Category Archives: News

Startups Talk, Faad and A.R.M.S came together to organize a startup event at the IIT-Madras Research Park. They had previously organized similar events in Delhi/NCR. This was aimed at budding entrepreneurs to have a better understanding into the startup world and also to network.

This was called as the ‘Open Networking Session’, organized on the 17th July 2016. The organizers had invited 3 speakers – Mr Shyam Sekar, Founder and Chief Mentor @ Startup Xperts, Mr Navnit Krishna, an entrepreneur and an angel investor, and Mr Vijay Krishna, CEO of Samyutam, a robotics and big data software company.

The session’s aim was to have the speakers share their experiences, and ideas, of their own startup, entrepreneur journey, share some success tips, that can be useful for the emerging entrepreneurs to build a successful startup.

The event was attended by a large number of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. Post the event Shyam mentioned, “Nice to see so many budding and aspiring entrepreneurs coming on a Sunday evening at this IIT-Madras Research Park. The entrepreneurial ecosystem needs such events and activities to promote entrepreneurship amongst the community. This in turn can certainly help build a good ecosystem”.

SRM School of Management headed by Dr.Jayashree Suresh organized the second edition of Commencia 2016 at their SRM University campus premises in Chennai between the 4th and 7th of April 2016.

Commencia 2016 is an entrepreneurship carnival that provides a platform for talented entrepreneurs to showcase their products and business acumen. They seek to accelerate their entry into the corporate world.

Commencia 2016 hosts many events that aim at challenging and promoting the business spirit within its participants. Their flagship event is called the Startup Expo. Participants can bring their idea, prototype or product and win an opportunity for visibility or funding from one of our angel investors. The Startup Expo was held on 6th April 2016.

Startup Xperts was invited to be their mentor and also act as a judge for their Startup Expo. Speaking on the occasion, Shyam said, “A good initiative by the SRM students team. Was able to pick 2 good ideas to the final stage, and interesting to see the entrepreneurial spirit amongst the student community. Happy to have been a part of it”.

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) organized ‘Startup Expo’, the first big event managed by their E-cell (Entrepreneurship cell) during 2-3 April 2016 at their campus. Startups showcased their products and ideas, and demonstrated in their booths/stalls. Shyam Sekar, Founder and Chief Mentor was invited to take part on two separate events of this Startup expo initiative. First is to be a ‘mentor and judge’ for their Startup ‘Pitch fest’, and then to be a key ‘speaker’ for their boot camp day. Shyam presented on the topic ‘what it takes to build a successful startup in today’s ecosystem?’ to numerous startup enthusiasts, aspiring entrepreneurs, and startups. In total there were 12 products/solutions presented by IIT students and external startup teams.

26 Feb 2016, THE HINDU, Visakhapatnam, India

Though startups have a bright future, the high failure rate is attributed to absence of a congenial ecosystem, says noted consultant on startups S. Shyam Sekar.

A product of Harvard Business School with rich experience in marketing in LG and other companies, Mr. Sekar, now chief mentor and strategist at Chennai-based Startup Xpert and advisor and mentor at Delhi-based SMB Connect, told The Hindu on Wednesday that over 90 per cent of startups in India fail to make any profit and fade into oblivion due to lack of proper guidance.

“There is no ecosystem itself. A system to validate the ideas is missing for want of proper mentorship,” he said.

Admitting that the government was able to create the buzz about startups and their potential to accelerate the nation’s economic growth, he said the need of the hour was to have a large pool of qualified mentors.

Many of the startups do not know how to go ahead with marketing. They don’t know how to have access to funding to realise their dreams. Only domain experts could guide them on how to achieve success, he stated.

Mr. Sekar said the role of marketing consultants should also form part of ecosystem. Mentors should also step in to conduct bootcamps at the campuses of various educational institutions to apprise the youngsters of dos and don’ts of entrepreneurship and how to go ahead with business ventures with out of the box ideas.

Mooting incubator-cum-accelerator setup, he said this could address the gap in the industry. Such system is in existence to some extent in Silicon Valley. He said startups have bright scope in India. “What is happening now is only a tip of the iceberg. Once support ecosystem is developed, sky is the limit for our young entrepreneurs,” he said.

There is no ecosystem itself. A system to validate the ideas is missing for want of proper mentorship

Hindu press release page link: Click here

Mr. Shyam can be contacted at shyam@startupxperts.com.

24 Feb 2016, Deccan Chronicle, Visakhapatnam, India

Andhra Pradesh Chambers of commerce and Industry Federation (APCCIF) vice-president G.Sambasiva Rao observed that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were at the forefront of innovation, job creation and the overall economy.

They were striving hard to improve business efficiency, but were getting bogged down by the challenges of doing business in the information age and were often spending their resources, fire fighting.

Delivering the inaugural address on Wednesday at the third edition of ‘Start, Manage, Expand: A knowledge-led Small Medium Business Conference’, Mr Rao said, “SMEs are playing a potent role in all sectors – from automobile to shipping and its allied services, like ship breaking and dry docking.”

He also said the upgradation of the tribal people by imparting to them industry-oriented skills would help them enter the mainstream and be part of activities in ancillary units in and around Visakhapatnam.

The Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank (MUDRA) was also giving a much needed boost to startup entrepreneurs, extending loans to the tune of Rs. 10 lakh without any collateral guarantee, Mr Sambasiva Rao added.

Founder and chief mentor at Startup Xperts and strong advocate of Digital marketing Shyam Shekar said, “SME enterprises should focus on creating their brand identity, uniqueness (or differentiators), that could be showed in the market. SMEs and Startups can leverage themselves through smart marketing strategies, thereby positioning themselves better than the competition. Effective and smart branding can help win clients and increase revenue and profitability. Also, Startups and SMEs should pursue ‘Digital marketing’ to position themselves as thought leaders in their space. While pursuing digital marketing tactics focus should be on their customers and their needs. Twin strategies should be adopted inbound and outbound.

APCCIF chairman Pydad Krishna Prasad and vice chairman M.Sudheer spoke on the need for technological know-how in current scenario.

Mr. Shyam can be contacted at shyam@startupxperts.com.