Blog

International Conclave On Growth Strategies For Start-Ups And Small Businesses

Abraham Joseph, Research Associate, XIME

An International Conclave was organized by XIME Bangalore in association with University of Adelaide, Australia on November 3 & 4, 2023. It benefitted close to 300 students and delegates, having primarily been meant for start-ups and small businesses entrepreneurs. Prof. J.Philip, Chairman, XIME Bangalore in his keynote address talked about India’s remarkable ascent as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem and ended with Steve Jobs’ iconic words, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”. Mr. C. K. Kumaravel, CEO  & Co-founder of Naturals Salon and Spa (C. K. Kumaravel)  was the Chief Guest of the Conclave. He emphasized that “A person can change the world if one believes in oneself”. Dr. Rajeev Kamineni, Associate Director of Adelaide Business School spoke about the three core competencies- Technical, managerial and entrepreneurial skills, with the latter being the most important. 

After the Inaugural ceremony was the first panel discussion titled “From Garage to Glory: Unleashing the Power of Startups and Small Businesses”. The session featured a diverse panel of experts:

1. Mr. Satyaki Rastogi (Regional Head & GM, SIDBI); (Satyaki Rastogi)
2. Mr. Ravi Rao, Director, India Site Strategy and ThinQbator, CISCO India; (Ravi Rao)
3. Mr. Devesh Nayel, Amicus Brain, AI Startup; (Devesh Nayel)
4. Mr. Abhishek Chadha, Founder & CEO - The Karighars; (Abhishek Chadha)
5. Mr. Jaipal Reddy, Founder and Director at Hycons (Jaipal Reddy)

Emphasizing the importance of commencing with modest beginnings, establishing credibility, and prioritizing customer satisfaction and product quality, the discussion encapsulated the essence of conducting business within a span of one hour for the participants.

Workshops on Nov 3, 2023

1. Securing Investments for Family-Owned Enterprises by Mr. Nitesh Agarwal, Chief Investment Manager, Baldota Family Office (Nitesh Aggarwal)
2. Understanding Workplace Harmony and Legal Adherence by Mr. Devesh Nayel (Devesh Nayel)
3. Unlock the Secrets of B2B Startup Funding by Mr. Aniketh M. J., AVP- IdeaSpring Capital (Aniketh)
4. Effective Team Building and Empowerment by Mr. Pattabiraman M. P., Founder CEO - PAT4Leaders (Pattabhiraman)
5. Best Practices for Seeking Loans from SIDBI and Other Institutions by Mr. Satyaki Rastogi, Regional Head & GM, SIDBI (Satyaki) 

The day ended with a scintillating cultural show by the students of XIME Bangalore and dinner.

The Second day of the International Conclave started with the final round of Innovation Plus Contest which involved the participating teams from various colleges of India, presenting their Innovations to the distinguished panel of judges which included:

1. Mr. Lakshminarayanan R., Director & Head of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) & Innovation Management Dept. in Samsung R&D India – Bangalore (Lakshminarayanan) 
2. Mr. James Thomas, VP & Head SAP HXM Success factors Indian Sub Continent (James Thomas)
3. Mr. Rajesh Banda, Department Head for Device Standardization Research at Nokia Networks (Rajesh Banda)
4. Dr. Vaibhav Tripathi,  Senior Assistant Professor at XIME Bangalore (Vaibhav Tripathi)

A total of 10 teams presented their ideas with one team presenting online.

Three distinguished individuals delivered speaker sessions on day 2:

• Dr. Rajeev Kamineni, Academic Director, Adelaide Business School (Rajeev Kamineni)
• Mr. Anurag Avula, (Shopmatic, Singapore) {Online session} (Anurag Avula)
• Ms. Kanika Agarrwal (Partner, IndiaQuotient) (Kanika Agarrwal)

This was followed by a panel discussion titled “Show me the money - Making Indian startups and small businesses smart and profitable, using ecosystem advantage”. The session, moderated by Prof. NMK Bhatta, highlighted the irony of entrepreneurs not seeing substantial financial returns. Panelists included:

1. Ms. Kanika Agarrwal, Partner, IndiaQuotient (Kanika Agarrwal)
2. Ms. Aashita Chadha, Co-Founder, The Karighars (Aashita Chadha)
3. Mr. Anand V, Commander, Indian Navy and Aspiring Entrepreneur
4. Dr. Nilesh Khare, Startup Mentor, Educator , Independent Director (Nilesh Khare)

The conversation explored diverse avenues of securing financing, highlighting the potency of passion, inquisitiveness, ethical conduct, and compelling storytelling. The panel's deeply personal approach added an extra layer of captivation for the audience.

Post lunch, there was the session where three of the guest speakers shared their entrepreneurial success stories. They were:

1. Mr. Subramani Ramachandrappa, Founder- Fermbox Bio (Subramani Ramachandrappa)
2. Ms. Aashita Chadha, Co-Founder, The Karighars (Aashita Chadha)
3. Mr. Srikanth Iyer, Co-Founder & CEO, HomeLane (Iyer Srikanth)

Workshops on Nov 4, 2023

1. Digital Marketing-The role of Data: Mr. Anand V, Commander, Indian Navy and Aspiring Entrepreneur
2. Incubation Efforts through Industry within Academic Ecosystem: Dr. Nilesh Khare, Startup Mentor, Educator, Independent Director (Nilesh Khare)
3. Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Business for Transformative Success: Ms. Sonali Jha, Founder CEO, Cunomial (Sonali Jha)
4. Journey from Campus to being an Entrepreneur: Mr. Mahendra Rathod, Founder- Vananam (Mahendra Rathod)
5. Goal Mastery - Strategies for Setting, Achieving, and Sustaining Success: Dr. Sampath. J. M, MD Arpitha Associates Pvt. Ltd (Sampath)

The valedictory function of the International Conclave was held in the presence of Prof. J. Philip, Chairman- XIME Bangalore and Mr. Lakshminarayan, Director & Head of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) & Innovation Management Dept. in Samsung R&D India – Bangalore. The prizes for the Innovation Plus contest were distributed along with the award ceremony for the XIME Distinguished Alumni Entrepreneur Award, 2023.