Barnabas Muthu, IEEE GOLD Madras Section Execom Member
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To cater to the needs of new startups and to guide budding entrepreneurs, the IEEE GOLD Affinity Group of Madras Section organized a Pathfinder Workshop in association with the IEEE Madras Section Student Network and IEEE Region 10 GOLD Committee on 29th December, 2012, at the Anna University Alumni Centre, Chennai.
The workshop was an invite-only event for selected delegates based on the statement of intent they were asked to give on the registration form. Fifty delegates from different academic and industry backgrounds ultimately participated in the workshop. The opening speakers were Mr. T.S. Rangarajan, Chairman of the IEEE Madras Section and Mr. H.R. Mohan, Vice-Chair of the IEEE Madras Section. Mr. Srivatsava (Co-Founder and CEO of JadeMagnet) and Mr. Manik Kinra (Co-founder and CMO of JadeMagnet) were also present to serve as mentors. A complete profile of the speakers is located at http://goo.gl/19Zgy.
The workshop began with participants introducing themselves and sharing their expectation of the workshop. Manik and Sitash then elucidated the concepts of entrepreneurship in an illustrative and interactive manner. Additionally, they presented insights on how to identify megatrends at a given point of time and use them to the benefit of the startup. Both Manik and Sitash were quite engaging and responsive to the questions of participants. Finally, they explained how to solve problems and how to take examples from the experiences of global organizations running successful business models in various domains. All told, this session was helpful and informative for all participants.
The post-lunch session featured instruction on building an effective business plan and revenue stream. Manik and Sitash then shed light on the processes needed to build a sustainable start-up. Incorporation, Sales/Marketing, Human Resources, Financial Management and Governance were a part of this session. Manik emphasized the importance of effective documentation and on-time payment of taxes. Slides from this presentation can be downloaded from http://goo.gl/vECYd.
The one-day workshop was brought to a close with an expression of thanks by Nivas Ravichandran, Lead of Chennai Hub – IEEE Madras Section Student Network.
It was indeed a wonderful day of learning and enlightenment for all the participants. We had wonderful feedback from all the participants and we hope to see a lot of young entrepreneurs and successful startups in the near future.
As a continuation of this event, the GOLD Affinity Group of IEEE Madras Section is planning to start a Special Interest Group on Entrepreneurship (IGM-SIGE) which would focus on providing continued support to aspiring entrepreneurs. The Pathfinder series will continue to serve the mission of the IGM-SIGE in the form of workshops, collaborative platforms to network, and webinars on different topics from the CEOs of successful startups.
We wish to express special thanks to the IEEE Region 10 GOLD Committee for their financial support and the GOLD/Student Network Volunteers of Madras Section for their active and tireless support in the successful execution of the event.
