An initiative to support startups in reimagining and repositioning their business model post-pandemic has received more than 300 applications, out of which 100 have been selected for the mentoring program. Rejig.HydStartups, is an initiative by T-Incubators & Enablers. The initiative aims to work with startups from the following domains— life sciences, fintech, manufacturing, agriculture, FMCG, emerging technology.
A webinar involving ecosystem catalysts was organised recently to understand the impact of the pandemic on startups and expectations from the founders, to become resilient. Reflecting upon the inclusive approach taken by T-Incubators & Enablers, Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary Telangana Government said, “I am happy to say that Hyderabad today will be standing out for its — City as a Whole Approach — through this most important initiative Rejig.HydStartups to support the startups in coming weeks to become resilient post-pandemic. Even the applications that we received was a truly relevant mixture of industry sectors that require immediate attention.”
The webinar also saw a panel discussion involving Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub & CIO of Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC); Sridhar Pinnapureddy, Founder Chairman of CtrlS Datacenters, currently the President of TIE Hyderabad; Sateesh Andra, Managing Director of Endiya Partners, who is an established VC (venture capitalist) and investor. The panel was moderated by Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, CEO of IKP Knowledge Park.
The speakers gave their insights and urged the startups to relook at their business models and be willing to reimagine during the toughest crisis. Some of the steps founders could take, as mentioned by the panellists ranged from, identifying the alternate market for the existing product or service, rationalising the product or service, smart cost optimisation, looking out for answers by discussing with the customers, mentors, and investors. One of the important mentions by all the panellists towards betterment was founders’ resilience, the fact that the investments largely are done based on the strength of the business model and quality of human capital.
Deepanwita of IKP added that it is a great opportunity not just for startups but also for the incubators and enablers to collectively contribute to the startup ecosystem in the times when mentor access is important for founders to get a sounding board.
The program by Rejig.HydStartups, spread out over three weeks of mentoring to help startups connect with investors or gain corporate market access, will see a three-pronged approach— understanding the concerns of the startup with a completion of work assigned by the mentor, understanding the change of strategy, and a revised pitch. The program will culminate in a massive pitch day event where the startups will be pitching for equity funding, collateral-free debt funding, and corporate market access.