Ravi Tilekar
TiECon Surat 2022 has announced concluding its first ever two-day annual flagship event hosted by the Surat chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) was organized on the theme of ‘Empowering Futurepreneurs’. Further to the same, 25 startups received the opportunity to explore investment opportunities with leading angel investors and venture capitalists from across the country.
TiECon Surat 2022 concluded as a power-packed event for startups and futurepreneurs with over 30 speakers, more than 100 investors, and about 500 delegates from across the country and abroad, including TiE members from 11 chapters. TiE Surat also announced partnership with 11 Leading Corporates that expressed interest in supporting startups and innovative ideas. TiE Surat also signed an MoU with 6 Universities in South Gujarat Region to help them with startup incubation and mentoring support.
The inaugural ceremony witnessed engaging conversations with B. J. Arun – Chairman of TiE Global, Mahavir Pratap Sharma – Chair of TiE India Angels and an interesting panel discussion with 6 TiE Presidents from across India where they discussed how TiE is making a significant impact on their ecosystem. Mahavir Pratap Sharma elaborated about how startup investment is emerging as a serious asset class. Padma Shri Savjibhai Dholakia talked about his entrepreneurial journey from having a meagre INR 12 in his pocket while starting business and how he built his business with an annual turnover of over INR 12,000 crore. He also shared his experience about supporting startups and innovative ideas with high social & environment impact.
Kashyap Pandya – President TiE Surat said, “TiE Surat is working relentlessly to build a vibrant startup ecosystem in South Gujarat. TiECon Surat 2022 brought all the key stakeholders of startup ecosystem under one roof – startups, mentors, investors, corporate & academia. Surat is emerging as a Startup Investment Hub with a high-level of interest from HNIs & Family Offices to participate in the startup ecosystem as serious investors”.
Some prominent speakers included Harish Mehta, co-founder of NASSCOM, Sanjay Mehta, founder of 100X.VC; Padmaja Ruparel, co-founder of India Angel Network; Gireendra Kasmalkar, Managing Partner at Pentathlon Ventures, Suryaprakash Konanuru CTO of Ideaspring Capital, Abhishek Agarwal, Managing Partner at Rockstud Capital, Uday Sodhi – Partner at Founder’s Room Capital, Dhruv Nath – Director of Lead Angels Networks, Jasmit Gandhi (Ex Clevertap), Vedanarayanan Vedantham (Microsfot), Ritesh Mehta (Ex. Facebook), Bhragavi V (Java Capital), Shubhangi Nagaria (LetsVenture), Mohammed Amaan (Ankur Capital), Tushar Agrawal (Dexter Capital), etc.
TiECon Surat had more than 10 sessions covering topics including “Startup as an Investment Class”, “Women in Startup Ecosystem”, “What VCs want”, etc. and a Startup Pitching Session where 25 selected Startups pitched their ideas in front of 100+ investors. TiECon also highlighted how the IT landscape has changed over the last 20 years in Surat through a panel discussion on “TechPreneurs of Surat”. Special emphasis was given to the value creators of Surat from non-textile & non-diamond industry who have made a significant mark on national and international levels in various sectors including Pharma & Chemicals, Medical Equipment, Solar Manufacturing, Engineering, Waste Management, Packaged Food, etc.
About TiE
TiE was established in Silicon Valley, USA, in 1992, and it is a global non-profit organisation with the sole mission of fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, incubation, networking, and funding. TiE focuses on generating and nurturing futurepreneurs, and its activities are present in 14 countries with about 58 chapters, over 3,000 plus charter members, and over 15,000 members worldwide. Over the last 30 years, TiE has supported 25,000+ Startups through various programs & initiatives.
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