Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) Pilani concluded the 11th annual edition of its International Start-up Conclave, Conquest, on Sunday. A global start-up challenge for entrepreneurs, the competition was held in partnership with DCB Bank, CitrusPay and Accel Partners.
The annual event explores and caters to every need of a startup - incubation opportunities, IP filing, expert mentoring and networking sessions with industry stalwarts, angel investors and leading venture capitalists.
In this year's edition, only 10 out of the 50 shortlisted start-ups made it to the grand finale.
BITS Pilani Director Ashoke Kumar Sarkar said at the finale, “As part of the Institute’s vision 2020, it is our imperative to promote entrepreneurship among students, who are the future of the country. Conquest, which was started by a group of enterprising students, has become a launch pad for young entrepreneurs.”
The Start-up Conclave is not an ordinary challenge, where only the winner takes it all, say its organisers. Everyone at Conquest, from participants to mentors, gain something out of this programme. The 2015 edition was mainly focused to the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India with nearly 30 organisations acting as channeling partners. Over 1400 registrations were received this year.
Conquest has the tradition of producing some of the best start-ups in India. All 10 finalists of Conquest 2013 are successful registered ventures now. iTraveller (Runner-up, Conquest 2013) raised $1 lakh immediately after Conquest 2013 and one million dollars recently as series-A funding. PosterGully (Finalist, Conquest 2012) got incubated at The Hatch. GharPay, the Conquest 2011 runner-up, was funded by Sequoia Capital just after months of starting up and is presently India's biggest doorstep cash payment solution. Other start-ups that came up through Conquest include Mobile Medics (acquired by Piramal Healthcare in 2008) and iViz Security (one of NASSCOM's 'Top 4 Emerging Product Companies') which raised $2.5 million funding in 2008 and is now a big name in security solutions.