FLAME University’s Entrepreneurship Centre announces one of Pune’s biggest startup summit

FLAME University is holding its flagship startup summit at its campus in Pune on March 1-2 and bringing together a host of successful entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders.  The summit, BLAZE – Igniting Ideas, led by Darshan Doshi, Director of the FLAME Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (FCEI) has been designed to support startups and enable their growth.  

The two-day long summit will focus on understanding the challenges faced by innovators and startups and explore potential solutions through interaction, talks, workshops and panel discussions. As a part of this, FCEI will select 15 exceptional new ventures and business ideas to pitch to an investor panel consisting of eminent names from the industry and the startup ecosystem in India.

Register for BLAZE startup summit here.

Talking about the larger objective of designing a startup summit for aspiring and new entrepreneurs, Professor Dishan Kamdar, Vice Chancellor, FLAME University says, “BLAZE is an initiative by FCEI at FLAME that envisions bringing together thought leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders on a common platform to support deserving entrepreneurs. We will provide them with the opportunity and incentive to reach their potential and hope that they build ventures that will create jobs and wealth in the future." 

Startups, investors, professionals, students, policy makers and business leaders are expected to converge at the summit. The interactions are meant to inspire budding entrepreneurs and students and give them a glimpse into the realities and the vast potential of entrepreneurship.

Commenting on the value addition that BLAZE will bring to startups and idea stage ventures, Darshan says, “BLAZE will play the role of a catalyst in accelerating the growth of entrepreneurship across the country. What differentiates BLAZE is that it offers multi-fold ROI to the promising ideas and selected ventures. We will partner with the entrepreneurs to identify their growth areas, solve their challenges and hand-hold them till they are ready to go to market. We will also connect them with prospective customers and investors for potential funding support and provide them the much needed boost to grow and scale their ventures confidently.”

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, or an entrepreneur steering a young startup or a student, this two-day summit is something you must not miss. Here’s why

Get to know upcoming startups and ideas that the startup ecosystem is betting on

FLAME Origins Program Demo Day and Product Showcase are two key highlights of the summit. At the summit you will see startups accelerated under FCEI’s startup accelerator initiative, the FLAME Origins Program,  and pitching to prominent angel investors and venture capitalists. Over the last five months, FCEI has accelerated eight early stage startups across India. The summit will also showcase over 30 FLAME entrepreneurship undergraduate and postgraduate student groups displaying a range of products created over this academic year. So, you will get to know what your peers are working and what’s interesting about it.

Understand the Indian startup ecosystem better

For young startups or aspiring entrepreneurs, understanding the intricacies of the startup ecosystem and getting a larger picture of upcoming trends are critical to thrive and grow. Additionally, learning from experienced entrepreneurs can help them navigate the initial days of the startup journey with ease. Keeping this in mind, the summit has entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts leading interesting talks, workshops, and panel discussions. This includes talks such as ‘Startup Opportunities from the eye of an investor’ by Pranav Pai, Partner 3one4 Capital; ‘Scaling and exiting a fintech startup” by Patanjali Somayaji, CTO, Capital Float and Cofounder, Walnut App; ‘Indian startup ecosystem: deriving benefits from events, incubators, accelerators, ’a workshop by Praveen Dorna, Co-founder, StartupByte and ‘$1 Trillion Indian venture opportunity” by Tarun Davda, Partner & MD, Matrix Partners.

The experts and entrepreneurs will also share insights on the enterprise AI landscape, data science general practices, sustainable development and changemaking, changing global trends in media consumption, brand building and related topics.

A platform for upcoming startups to win cash prizes and hog the limelight

The summit will provide 15 early stage and idea stage startups a chance to pitch to investors as part of the BLAZE New Venture competition. The 15 startups will also get the opportunity to be part of the FLAME incubator programme. Three winning startups will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 85,000.

That apart, the two-day summit is a great opportunity to network with prominent business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, studentpreneurs and peers.

Register for BLAZE – Igniting Ideas’, a one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial summit focused on upcoming startups and entrepreneurs. Entry is free for those who register..

Also, if you are a startup with less than Rs 5 lakh in annual revenue or a student with a game-changing new business idea, then apply for the BLAZE New Venture competition. Hurry, the last date to apply is February 22, 2019. Apply today.