Techstars Startup Weekend Gandhinagar 2024
Techstars Startup Weekend is a dynamic three-day accelerator program where innovators, developers, and entrepreneurs come together to transform their ideas and validate their concepts. During this event, participants engage in pitching, business model creation, prototyping, and market validation—all within a friendly and supportive team environment. The goal of this event is to create a startup concept from scratch in just 54 hours.
Day 1: 9th August, 2024
1. Welcome and Registration
The day started with a wave of excitement as more than 125 eager participants arrived, ready to begin their startup journey. Everyone registered, marking the first step of the exciting weekend.
2. Inaugural Ceremony
Once the participants were seated and settled, our engaging facilitators, Mr. Aditya Dave and Mr. Aditya Patro, introduced themselves and briefed participants about the startup weekend. They outlined the goals and activities of Startup Weekend and what participants could look forward to during the three-day event. The mentors and organising team were also introduced, helping to create a supportive atmosphere. A high tea break followed, allowing participants to relax and start networking with their fellow participants.
3. Ice Breaker
To get everyone loosened up, feeling at ease and encouraging interaction, the facilitators introduced a fun game called "Half Baked." In this exercise, participants generated random words, grouped together, created and sketched out an idea, including a logo on paper. Laughter filled the room as participants let loose and started building new friendships, setting the stage for future teamwork.
4. Pitching Ideas
The energy in the room was high as over 50+ participants took the mic to pitch their ideas. Each participant had just 60 seconds to share their concept. Soon, the walls were covered with posters of these ideas, turning the room into a showcase of creativity and innovation.
5. Dinner and Networking
As the evening arrived, dinner was served. Participants enjoyed the meal while discussing the day's activities and the ideas that had been pitched.
6. Choosing the Best Ideas
After dinner, it was time to choose the top ideas. Participants used sticky notes to vote for their favourite concepts. The room was filled with thoughtful discussions as everyone made their selections. In the end, 18 ideas stood out as the most promising.
7. Forming Teams
With the top ideas chosen, the real work began. The 18 idea creators became team leaders, each gathering participants to form a team. By the end of the night, teams were formed, each consisting of 5-6 members, ready to take their ideas to the next level.
As the first day drew to a close, the excitement was evident in the air. New connections had been made, concepts had started to develop, and everyone was enthusiastic about the possibilities that lay ahead. This was just the start of their startup adventure.
8. Workshop on Customer Discovery & Validation
At Midnight, There was a workshop by the Facilitator Mr. Aditya Dave & Mentor Mr. Anay Mashruwala that outlined a problem-solving approach for starting a business, with a focus on understanding the root cause of a problem and designing a solution around it.
The key steps included "Why" to understand the problem at a deeper level, identifying the customer and quantifying the problem, developing a go-to-market strategy, rapidly testing the solution with potential customers and iterating based on feedback, and conducting financial planning to estimate costs, pricing, and sales required for profitability.
The workshop emphasised the importance of a problem-solving mindset, highlighting the unique opportunity to start a business and encouraging participants to take the leap and try.
Day 2: 10th August, 2024
1. Mentoring Sessions
Day two was the most important day of the event. The teams started working on their ideas and had the opportunity to meet with industry-specific mentors for one-on-one sessions. These mentors offered valuable advice and knowledge that the teams could directly incorporate into their startup concepts.
2. Pitching Workshop by Aditya Dave
After the sessions and refreshments, There was a workshop on “How to Pitch in 5 Minutes" by Facilitator- Mr. Aditya Dave. The key elements covered include the judging criteria, which focuses on whether the team has validated the problem with customers, whether they are solving a real problem, and if they have identified a specific target market.
The workshop also outlines the key components of a successful pitch, such as clearly defining the problem, explaining the solution, demonstrating customer validation, outlining the go-to-market strategy and business model. Additionally, the document provided teams guidance on presentation style, emphasising the importance of choosing the best presenter, speaking clearly and engaging the audience, and backing up claims with valid data.
3. Workshop on Financial Modelling by Aditya Dave
Followed by dinner, Facilitator, Mr. Aditya Dave organised a “Financial Modelling Workshop” that guided participants how to create effective financial projections for their startup idea. Key topics covered were financial statements,cost analysis, and capital requirements. Participants learned about important performance indicators and valuation methods, and practised creating models for their startups idea.
Day 3: 11th August, 2024
1. Mock Pitching Sessions:
The Final Day of the startup weekend started with energising breakfast, giving teams a boost and setting the stage for the exciting mock pitching sessions. Mock pitching sessions conducted by mentors play a crucial role in the development of startup ideas. Here the mentors provided valuable feedback on the pitches made by the teams, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
2. The Jury Pitching:
After 54-hours of innovation and collaboration, the Startup Weekend culminated in the most anticipated event:The Jury Pitching. Here, 18+ teams prepared to showcase their startup idea to a distinguished panel of 04 judges. Each team was given a maximum of 10 minutes to pitch their idea to the panel members followed by 05 minutes of Q/A session.
3. RESULTS:
1st Runner Up: Hydropulse
2nd Runner Up: Stitchery
