Of 100 entries, Mumbai-based Audio Compass emerges as the winner of Start Tel Aviv — India competition

In the ‘Start Tel Aviv — India Finals’, Audio Compass, a Mumbai-based mobile travel guide, has emerged as the winner; andwill be participating in Digital Life Design (DLD) festival scheduled to be held in Israel this September. The festival will feature hundreds of startups, VCs, angel investors and leading multinationals; and around 20 startup companies from across the world.

This year’s event received more than 100 entries from all over India. The final six startups presenting at the Delhi Finals were -- 6zene Technologies, XLPAT TT Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Linksmart Technologies, Vidgyor Media Technologies Pvt. Ltd, AudioCompass, and LloTfy.

On his win, Gautam Shewakramani, Founder and CEO of Audio Compass, says, “It’s a big honour to get selected for the programme. It will give us opportunity to travel to Israel and get in touch with other entrepreneurs across the segment.”

Launched in 2011, Audio Compass is a mobile travel guide platform which turns the mobile phone into an audio travel guide. Offering 1200 points of interest in places like India, Bhutan, and Singapore, the platform is going to expand its operation in Oman from next month. Last year, the venture secured USD 400,000 in seed round financing from a group of investors, including Blume Ventures and Urrshila Kerkar.

Amidst the six finalists, the competition had been very close. It also turned difficult for the judges to reach a unanimous decision over one. However, they agreed to follow the most important parameter for any firm to grow: market opportunity.

“There are many important factors for any firm or venture to get the accessibility and further grow in the market. However, the first requirement is produced by the market whether there’s ample potential in the market to accept the idea and let the business grow and flourish,” says Praveen Tyagi, Founder Director, Evelyn Learning Systems, and one of the judges.

The jury included Rahul Khanna, Managing Partner, Trifecta Capital Partners; Rajesh Razdan, Founder & Director, mCarbon Tech Innovation Pvt. Ltd; Dev Khare, venture investor in India at Lightspeed Ventures; and Praveen Tyagi, Founder Director, Evelyn Learning Systems.

DitzaFroim, Minister Counsellor, Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Israel, was also part of the finale. She says, “Ideas, dreams and willingness to take chances are the pillars of innovation and entrepreneurship. For Israel, these are the essence of our existence and the pillars of our security, society, culture, and economy. This event today demonstrates how much Israelis and Indian are alike. I have no doubt that we will see more and more collaborations in innovation and entrepreneurship between Israelis and Indian in the near future.”

Start Tel Aviv is a global event held by The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tel Aviv Global that brings together startups from different countries to take part in an intense, five-day startup experience in the heart of Tel Aviv.

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