When startups from Rajasthan's iStart programme pitched to over 100 investors

The Government of Rajasthan, as part of its flagship iStart Rajasthan programme to foster the startup ecosystem in the state, enabled over 50 startups to pitch to more than 100 investors representing 12 funds. The event took place in Jaipur yesterday at the government’s flagship incubation facility, the Bhamashah Techno Hub.

The Rajasthan Angel Investor Pitch 2019 saw participation from investors such as IvyCamp Ventures, Rajasthan Angel Innovators Network (RAIN), Metacube, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF), BNI, Omnivore, Startup Oasis, and Startup Buddy.

Over 150 startups had applied, from which around 50 were curated to pitch after "a rigorous evaluation process which lasted for almost a month", according to an iStart spokesperson. Each startup got 10 minutes to pitch to investors in a closed-door, one-on-one environment.

“The event was conceptualised taking into account that our startups have now reached a stage where they can pitch before angel investors and climb up the ladder of the startup maturity lifecycle,” the spokesperson said.

iStart is yet to announce the names of the startups that participated in yesterday's event to be considered for funding by investors.

The event was jointly organised with the Rajasthan chapter of PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which has been assisting iStart in getting connected with HNIs (high net worth individuals) from Rajasthan. The Rajasthan Angel Investor Pitch 2019 was sponsored by Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation Limited (RKCL).

In the run-up to Monday’s event, iStart had hosted a 'celebrity mentor series' in May. Mentors such as Vishwas Shringi (CEO and Founder of ecommerce venture Voylla), Anurag Jain (Co-founder of auto ecommerce company Cardekho.com), Ajit (TEDx Ambassador for India), Dr. Jayshree Periwal (Founder, Jayshree Periwal Schools) and Kumar Anubhav (Founder of NotonMap) had helped the shortlisted startups prepare their pitches.

Last month, the state government had also given out funding to over 30 early-stage startups that are part of iStart’s incubation. The amounts ranged from Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

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