal Prize 2010

Snigdha Sengupta — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:38:52 +0000

Some news for healthcare entrepreneurs. The Piramal Prize 2010 is inviting applications from high-impact business models and ideas that address India’s healthcare crisis. There are two categories — emerging ventures and established organizations. The winner in the emerging ventures category, who must be less than three years old, will receive structured funding worth Rs 10 lakh and additional support such as office space, mentoring and access to further funding. The awards are a joint initiative of the Piramal Foundation and CIIE at IIM Ahmedabad. The last date for applications is August 15.

Updates on networking for startups, entrepreneurs and anybody interested in entrepreneurship:

Startup Saturday, from the HeadStart Network Foundation, is hosting its July 2010 edition on the 10th (Saturday). Those in Mumbai can register here. The theme this month is ‘workshop-wallahs’. Entrepreneurs of a different variety, from the small scale industries segment, will share their experiences and learnings in building their businesses. The accent will be on businesses that are completely offline. Information on the Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata editions here.

The Startup Centre, a new initiative born in Chennai and announced recently, will host its first meet today at 6.30 pm. The venue is Ascendas — trust folks in Chennai are familiar with the place. The agenda is to interact with the team (Vijay Anand, Dorai Thodla, Mahesh Radha Krishnan) behind the initiative and talk about the whats and hows of making the centre work. They’re gunning for a September launch.

TiE-ISB Connect 2009, BarCamp Mumbai 6, Eureka! 2009

Snigdha Sengupta — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:10:12 +0000

We’re entering the big season for startup and venture capital networking in India. Here’s an update on the marquee events to look out for in the next few months:

BarCamp Mumbai 6 – This edition is at the SP Jain Institute in Andheri West on October 11. The wiki page is down for maintainence, but you can register here. Also on the same day, BarCamp Kerala 6 kicks off at Rajagiri College in Ernakulam.

TiE-ISB Connect 2009 – The annual networking event in Hyderabad, on October 22 and 23, has an interesting theme this year, ‘The Crisis Will Pass…Will You? More details coming up soon.

Eureka! 2009 – Registrations are currently open for the country’s biggest business plan contest. The total prize money at Rs 21 lakh ($50,000) is a tad lower than last year’s Rs 25 lakh. The first prize at Rs 5 lakh remains the same. As usual, students and working professionals are invited to participate. Read the Mint story on last year’s winners here.

iAccelerator Winter Edition – The final shortlist for startups that will be part of this edition will be announced on October 1. The teams start working with their mentors on December 1, in Bangalore. See the list of startups currently being incubated at the IIM Ahmedabad campus here.