Window cleaning co using bots wins start-up contest

Nagpur: Fat Cat, a window cleaning company that uses bots instead of humans to reduce the risk of accidents especially in high rise buildings, won the first prize in ‘Innopreneurs 2018’, the fourth edition of the start-up competition organized by Lemon Ideas at Chitnavis Centre, on Saturday.
Over 250 start-ups, including those from abroad, got a chance to showcase their products on this platform with participants having to go through five rounds over a period of four months. The participants were given ten minutes’ time to give a presentation, followed by questions from the jury.

Six ideas were selected for the grand finale. Of these, Fat Cat, founded by Ameya and Aditya Kank, walked away with the top honour.

The first runner-up was biotech start-up Genomikx, a company that predicts what kind of lifestyle disorders can put people at a risk of diseases by conducting DNA test at an affordable rate and recommends changes for a healthy life.

Lootel, the second runner-up, is a hospitality company aims to provide smart, clean and functional washroom services at public places which come at a cost. It also provides a café on the other side.

The winners were given prizes worth Rs1 lakh, Rs75,000 and 50,000 respectively.

The other three finalists were Bloodstream, Asia’s first medical drone delivery service which aimed to provide services in remote areas where the number of blood banks is less. Flowrhex, a chemical company, offers unique solutions based on flow chemistry and process intensification techniques. The third finalist — Xgro — enables progressive farmers to venture into precise aeroponics and vertical farming.

The event was hosted by Mukesh Ashar, co-founder of Lemon Ideas while Deepak Menaria, CEO, addressed the gathering. The jury consisted of Milind Chittawar, president, TiE, Nagpur, BC Bhartia, CA and patron of VCAT, Nitish Rai, CEO of Udchalo and Atul Pande, president of VIA.

Also present at the event was Ravi Kumar Gupta, winner of the first edition of ‘Innopreneurs 2014’ who had come here to help with the funding.

Kavita Ray, CEO of Xgro Technology, and Adrian Maniego whose company ‘JaiKisan’ took part in the event, spoke highly of the event.

(Reporting by Ritika Gupta)