Hey guys! Conquest is BITS Pilani's startup accelerator.  Our top 13 startups, selected from 2000+ applications panIndia, will be pitching to a jury of top investors for investment on Sunday, 13th ...

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

Hey guys! Conquest is BITS Pilani's startup accelerator.

Our top 13 startups, selected from 2000+ applications pan-India, will be pitching to a jury of top investors for investment on Sunday, 13th August at The LaLiT Ashok, Bengaluru.

There will also be a couple of panel discussions on relevant topics, with panelists like Raghu G (Co-founder, Zolve and TaxiForSure), Abhishek Goyal (Co-founder, Tracxn) and Sameer Brij Verma (MD, Nexus Venture Partners).

The audience will be composed of investors, operators and other active members of the Indian startup ecosystem.

You can apply to be considered as an attendee of the event (free of cost 😀) here:

Conquest: Demo Day '23 is the Grand Finale of the 19th edition of Conquest BITS Pilani (conquest.org.in), presented by Westbridge Capital. The Demo Day is scheduled to take place on August...

Conquest: Demo Day'23 · Luma

Conquest 2023 Demo Day - Startup Pitches, Panel Discussions, Networking (and food :p)

Conquest 2023 Demo Day - Startup Pitches, Panel Discussions, Networking (and food :p)- Grapevine

I got the mail in my college mail ID so thought I could share it here in case someone can benefit. Below is the mail

"""
Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Campus Fund are thrilled to launch the fourth Edition of Grand Challenge to recognize the Best Student Led Startup of the Year

The top 5 startups selected in the Pre-finale will pitch to the Grand Jury on 14th of December. The jury will deliberate over the finalists and declare the Student Startup of the Year 2023 as the winner of Grand Challenge. Top 3 winners will pitch to Campus Fund’s Investment Committee for an investment of upto 4 Crores on 17th of December.

Who can apply? Current students, university dropouts and founders who have graduated in the last three years (2020 or afterwards)

Apply Here: bit.ly/3qzM7yX

Startups who presented in the previous three editions have collectively raised $22M in funding, till date!

This is your opportunity to showcase and scale your startup, where your vision and innovation will be witnessed by senior leaders/investors from the Indian startup ecosystem.

Applications close on September 15th

More about Grand Challenge - https://lnkd.in/gVjgupRR
"""

Attn: >=2020 grad & startup founders | AWS and Campus Fund’s Grand Challenge

Application analyst

Welcome to Product Managers's Private Community

Hi good folks of Grapevine, Razorpay recently conducted an annual Product Conclave where all PM Folks - Big and Small, in the company come together for a 2 - 3 days event led by Co-Founder to discuss Product Roadmap, Trends etc. Kinda brainstorming session

Does this happen in any other companies/ Startup in India and is it a sign of good Product Leadership ???

If so, please list down companies that do these kind of events.

Product Conclave at Companies

Software Engineer

Anyone going to attend the G20 Startup Shikhar Conclave tomorrow?

Lawyer

Want to meet like-minded folks in your -1 to 0 journey or beyond? Come join our invite-only startup discussion meetup as part of Duzzlin's beta launch! 🎉

Duzzlin is your old-school socializing app where you make genuine connections IRL.

📅 Date: This Sunday, 23rd
🕠 Time: 4:30 PM
📍 Location: HSR Layout, Bangalore

Don't miss out on this chance to be part of an inspiring community! 🌟

➡️ Pls register here: https://lu.ma/w8cwdgcw

Find us on:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/duzzlin/
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/duzzlinsocial/?hl=en

🚀 Calling All Founders and Startup Enthusiasts! 🚀

Data scientist

Hi folks! Am new to the city, working for an MNC and recently got the role of Project coordinator (similar to PM) but along with this, I want start exploring the startup ecosystem here in Bengaluru. Am still figuring out my niche. Could you guys please suggest what kind of events I should attend to meet people, what are some of the X (Twitter), Reddit, Instagram or any other such SM pages to follow so that I am relevant with the things happening here? I am up for part time jobs and apprenticeships if available to start immediately or after skilling up myself with the requirements.

PS. As I am still finding my niche, any sector is good enough to begin with, but since I am a Biomedical Engineering Graduate, I would prefer something in the Medtech arena.

Exploring start-up ecosystem in Bengaluru.

Project Coordinator

Budget 2024 scrapped the angel tax for all investors, creating the ultimate playground for innovation and entrepreneurship in India.

Big news for Indian startups!

Can individuals join too?
Is your business going? Can I tag along? 👉👈 🥺

I really want to attend!

Anyone at Startup Mahakumbh, Delhi?

Consultant

Hello everyone,

I'm Varun, the co-founder of Mesa School of Business. We’re Asia’s first startup focused business school focused on fostering the next generation of startup leaders in India.

Prior to Mesa, I was a Sr. Product Manager at Amazon in Seattle, and did my MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

I'd love to chat with you folks about my journey in building Mesa, my thoughts on higher education, 0-to-1 building, amongst other things.

Ask me anything! :)
I'll be back at 5 pm and start answering.

I'm Varun, Co-Founder at Mesa School of Business. Ask me anything!

Founder

Creating this thread to help the laid off folks look for their next company.

Which tech companies in India have a strong product and a long runway?

Product Manager

What problems would Indian and Global startups be solving in the next decade, or they would be just throwing random yearly new buzz words and as usual VCs would be having orgasms on these buzz words.

I mean real problems.

