An event that caters to the budding startups of our country, UpStart - The Indian Business Model Competition stands apart from the conventional Startup Competition and ten-minute pitching - we strive to give our participants more than just the prize.
The startups go through multiple rounds of screening, which are essentially brainstorming sessions at different levels and face-to-face mentoring.
Finalists get to develop their ideas and hone their business plans with a panel of mentors. Upstart standing apart on the pillars of its unique structure marks its launch with UpStart Nationals.
In collaboration with C3i Hub, IIT Kanpur
Principal Scientific Advisor
DST Secretary
Group CTO of TCS
Venture Partner at Jungle Ventures Co-founder at Droom
SERB Secretary
Mission Director DST
1 month long one on one mentorship from industry professionals (finale participants only)
Incubation opportunity to your nearest incubation center which are our incubation partner for UpStart'23.
On the spot funding opportunities from top Venture Capital Firms (details about the VC Panel can be found below) , Networking opportunities with dignitaries at E-Summit'23
Deskera All-in One 1 Admin 5 Users CRM and Books, 15 employees with Mobile app Free for 6 months (finale participants only) | 3 months (all interested participants), followed by 50% Off on Renewal for next 1 year
Each winning startup would receive 20 seats on GitHub enterprise plan for 1 year (worth $5000 each approx).
$5000 in AWS Activate credits to each winning startup
All participating startups have to fill the Google Form and submit the Pitch Deck of their startups, preferably in the specified format Specified Format. The submissions will undergo a round of screening and 20* startups will be shortlisted for each location (Bangalore, Mumbai,Pune, Delhi NCR) to participate in UpStart Nationals at the various locations.
After the screening round, the shortlisted startups will get a chance to present at UpStart Nationals in front of a panel of Venture Capitalists (details about the VC Panel can be found below) in 7+5 Pitching Format. This will be followed by mentoring sessions of the shortlisted startups from this round.
Five* shortlisted startups will have subsequent, four weeks long one to one mentoring and brainstorming sessions with a mentor. Mentors will spend a considerable amount of time exclusively on one startup. Startups get to discuss their ideas and business plans to build a proper legal, operational and structural framework. Along with invaluable advice from one of the most experienced Entrepreneur-cum-Mentors in the country, startups also get to enhance their network manifold with help from them.
Following the mentoring sessions, the shortlisted startups will be invited to E-Summit’23 at IIT Kanpur for the finale, One-Minute Elevator Pitches. (Elevator pitches present the overview of the company, and it needs to be succinct and thoughtful, and to clearly articulate your business strategy). Shortlisted startups will move to the Final Pitching round.
Startups will have time till the next day to build upon their Plan and modify their Pitch based on the inputs they received. They will then participate in a 10-minute pitch (followed by Q&As) to present their improved Business Plans before the Upstart panel of judges. The start-ups will accordingly be given their final positions based on the Judging Criteria**
UpStart is a competition meant only for early stage startups, we have put the following criteria for entry into the Final Round:
The Startup must have been incorporated at least, if not registered for operations.
The Startup's date of incorporation should be on or after 1st January 2013.
Startup entries must be the original work of participants i.e. team members competing must be the principal owners of the venture.