Institution Innovation Council, JIMS Rohini successfully organised Panel Discussion on “Strengthening the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem” on 9th of July during the much awaited Orientation Week on 9th July 2022.
The session commenced by welcoming the guest speakers Mr. Akshay Chaturvedi, founder and CEO Leverage Edu, Ms. Tanya Kapoor, founder Wepreneur and Mr. Puneet Oberoi, Director Finwise Services Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Puneet Oberoi took the lead as the moderater and kick started the discussion by putting forth a unique perspective about Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.
Ms. Tanya talked about her journey through the entrepreneurial world and how she built a marketplace for buyers and sellers along with a media house from the ground up. By presenting if the successful business model of Zomato, she aimed to elaborate on how innovative start-ups are changing the world every single day.
Mr. Akshay started by giving a brief description about his venture “Leverage Edu”. Following which he reflected on the reasons behind why a lot many start-ups end up failing in the contemporary world. He spoke about how innovation can keep a venture alive in the market and gave an example of CP Plus marketing punchline “Upar wala sab dekhta hai”. Mr. Akshay also shared that why it is extremely essential to identify the right target market for your business. He presented a case study of laundry start-ups which is superhit in the USA consumer market, but was abruptly shut down in India. This is because Indian market is wholly distinct from the US market. To run a successful business, people must gain deeper market insights, knowing the customers and keeping innovation as their priority is immensely vital.
Moving on, Mr. Puneet Oberoi shared about his losses back in 2002 in business and a story that motivated him to start over with a conventional job in some agency and the rest is history. He gained an array of prestigious certifications including the CFA Charter. He asserted that challenges are a part of life and are quintessential to a start up journey.
As they answered one of the questions related to training and education, Ms. Kapoor and Mr. Akshay had different opinions. Ms. Kapoor believed that education plays a very important role. She expressed that MBA, being a prestigious degree serves as a safety net and boosts a person’s adaptability. On the other hand, Mr. Akshay didn't think that education is a mandatory aspect to run a successful business, but knowledge is. He gave an insight into that how Chaiwala, a person who only pursued his education until 10th grade runs a business earning an income in lakhs. Moreover, all the speakers agreed on the fact that networking is crucial and in B-School students have an opportunity to build upon their networking skills. During their talk a popular show Shark Tank India was also mentioned, and speakers recommend students to watch that show and acquaint themselves with a thing or two about angel funding, seed funding etc.
Apart from that, the discussion also revolved around the distribution channels which is an important factor for any business. During this Ms. Tanya also stated an example of how FMCG companies like P&G are doing amazing in the distribution and supply chain model.
After that Q&A session was held. The students bewildered by this talk and asked a myriad of questions which made the session all the more interactive.
The students were motivated and inspired by this insightful session which offered them a chance to explore future opportunities and enlighten their minds with prospects of the future.