A first-of-its-kind global collaborative initiative between Amazon Launchpad, HAX (world’s biggest hardware accelerator) and Kickstarter (world’s largest crowd funding community) witnessed the official kick-off of Startup C-Cube, a multi-level challenge for Indian start-ups in Bengaluru today. The winning startup of the challenge will not only get support from the three organisations in its entire “concept-to-customer” journey but will also be provided resources for launch - both in India and in Europe/US, depending on the scalability of the idea. Additionally, the winning startup will receive a set of benefits valued at $500,000 to support its product journey. In partnership with HAX and Kickstarter, Amazon Launchpad aims to help the Indian startup community connect with like minds, showcase their ideas and help grow those ideas into real business opportunities. The Startup C-Cube challenge was flagged off in the presence of Mr. Priyank Kharge, IT, BT and Tourism Minister, Government of Karnataka, who was the Chief Guest at the event.
Speaking about the challenge, he said, “This competition is a great way to encourage entrepreneurship among the many aspiring start-ups in our country. It’s a great way to not only showcase innovative ideas but to also get mentored by three of the best partners in the start-up space. The government of Karnataka is also committed to provide the most favourable environment for investments and acceleration across all verticals to ensure we remain on top in technology and innovation. With their rich experience and deep understanding of consumers, Amazon Launchpad program can really make a difference in facilitating these talented start-ups take advantage of the growing digital economy and e-commerce.” Commenting about Amazon Launchpad, Sateesh Srinivasan, Director and Global head of Amazon Launchpad said, “We have witnessed tremendous success with Amazon Launchpad on a global scale and are delighted to see the positive reception in India. This is an opportunity for Indian Startups to get access to big consumer markets nationally and internationally.
There is a booming entrepreneurial culture in India and through Amazon Launchpad, we hope to augment this in the Indian youth and contribute to the India story.”In the first phase of its Concept-to-Consumer journey, HAX will provide the winning startup 3 months’ work space in Shenzhen, China along with expert mentoring from a pool of over 50 international mentors; a 6week ‘go-to-market’ boot camp in San Francisco and investment support of $375,000. In the second phase, Kickstarter will provide a campaign strategist to give one-to-one advice on campaign messaging, promotion, PR, marketing, fulfilment and more, along with access to its community of 13 million backers. Finally, Amazon Launchpad will help the winning startup gain visibility with marketing exposure and account management and support the winner for launch, both in India and in Europe/US, depending on the scalability of the idea.
“We're thrilled to participate in this initiative to learn more about the Indian startup community, with our partners Hax and Amazon Launchpad. Indian backers have pledged nearly $5M to projects on Kickstarter in the last few years, and this ongoing dialogue between creators and backers is changing what new products get made, how they are produced, and who has the resources to make them. This has shown us there is a huge appetite for innovation in the region, and we hope this programme can help grow it further,” said Heather Corcoran, Technology Outreach Lead at Kickstarter.Alan Clayton, Head of Entrepreneur Development, HAX said, “The SOSV funded HAX program has graduated hundreds of hardware entrepreneurs around the world; many of whom have gone on to raise substantial funds on the Kickstarter platform, and successfully deliver their product to customers via Amazon's Launchpad. We expect this unique collaboration will dramatically increase the chances for more startup teams to do well by doing good. Starting right here in India.”