StartupCity - Entrepreneurs meet, B'lore 2010

The last weekend there was an Entrepreneurs meet – SiliconIndia StartupCity, at Bangalore, conducted by SilionIndia. It was their 3^rd event in Bangalore and 5^th overall (the other two events were in Chennai and Mumbai). The sheer number of people who thronged the event made it seem more like a fest or an expo rather than a forum for entrepreneurs. Apparently there are about 1000 startups in Bangalore alone. Just goes to show how many people lately have thought about entrepreneurship as a career option. It was quite an experience for me as it was the first time I even had a chance to look at so many entrepreneurs and so many Venture Capitalists (VC’s) at the same time.

When I first registered for this event I was very skeptical about what I would encounter, but like many things that you do for the first time, you later start questioning as to why you hadn’t done it before! The event was an amazing way of getting to know the pulse of entrepreneurs in India, especially in Bangalore. It was a great forum to understand what it takes to become an entrepreneur, the effort involved, the amount of patience required and ofcourse the ability to sell your idea. It was also heartening to see so many VC’s lending their ears to people who were pitching their products or ideas for some seed money.

The forum was also an excellent opportunity; to not only meet the VCs but also to get an understanding from them as to what they expect from future entrepreneurs. Insights about the way one should go about choosing a VC, how one should prepare for meeting them and also how one should try to sell their idea/product.

The best part of the entire event was the stalls that were put up by budding entrepreneurs to showcase their products/portfolio. There were some very cool/amazing ideas mixed among many ideas/products that I thought would never click or soon be redundant. One of the major drawback or disadvantage that I saw was most of the stalls were all websites/Apps/Technology related, but again coming from Bangalore one cant expect too much more than that!

If ‘YOU’ are a budding entrepreneur or have aspirations of becoming one (even if its anytime in the next few decades!), then my honest suggestion is never to miss such meets. They not only enrich your experience but also give a nice understanding of the kind of ideas floating around. It also is one of the best places to network. It’s an excellent opportunity to mingle and get to know many of the future entrepreneurs whose help/advice/services one might use in future and the icing on the cake is the opportunity to meet the VCs. If one has an idea/product/any sort of offerings, one could have preregistered and presented in front of the VCs or even do a cold call on them (though may not be a preferred method of approach). The entire experience was worth the time and I suggest you to not miss the next event happening around you.