Exhorting more than 200 budding entrepreneurs to be ‘job givers’ rather than ‘job seekers’, Mr. Fraser Castelino, CEO, Kings XI Punjab emphasised that “It is highly imperative for the youngsters to develop a commercially viable and market - disruptive idea which is absolutely different, competitive, tech savvy and unheard of, to succeed in the present dynamic scenario”. He was addressing amass gathering of VCs, industry icons, students, young entrepreneurs and start up proprietors at the CII - Yi Entrepreneurship Summit, organised jointly by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Young Indians (Yi) Solan Chapter and Government of Himachal Pradesh at CII NR Headquarters in sector 31 A, here today.
“Further, enrich your network as much as possible because your network would get you the potential investors, co-founders, supporters, buyers or partners. A Sound idea also needs a sound, cohesive and a dynamic team to practically convert it into a sound business proposition bring a drastic change in the market place and earn profits”, he added.Sharing his story, he said “Small things can lead us to great places. While I was a Chef and approached to lead a software development firm, considering my management skills, a small encounter with few relevant people and learning from them, got me to the place I am now, initially bidding and getting the franchise of Rajasthan Royals Team. Hence always be open to ideas from anybody or anywhere”.
Mr Shaurya V Himatsingka, National Chairman, CII Yi & Deputy Managing Director, India Carbon Ltd shared that “India is indeed a land of entrepreneurs, but what we need is more thrust on competitive entrepreneurship. Each year, 1.5 million students pass out in Engineering alone, hence it is impossible to provide jobs to all these in addition to other graduates. The only solution is that we encourage more and more youth to take risks, create ideas and execute them, without getting caught in paralysis of analysis. For this, we certainly need to build an eco-system which is conducive to start-ups and supports them in all possible ways like guidance, knowledge, cheaper and easier funding, incubation centres, favourable policies, subsidies, and change of mindset to accept new ideas”.Mr Trishneet Arora (22), Founder and CEO at TAC Security Solutions said that “If you have an idea and a dream, it is bound to succeed, just be tenacious and patient. Come to me with an idea, and I will invest in you”.
“Start small and think big” was the loud call given by a 22 year old author, cyber security expert, and entrepreneur from Ludhiana who could not pass 8th standard but has written books on various topics related to Cyber Security, Ethical Hacking and Web Defence.Prof S B Sareen, Project Director, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India shared that “Purposeful, income generating entrepreneurship is the only way to fight rising unemployment in India. The GoI’s programs like Make in India and Stand up India, Start Up India etc and pro entrepreneurship policies are expected to unleash a new era of entrepreneurship in India. But, there is a need to further enhance the enabling climate for young start-ups by implementing various policies and make knowledge, initial infrastructure, and funding easily available to them”.Mr Gurpreet Kang, CEO, K3 Group enthralled the audience with his unique wit and shared how he transformed from an employee earning Rs 7000 per month to a multi-millionaire.
The summit also comprised “Yustart 2015” a CII-Yi Start-Up Challenge” from the Engineering/Management/Regular Colleges across the region. CII Yi and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), Ahmedabad had received 200 business plans and ideas from students across the region and out of these top 15 ideas were presented by teams to the Angel Investors for funding support.The angel investors who attended the presentations by various teams were highly impressed with them and shared that “The ideas presented have been truly amazing, interesting and innovative, solving various on ground problems. They also have the sound backing of technology and capability to disrupt the market, which are the two key characteristics in addition to proper timing and team, which we seek in any new project before investing in it.One of the angel investors at the CII Yi Entrepreneurship Summit, Mr Girish Shivani, Director, YourNest Angel Fund shared that “Our mission is to create next Twitter or Face Book from India. For this, we are ready to support the bright ideas as much as possible”.