IITBHF and IITBAA (http://www.iitbombay.org)

“Entrepreneurship” has joined the lexicon of mediaspeak in recent times and is a hot topic for discussion, but the hard facts remain - when it comes to addressing the aspirations of young entrepreneurs, the efforts are few and far between. The need is felt all the more acutely at the graduate level, a time when the fascination with innovation peaks, when the energy to do away with existing dogmas is at its highest.

The Entrepreneurship Cell at IIT Bombay aims to bridge the gap between the flash of inspiration and the setting up of a viable business. The Cell aims at sowing the seeds and nurturing them to make entrepreneurship among the foremost career options of the youth.

This goal motivated the initiation of Eureka! – the annual business plan competition organized by IIT Bombay. Eureka! is intended to encourage a broad range of students across the country to flesh out their ideas in business terms and form teams that combine technology and business strengths. This is brought out best in a Business Plan - a veritable mission statement of the future company, a document that shall make the student teams take the next step after dreaming up the "Big Idea"...putting it into action!

All in all, Eureka! is the first step towards a realization that technology can generate wealth for the nation and enrich the individual in the process. The response of the venture capital industry has been extremely encouraging in this regard and this positive feedback is gradually building a greater understanding of the entrepreneurial aspirations of students.

Eureka! 2001 – aims to build on the foundation laid by its predecessors. Eureka! 2000 was a huge success winning applause from industry, venture capitalists, academia and most of all, the student community who had finally found a platform which encouraged creativity and innovation and furthermore gave them a chance to convert their dreams to reality.

The teams went through three elimination rounds. The first was on the basis of executive summaries and the second round required the teams to give a brief presentation. Eventually five finalists presented their plans before a distinguished panel of judges comprising Mr. B.V. Jagdeesh (of Exodus fame), Mr. Harish Mehta (Head of the Bombay chapter of TIE), Mr. Rajesh Jain (of Indiaworld fame), Mr.Raj Kondur (of Chrysalis Capital), Mr.Vikrant Bhalerao, Mr.Rajat Gupta (CEO McKinsey) and Professor Patwardhan (from the Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay).

The success of the contest is highlighted by the fact that MyZus, the idea which won the contest, went on to get funding and is now a multi-million dollar venture.

Eureka! 2001 aims to become the biggest business plan competition in the country and the breeding ground for the next generation of techpreneurs. The contest is open to everyone with the only constraint being that the team should include at least one student. With Rs. 1,000,000 up for grabs, Eureka! 2001 promises to attract the cream of entrepreneurial talent in the country and become the most competitive of all business plan contests.

For registration and more details about the competition log on to www.iitb.ac.in/~ecell

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