Keeping in line with IIM-K's drive to encourage entrepreneurship, The Start-up Fair brings together aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and industry experts to discuss business ideas and facilitate the process of implementing them. Many aspiring entrepreneurs from the final year batch of IIM-K would also be interacting with the participating firms to understand the proposed business models, the nitty-gritties involved, the challenges faced and the firms' working and proposed solutions.
This fair is expected to attract participation of more than 25 start-ups and 400 students. Some of the participating start-ups operate in the space of Investment Banking, Private Equity, Social Entrepreneurship, Educational services, Media, Healthcare, Travel and Tourism and Rural Marketing.
Prof. Sunil Handa (Faculty, IIM-A & Founder, Eklavya Foundation) would be conducting an LEM (Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Management) Workshop during the same time. This workshop will help budding entrepreneurs understand the difficulties and efforts involved in starting a new firm and also inspire more students to take up entrepreneurship.
"This is a great avenue for firms to showcase the kind of careers one can have in wide and diverse fields that MBA students think about," says Soheib Ali, a 2nd year student at IIMK. "We have a very vibrant program for Industry Interaction here at IIMK, and have a lot of corporate honchos visiting our campus to speak at these seminars. This fair will give us an insight into the world of entrepreneurship and the subtle benefits of starting out on your own", he adds.
E-cell, the entrepreneurship arm of IIMK was formed with the purpose of fostering entrepreneurship and assisting the aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with necessary resources. This is in addition to the theoretical and practical course that is being offered at IIMK - "Entrepreneurship and New Ventures". Apart from conducting seminars and workshops, B-Plan contests and other similar events, E-Cell also tries to encourage students towards entrepreneurship by proposing an option of 'Placement Holiday' to the Placements Office. Placement Holiday gives the student an option to sit out of placements, start a venture and avail the facility at a later date, if need be.
