Learn everything about entrepreneurship from leaders in the startup ecosystem at the GIZ-CMIA Startup Weekend

If you’ve ever dreamed of starting up, but are not sure how to go about it, the Startup Weekend may just be what you’re looking for. Hosted by the German federal enterprise GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and the Chamber of Marathwada Industries Association (CMIA), the event aims to help students and aspiring entrepreneurs turn their innovative ideas into successful, scalable businesses.

The mega workshop which aims to boost the startup ecosystem in the Marathwada region is open to aspiring entrepreneurs and college students. Startup Weekend is an endeavour to provide potential entrepreneurs with ideas on new emerging technologies such as digitisation, automation and artificial intelligence, among others, and get support, mentorship and technical assistance they need to create and run viable businesses.

The three-day programme in Aurangabad starts on Friday, December 1 and ends on Sunday, December 3.

[Also read: GIZ-CMIA’s Startup Weekend in Aurangabad is ideal for students and aspiring entrepreneurs]

What’s in store

Participants will get an overview of the Indian job market and learn everything about running a business from established entrepreneurs. This includes the basics of how to build a team and how to present your startup vision to investors and potential partners. They will get an overview of important sectors such as healthcare, education, commerce, finance, and social enterprise. Participants will learn how to inculcate design thinking, compartmentalise challenges and priorities, adopt a lean methodology, and even how to test ideas in the market. Those who sign up for the programme will participate in an ‘ideathon’. The modules also cover how to manage funds raised, how to network and find mentors, and how to how to market a startup. The programme will see entrepreneurs, both new and aspiring, being guided by experts and mentors who are thought leaders of the startup ecosystem and big names in the field of entrepreneurship. 

[Also read: The three-day Startup Weekend is a mega workshop that aims to boost the startup ecosystem in the Marathwada region]

Meet the mentors who are a part of the team for the workshop.  

Dr Tausif Malik

Dr Malik is an Indian American Social Entrepreneur and Treasurer of the Democratic Party USA's India Chapter (Democrats Abroad). A respected pubIic speaker and promoter of the startup ecosystem through events such as AIMBSN, India Startup Fest, SchooIpreneur and GCCStartup Fest, he believes that initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India, SkiII India, and Startup India, Standup India could soIve the problem of unemployment.

Dr Malik is also actively involved in promoting the startup ecosystem in the Gulf region with initiatives across the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. He has been nominated and shortlisted for multiple awards in the US and the UAE. He is Managing Editor and Publisher for www.GCCStartup.news – the first startup and entrepreneurship news portal in the Gulf, editor for the TheDesiTimes.com Chicago and Managing Publisher for the US edition of asianlite.com.

Dr Malik holds Bachelor and Master of Commerce degrees from the Institute of Management Education (IME) (PGDBM), Pune and Argosy University-Chicago, respectively. He also has a Doctorate in Business Administration. He has served as a judge and mentor at major startup competitions across the globe.

Nikhil Jois 

Nikhil Jois is the Co-founder and CEO at Eventosaur - a tech company that helps people plan events, ranging from birthday parties to weddings and corporate events. He is also a marketing and sales consultant at FabReach - a creative agency that specialises in content strategy consulting and execution. Originally from Bangalore, Nikhil started his career as an academic author and editor who helped create business school material for publishers such as Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Wiley in the US, UK, and Canada. He started his first company in the education space to help college students become more employable. In his free time, he loves discussing stories, design, tech, productivity, habits, fitness, leadership, sales, and marketing. He holds a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BIT Mesra, Ranchi.

A multi-lingual, Nikhil says he's looking forward to making some new friends in Auranagabad and is happy to stay in touch and answer your queries even after the event.

Hemanshu Jain 

Hemanshu Jain or ‘Heman’ as he is popularly known is the COO/ Co-founder at Diabeto, which was recently acquired by Livongo Health Inc. The Mumbai-based entrepreneur has a wide range of work experience with stints at Yahoo, HDFC Life Insurance and a startup Ticketplease.com, which was acquired during its early stages. His career that spans marketing, operations, manufacturing and sales, and he has also helped in the digital marketing of a few Bollywood movies.

Hemanshu holds a degree in mechanical engineering. In his spare time, he plays the bass guitar.

Mayank Gandhi

Mayank Gandhi is part of the Mergers & Acquisition (Tax & Regulatory) group at Price Waterhouse Coopers. He is a specialist in M&A, Corporate Restructuring and Deals and is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

With over six years of varied experience in tax, regulatory, and corporate finance, he has worked extensively on diverse transactions in the corporate restructuring and deals space for large multinationals and Indian companies across industries. He has also advised companies on entry / exit planning, growth and succession of family businesses and is actively involved in mentoring startups.

He is a regular speaker on M&A related topics before various fora and is a regular contributor to news blogs.

Mahendra Pyati

Mahendra Pyati is the co-founder of aaohostels.com and the founder of Havyasa, a unique hobby club, and founder trustee of NavPrabuti Trust, a vocational training centre for adults with Autism. An entrepreneur and a strategist, with a knack for getting to the root cause of any problem, he is popularly known as the 'Quality Guy' within his network. He loves meeting new people and is a great mentor, who keen to transfer his skills to others around him. In his spare time, he enjoys Aero Modelling, Photography and long-distance biking.

Sridhar D P

Sridhar DP is Founder & Chief Integrator at Innovation Enabler. He is a Senior Industry Advisor with a decade-and-a-half of consulting experience. His engagement portfolio ranges from High Performance Consulting to the field of Innovation as a Metamorphic Futurist. He has led a number of Management level Consulting assignments with Telecom, Energy, Manufacturing and Healthcare Majors. Sridhar holds an Executive MBA from IIMB, a degree in Innovation & IP from IISc, Bangalore and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science. He is also pursuing a post graduate degree in Intellectual Property from the National Law School of India University.

Dipti Nair

Dipti Nair has over 20 years of experience in the print, web, television, and internet radio space. She is an award-winning storyteller. She has worked in organisations like The Free Press Journal, The Telegraph, and Deccan Herald. She has also written for The National Geographic Traveller – India, India Today - Travel Plus, and Little India, a US-based NRI magazine.

Dipti loves writing about places and people to bring out their untold stories. She is particularly keen to explore the intersection of technology and human behaviour; and at YourStory, India’s largest digital platform for startups and entrepreneurs, she is documenting this interesting phenomenon through storytelling. She was presented the SCARF-PII Media for Mental Health Awards for her story on YourStory.com titled 'Is depression a well-guarded secret in the startup world.'