Giving a platform to Young Ideators, The Dream Startup Challenge 2015

India is at the cusp of an economic boom and this boom is being powered by the new age enterprise more than the conventional industries. This boom is inline with the vision of our current Prime Minister of a developed India, with campaigns like Make in India, this vision is all set to become a reality.

In line with this thought process a group of young and dynamic individuals from Bhopal, who are a part of Young Indians, the youth wing of CII have tied up with AISECT and launched the Dream Startup Challenge 2015. This is not just a business plan competition, but a competition which is designed in a way to equip budding ideators and innovators with knowledge and support to take their business or idea to the next level.

The idea behind the event is to provide new age entrepreneurs from non-metro cities with a platform to showcase their ideas and take them to the next level and in the process create a eco-system for them to harness their skills in this ever competitive world. more information about the challenge is available on their website: http://dreamstartupchallenge.com/

The ‘ Dream Start up Challenge’ is an initiative by Bhopal chapter of YI ( Young Indians ) & CII ( Confederation of Indian Industries ) to promote Entrepreneurship & Innovation in Central India. India is in a middle of entrepreneurial tide. The entire world is sitting up and taking note of the vibrant energy possessed by Indian youth. However what we are seeing is just a tip of an iceberg. There are so many success stories that are brewing beneath the surface in the tier 2 and tier 3 towns but more often or not are nipped in the bud because the entrepreneur from smaller cities does not get the same exposure and eco system that is available to someone in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbei, Delhi etc.

Dream Start up is an Endeavour to not only showcase the entrepreneurial talent that is available in a cities like Bhopal but also to support & hand hold the entrepreneurs through the process of formulating a sustainable business model and providing them with the appropriate audience that can help them take their ventures to the next level.

The Dream Start up Challenge has two components, viz

• The Business Plan Competition for ideation and early stage startups. Eligible ventures will get mentorship for 2 months before the present their B plans to a panel of Investors , industrialists & academicians to win attractive prizes
• The Start up Expo for all operating startups where they can showcase their ventures in an expo style format to Investors , industrialists & academicians

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

• The applicant should be Indian resident
• The venture should not be registered earlier than 1st June 2010.
• The annual turnover should not be more than Rs. 2 crore in any financial year since the inception of the venture.
• Students / ideation stage startups with good workable ideas, with an intention to start the venture in near future may also apply.
• Applicants / ventures not qualifying as per the eligibility criteria may also apply for getting accommodated in the startup expo. They would however will not be allowed to participate in the competition.

The competition is deliberately restricted to Early stage and Beta stage startups in order to provide opportunity and encouragement to Young minds through Incubation and cash prizes. However, Young Indians would love to provide a platform to all the start ups, irrespective of age or financials, to showcase their potential and their hard work to the business world. Hence we encourage you to register and apply even if you do not qualify for the competition. If your venture is shortlisted, you would get an opportunity to showcase your venture to host of VCs / Angel investors, Govt officials , Industry leaders and to the world at large at the grand START UP EXPO being organized on 21st & 22nd November 2015.

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Arvind Kejriwal and AAP, where are they headed...

A lot has happened in the past few months in AAP (Aam Aadmi Party), after Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi. A lot of promises seem to be at large with no concrete action plan in sight. After looking at the current war in AAP, I got reminded of TV ads on Doordarshan which talked of unity by showing a man breaking sticks one by one, but when they were made into a bunch the man was not able to break them.

You may feel why I am saying so, but if you look closely what is happening in Delhi, with AAP you will realise what I want to say. Are we looking at a fate like that of the Janta Dal, which could not digest the power dynamics served to them on platter and broke apart because individual agendas preceded common agendas. Something similar was seen in Assam, with the formation of the Assam Gana Parishad, but I am here not to talk about them. I am here looking at what is happening to AAP in Delhi.

They have got a thumping majority in the house and although BJP had a fair vote share, it was decimated and AAP became the supreme power. A party that rose out of the ashes of the Jan Lokpal Andolan, a lot of people connected with the party and I would not lie even I saw it as a ray of hope in the Political system which seems to be rotten to the core as of now. The election of AAP twice in a row seems to be something big and surely the party members have been ecstatic about the same. The mode of celebrations on the day of its win was a sight to watch with, Arvind Kejriwal (ArKe), Kumar Vishwas (KuVi), Prashant Bhushan (PraBhu), Yogendra Yadav (YoYa) etc.

But as Abraham Lincon had said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character give him power."

Something similar seems to be happening with AAP and ArKe right now, power has created massive rifts within the party and it seems that there is a sort of anarchy prevailing in the Party and people who are opposing are being selectively sidelined and publicly humiliated, it somehow reminds of "Game of Thrones" in which the kid with all the power publicly starts executing who ever seems to be having any power.

All this seems to similar to what happened to Hemu, the ruler who became the king after being the head of army of the Suri Dynasty. He believed in leading every war from the forefront; and that is what finally became his undoing, in the second battle of Panipath Hemu was leading his army atop an elephant and had a upper hand over Akbar's army, it is said that Akbar was instructed to retreat and head to Afganistan. But Hemu ran out of luck, an arrow hit him in the eye and he fell from the elephant his soldiers thought that the king is dead and gave up the fight as they were left without a leader, if Hemu would have trusted his aides and let someone else lead the amry while he guided them from the camps, his rule would have been the greatest, but as destiny had it, he was unceremoniously beheaded by the Mughals and his followers also met with a similar fate.

It seems Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, wants to be the single most powerful person in AAP, but is this the right way forward, should he not make a new command structure and himself focus on Delhi and set it up as an example which can be showcased in other elections, something Shri Narendra Modi, did with Gujrat.

Instead AAP, seems to have brought out its internal issues in public arena and thus hampering the parties image in public. Even ArKe, was not available for any form of comments during turbulent times in the party, as he was busy in a naturopathy treatment. What about the treatment of the Party Mr. Kejriwal. The party has just come to the helm of things and problems seem to have engulfed the party like a wild fire. YoYa and PraBhu, were amongst the founding members and major faces of the party, but they have been expelled and it seems a lot of selective expulsions are in line.

Time only will tell what is in store for AAP and ArKe..... As of now it seems that PraBhu and YoYa are all set to fight against the anarchy and the way they have been treated, like a fly fly thrown out of a tea mug.....

*The article presents the individual point of view of the author and does not in any way mean to put any form of allegations on any one. 

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