Conquest 2016, the International Startup Challenge Delivers What it Promised


BENGALURU: Project Mudra grabs the winner's title at Conquest 2016, BITS Pilani’s international startup challenge that concludes on a high note at ITC Maurya, New Delhi. An idea that bounced around within a 4x4 room for months together, will now bask in the limelight as proud winners of Conquest 2016, savoring all the success and spotlight.

Project Mudrais​a technology-­based intervention to provide Braille literacy and K­12 lessons for the blind while the runner ups were Comfort Products​, specializing in manufacturing of home appliances, andSwiftChill, a portable beverage chiller that chills any drink in less than five minutes. The winner and the runner-­ups have been awarded 200k and 100k of equity-­less cash funding.

Leading the brains behind Conquest, the CEO of Conquest 2016, DhairikFuletra,​says, “We feel delighted to see the culmination of yearlong hard work end on such a high note in the presence of investors, entrepreneurs and students joining in from across the nation. With the evolving Indian startup ecosystem, we have reinvented Conquest such that it delivers a perfect launchpad to emerging startups with funding, mentoring and broad networking opportunities with the key players all under one roof.”

Attracting close to 1200 applications this year, followed by a month-­long rigorous analysis of these startups on the grounds of their revenue model, market traction, customer acquisition and various other parameters, the top 50 startups were shortlisted. These top 50 then attended one of the three networking sessions held in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Mentors shared their expert opinion with start­ups on critical aspects like Fundraising, Product Management, Customer Acquisition, Tech and Operations. The top 10 startups were then selected by the jury to be a part of the Grand Finale.

R Chandrasekhar, current President of NASSCOM & former Secretary to the Indian Department of Information Technology, adorned the chief guest seat. He motivated the startups in his speech by quoting his journey from an IAS Officer to the President of NASSCOM.

Talking on Conquest, Prof. Ashoke Sarkar,​Director, BITS Pilani,​ asserts, “As part of the BITS’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. It is really hard to believe the amount of energy and effort coming from the students to pull such a great event”.

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