Huddle Global calls upon startups to be aggressive in their growth strategy
Trivandrum / November 18, 2023
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 18: Startups should be “shameless” in pitching ideas, selling products and networking with investors, but they should cultivate patience while seeking mentorship, experts said at a session of the Huddle Global conclave.
On the other hand, angel investors should be empathetic to the aspirations of nascent companies and give a free hand to entrepreneurs in taking crucial decisions after advising them on the pros and cons, they opined at a meet of ‘Startup Ecosystem Enablers’ during the three-day event near Vizhinjam, 30 km south of the state capital.
The hour-long discussion, steered by Startup India consultant Rachit Rajvanshi, GINSEP Project Lead Julian Zix and advisor-mentor Kanan Rai, was moderated by Gautham Sivaramakrishnan who is associated with Blume Ventures and Headstart Network Foundation.
Startup India, which is set to complete seven years in a couple of months, has revved up its three-pronged strategy to strengthen the country’s ecosystem for new companies functioning on innovative ideas, Rajvanshi noted about the government mission that works towards strengthening greenfield enterprises in trading, services and manufacturing sectors.
With its emphasis on facilitating companies to build global contacts, Startup India’s device, named International Bridges, has facilitated companies in the country forge collaborations with ecosystems in as many as 22 countries. Besides, it promotes multilateral engagements of two types: with intergovernmental organisations such as BRICS and ASEAN, and bodies like the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
“When it comes to sustainable ecosystem, startups in our county are currently at the right place at the right time,” Rajvanshi said on Friday. “Startup India functions as a catalyst when our ecosystem has invigorated the economy like never before.”
Concurring, Zix, who heads the German Indian Startup Exchange Program (GINSEP) as a bilateral non-profitable initiative, said India’s startup ecosystem is “much fast-paced” compared to the case with the West European country. “Germany has begun understanding the expertise of India in certain domains,” he added.
Kanan, who earlier worked with Google, spoke about the importance of ascertaining coding levels, while also stressing the need for “equally passionate” people coming together for the success of any business venture.
The fifth edition of Huddle Global, India’s biggest beachside startup conclave, was organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) at Adimalathura beach, near Vizhinjam, here. KSUM is the Kerala government’s nodal agency established in 2006 for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
The November 16-18 conclave was attended by around 15,000 delegates from India and abroad. The event showcased cutting-edge products from emerging sectors such as robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, life sciences, space tech, Blockchain, IoT, e-governance, fintech, healthtech, agritech, edutech and SaaS from across the country. Also, an expo on the sidelines displayed products from 100-plus nascent companies.
