GREATER NOIDA: The Hatchery is a special place at Bennett University in Greater Noida. It buzzes with activity late in the afternoon every day after the lectures are over. Mentoring sessions, brainstorming, working on product pitches — everything is in sync with the inspirational messages on the walls, particularly one that says "Positive Vibes Only". Indeed, the startup incubator is a handy spring board for many whiz kids enrolled in Bennett University.
Sankarsh Chanda, for instance, is aiming at a December 31 launch for his startup called Savart, derived from "art of saving". The 19-year-old has already raised pre-seed funding of Rs 37 lakh. Savart is an AI and machine-learning based platform for investment planning. "We are a 27-member team now and are more concrete about timelines after spending time in the Hatchery," testifies the BTech student who hails from Hyderabad. "After a rollout of our product for urban markets, we will go to rural areas two months later, for which we need physical machines and ground presence."
Chanda found a technical advisor and investor in fellow Bennett student Tunap Paul. The cryptocurrency enthusiast has put some of his earnings from Bitcoin investments in Savart even as he himself works on his idea about an exchange for Indian cryptocurrency owners.
"Some students come to us with bold ideas. Others want to explore entrepreneurship," says Ajay Batra, director, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Bennett. "The Hatchery is open to everyone and we make sure that the students' ideas connect with who they are."
The concept of the business incubator at the university is in line with what is available in top institutions in India and abroad. IIM Bangalore's Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship and IIT Madras' Rural Technology and Business Incubator are two of the many such incubators that have helped young innovators step into the world of business. Student-startups at the Hatchery can apply for seed funding of up to Rs 10 lakh in exchange for 10% equity for the investor(s).
The Hatchery is just a year old. Bennett University, part of the Times Group which publishes The Times of India, started operations in August 2016. Batra says there are plenty of resources to tap into at the university itself. "We have experts from different fields. Some are available as university faculty, others are there from Times Internet Limited to mentor potential entrepreneurs among Hatchery members," discloses Batra. "We also invite people for talks and conferences who the students can consult too."
Batra adds that the usual incubator benefits of Amazon Web Services and Google credits are available for students. This month, the university hosted the ninth edition of the India Innovation Initiative, an annual government-backed competition for technology startups in the country, promoted by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Second-year MBA student Mohandeep Arora has a working prototype of a digital product called Newsgator for freelance journalists. He did not have to venture far before finding a testing ground in the university's in-house newspaper, The Times of Bennett. "Tracking payments is often a problem for freelancers," explains Arora. "This product makes it easier with a dashboard on which you can see payments that have been cleared or are pending. It also makes it easier for news organisations to look for writers or journalists for their particular needs. Writers can directly file into the content management system built within the app."
But it is not only tech ideas that are incubated at the Hatchery. Ayesha Akhtar, 22, an MBA student, is working on a "recreation hub" where urban professionals can spend their post-work hours in artistic pursuits. Now in the process of fleshing out the product, Akhtar has been surveying people both online and offline to understand the market as part of her customer validation process. "I received a fair amount of validation, but also some skeptics. Women professionals seem more inclined towards the idea," reveals Akhtar, who, on the advice of her Hatchery mentors, is narrowing the target market. Watch this space for more on how this idea works out.
Sankarsh Chanda, for instance, is aiming at a December 31 launch for his startup called Savart, derived from "art of saving". The 19-year-old has already raised pre-seed funding of Rs 37 lakh. Savart is an AI and machine-learning based platform for investment planning. "We are a 27-member team now and are more concrete about timelines after spending time in the Hatchery," testifies the BTech student who hails from Hyderabad. "After a rollout of our product for urban markets, we will go to rural areas two months later, for which we need physical machines and ground presence."
Chanda found a technical advisor and investor in fellow Bennett student Tunap Paul. The cryptocurrency enthusiast has put some of his earnings from Bitcoin investments in Savart even as he himself works on his idea about an exchange for Indian cryptocurrency owners.
"Some students come to us with bold ideas. Others want to explore entrepreneurship," says Ajay Batra, director, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Bennett. "The Hatchery is open to everyone and we make sure that the students' ideas connect with who they are."
The concept of the business incubator at the university is in line with what is available in top institutions in India and abroad. IIM Bangalore's Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship and IIT Madras' Rural Technology and Business Incubator are two of the many such incubators that have helped young innovators step into the world of business. Student-startups at the Hatchery can apply for seed funding of up to Rs 10 lakh in exchange for 10% equity for the investor(s).
The Hatchery is just a year old. Bennett University, part of the Times Group which publishes The Times of India, started operations in August 2016. Batra says there are plenty of resources to tap into at the university itself. "We have experts from different fields. Some are available as university faculty, others are there from Times Internet Limited to mentor potential entrepreneurs among Hatchery members," discloses Batra. "We also invite people for talks and conferences who the students can consult too."
Batra adds that the usual incubator benefits of Amazon Web Services and Google credits are available for students. This month, the university hosted the ninth edition of the India Innovation Initiative, an annual government-backed competition for technology startups in the country, promoted by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Second-year MBA student Mohandeep Arora has a working prototype of a digital product called Newsgator for freelance journalists. He did not have to venture far before finding a testing ground in the university's in-house newspaper, The Times of Bennett. "Tracking payments is often a problem for freelancers," explains Arora. "This product makes it easier with a dashboard on which you can see payments that have been cleared or are pending. It also makes it easier for news organisations to look for writers or journalists for their particular needs. Writers can directly file into the content management system built within the app."
But it is not only tech ideas that are incubated at the Hatchery. Ayesha Akhtar, 22, an MBA student, is working on a "recreation hub" where urban professionals can spend their post-work hours in artistic pursuits. Now in the process of fleshing out the product, Akhtar has been surveying people both online and offline to understand the market as part of her customer validation process. "I received a fair amount of validation, but also some skeptics. Women professionals seem more inclined towards the idea," reveals Akhtar, who, on the advice of her Hatchery mentors, is narrowing the target market. Watch this space for more on how this idea works out.
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