Startups of the coming age

Frontend Engineer

Hi guys,
are there startups who help someone who like to start a small business, while working full time.
I know there are lot of startups who will provide help with marketing, accounting, legal, web development, sales 
but what I'm looking for platform which can provide me all the resources along with mentor/guide who will guide throughout the process
What I will bring to table- small capital say<10L, time resource over the weekend, problem solving mindset 
What I want from the startup- experiment with different ideas and come up with the one which will be best suited for my personality/profession/background, for example if I'm from Jaipur highly likely I would like to start something there, I might not be available physically.

Startup who help people start small business from idea to execution

willl try my best to be honest, ask me anything

AMA - I work at a VC fund

Analyst

The stupidity and arrogance of some leaders in some companies to use colleges as filter criteria for what is clearly irrelevant for the role. 

Mostly these idiots end up fucking up company after company creating these neo-casteist groups sucking off and living off each other.

This identity based hiring is the start of corporate politics. I still don’t understand how difficult it is for fucking idiots to understand that while hiring for most roles you have to encourage diverse backgrounds at the start of the process to help you hire the right candidate for the long term, specially in a startup. 

PS I’m not against preferring candidates from certain colleges if it’s relevant. What i do hate is this herd behaviour of trying to hire only from your alumni the moment you are given leadership roles.

It must be such shitty experience to work under idiots like these if you are not from their alumni colleges because their biases play into all evaluations they do about their teams.

Idiots hiring! Pocketfm edition

VCs bhi aa rahe hain frens, sign up karlo 😂 

https://lu.ma/ll9x6r8g

Pitch yourself for partners + funding 🤣

Generalist

Been spending way too much time on Grapevine lately - absolutely loving it @Micheal_Scott!

Posted the Prosus report takeaways yday - lots of you DMed asking questions. Then I saw NewsAnchor break down the entire Prosus Annual Report - great stuff.

I was an Associate at one of the largest VC funds in India, so I enjoy going through new reports and summarising them - found my notes from Bain's India Venture Capital Report 2024. Thought of sharing the unedited summary that I shared with the Partners at the fund, have a bunch of these - can share more if of value to any of you here (ofc removing the confidential parts)

Notes:
1/ India's maintaining its gravitational pull despite the global funding crunch. Sure, overall funding nosedived 63% to $9.6B, but we're still the #2 destination in Asia-Pacific. Might not necessarily be a crash, it's a necessary course correction.
2/ Early-stage investing is showing remarkable resilience. Seed deals now comprise 70% of all deals, up from 60%, with average check sizes holding steady at $1.4M. Smart money is quietly positioning itself for the next wave of innovation.
3/ The tech-only playbook is being rewritten. While consumer tech, fintech, and SaaS still command 60% of funding, traditional sectors like BFSI are gaining ground, with average deal sizes jumping from $8M to $15M. We're witnessing the birth of tech-enabled, not just tech-centric, growth stories.
4/ The unicorn factory has hit pause, with only 2 new billion-dollar valuations vs. 23 in 2022. Mega-rounds ($100M+) plummeted from 48 to 15. This isn't a drought; it's a return to fundamentals. The era of grow-now-profit-later is firmly behind us.
5/ Generative AI isn't just hype; it's reshaping the landscape. Funding exploded from $15M to $250M, with 80% flowing to existing companies integrating AI. India's quickly becoming a laboratory for practical AI applications, not just speculative moonshots.
6/ Electric mobility is rewiring itself. While overall funding dipped slightly to $600M+, charging infrastructure investment surged 50%. The real opportunity isn't just in vehicles; it's in building out the entire EV ecosystem.
7/ Exits are defying gravity, leaping 1.7x to $6.6B. Public market sales led the charge at 55%, even as IPOs cooled. LPs are getting liquidity, and the secondary market is proving surprisingly robust. There's still appetite for quality assets.
8/ PE is no longer just watching from the sidelines. These players doubled their share to 25% of investments, going toe-to-toe with traditional VCs. The lines between growth equity and venture capital are blurring, and it's changing the game for late-stage rounds.
9/ We're watching natural selection in real-time. Yes, 35,000+ startups shuttered and 20,000+ layoffs hit the headlines. But companies like Groww and Indifi turned profitable. This isn't a bubble bursting; it's an ecosystem strengthening its foundations.
10/ Domestic VCs are coming of age. While overall fund-raising halved to $4B, homegrown VCs led 90%+ of raises. They're not just following; they're specializing, with thematic funds like Omnivore's $150M agritech vehicle. The ecosystem is bootstrapping its own future.
11/ Regulation isn't just tightening; it's evolving. Angel Tax expanded and lending norms got stricter, but we're also seeing innovative policies like UPI for foreign travelers. India's crafting a uniquely balanced approach to fostering innovation while maintaining stability.

Topics we can discuss during our standup:
1/ Can India produce global tech giants if it's primarily adopting rather than pioneering in areas like AI? How do we enable this?
2/ How will the shift towards profitability impact India's ability to foster truly disruptive innovations? Implications for us, how should we be evaluating deals differently?
3/ With domestic VCs leading the charge, how will this change India's startup narrative on the global stage?
4/ Is this maturation setting the stage for more resilient, globally competitive Indian startups, or are we risking our innovation edge? How do we look at thesis driven investing v/s fomo investing?

Link to Bain's report - https://www.bain.com/insights/india-venture-capital-report-2024/

P.S. Do note that this is 6+ months old - data points mostly look diff now but sharing it anyways. Will post more as and when I get time :)

My notes on Bain's 2024 VC report as a VC Associate

Investor

I have been going to e chai venture meet ups for quite some time . Are there any other startup meet ups that are worth visiting to network and gain some impactful connections ?

Conquest 2023 Demo Day - Startup Pitches, Panel Discussions, Networking (and food :p)

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