These start-ups are hot
8 Mar, 2009 | The Hindu-Ergo

By Liffy Thomas

Around 600 nominations covering nearly 20 industry segments from over 40 cities. The recently-concluded TATA NEN Hottest Startups Awards 2008 were billed as one of India's first people's choice awards for start-ups. And it no doubt generated a lot of interest among the community - for the six months of heady competition and extensive campaigns it saw. Two among the five finalists - Lakshya Institute and Star AgriWarehousing and Collateral Management - were special for more reasons than one, as they come from tier-II cities, battling many odds that came their way.

While the former is based in Patiala, Punjab, started by four IIT graduates (Bombay and Roorkee), the latter is Jaipur-based and taps the agricultural sector.

For Lakshya, however, sowing seeds for their entrepreneurial venture in 2006 in the "education city of Punjab" has been accidental; two of the members had a small stint in Ludhiana. "We wanted a place where we could profess our ideas through a unique way. Our initial seminars in the schools here got us good response and inspired us to go ahead," recalls Pulkit Jain, one of the founding members of the start-up that focuses on test preparation.

The education institute grooms Class X and XII students for entrance examinations and works with schools to eliminate external coaching and differentiates itself through the use of interactive digital content.

Though no entrepreneurial journey is a cakewalk, the growth stories of these emerging cities also go to show the increasing number of youngsters who are looking beyond placements and corporate jobs.

As Lakshya members say: "We remained in touch with our alumnus. Many of our juniors and batchmates visited us in the process and we made them interact with students. We made them realise that teaching is fun and that nothing beats the satisfaction of mentoring youth by making them realise their dreams. Many IITians have joined us in the last two years by leaving their high-paying corporate jobs and today act as ambassadors of our philosophy."

Empowering rural India

Talk about difficulties and Amit Mundawala, one of the founding members of Star AgriWarehousing and Collateral Management, has a lot to say. "The financing options were limited in Jaipur and we had to travel to Delhi or Mumbai to meet with officials. Our project would be recommended by the institution at the local level, but to get the final nod we had to await approvals from their headquarters situated in a tier-I city."

The start-up provides end-to-end solutions in the procurement, warehousing and collateral management of agricultural commodities. The team has four founding members coming from different backgrounds.

Besides family pressure (most of them found it difficult to convince their families) and age acting as deterrents (the team members are in their mid-20s and quit their respective jobs after six-seven months), Jain recalls the effort they took to glamorise the profession.

"In India, we have teachers who are generally not by choice but by chance. Our major effort has also been to make youngsters believe in their mission and take up teaching."