TiE-ISB Connect 2006 was held at ISB from September 20 to 22, 2006. The event was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.The Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Defence, Mr M M Pallam Raju, was the Guest of Honour at the inaugural function. The event was a resounding success with over 600 delegates, panellists, and invitees participating in it. The hallmark of the event was its facilitation of formal and informal interactions between aspiring entrepreneurs and young enterprises on the one hand and potential investors on the other. This year forty young enterprises and over 150 entrepreneurs benefited from such interactions.

The 2006 event was designed to benefit both entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in sunrise sectors, and young enterprises and entrepreneurs with ideas seeking support.

For Entrepreneurs Seeking Opportunities: Panel Discussions
Nine panel discussions on entrepreneurial opportunities in the different sunrise sectors mentioned below were organised for the benefit of entrepreneurs. Each panel had a mix of entrepreneurs and investors discussing sectoral trends, the risks and rewards that entrepreneurial opportunities in that sector offer, and sharing their experiences in either exploiting opportunities in that sector or investing in new ventures in that space. You can read summaries of panel discussions in each sector by clicking on the links below.

For Young Enterprises and Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Start-up Mela
The set of activities under Start-up Mela provided aspiring entrepreneurs and young ventures different opportunities to display the power of their business ideas or the potential of their ventures.

Jumpstart your Venture
This half-day workshop was specially designed to prepare aspiring entrepreneurs for the arduous though exciting entrepreneurial journey. Over 150 aspiring entrepreneurs benefited from the wisdom of VCs with experience in investing in start-ups both in Silicon Valley and in India, entrepreneurs currently running ventures, and renowned academics in the field of entrepreneurship.

Investor Pitch
Over 200 young ventures submitted business plans for participation in this section prompting the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh to comment that the entrepreneurial gene lying dormant in Indians is finally expressing itself. Both manufacturing and service businesses in a variety of sectors were represented in the submissions. About 100 ventures were short-listed at the first stage and asked to submit complete business plans. 20 of the ventures that submitted full business plans were invited to pitch their projects to the Private Equity, Venture Capital and Angel communities. Twenty more were given an opportunity to make a five-minute elevator pitch to a group of VCs and angels.

Venture Showcase
Venture Showcase provided enterprises a platform to display their products and services enabling them to attract the attention of potential investors and customers. Twenty ventures took advantage of this unique opportunity.

The success of the 2006 event has vindicated our belief that an entrepreneurial ecosystem requires such an event that facilitates networking among entrepreneurs, young ventures, and investors.

Taking India Forward
An interesting interlude in this event was a panel discussion, moderated by Senthil Chengalvarayan of CNBC. The two hour power packed session featured a number of prominent business leaders such as Mr B Ramalinga Raju, Chairman, Satyam Computer Services Ltd, Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, Loksatta, Rajiv Gowda, IIM-B, Chandra Sekhar, Lok Paritrana and Pullela Gopichand, All-England Open Badminton Champion. The discussion evoked a great deal of enthusiasm among the audience too.