IIM-A emerging as a breeding ground for start-ups

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
October 31, 2012
It seems Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A) has become the launch pad for innovative start-ups.
"I have opened a sprouts cafe inside the campus three months back. I also do home delivery before 8 am. But right now, the delivery is restricted to the four walls of the campus." Byomkesh, a second year student
It seems that Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A) has become a launch pad for start-ups with a number of students taking the entrepreneurial plunges in line with the course they pursue.

A student of second year, Byomkesh, has initiated a cafe-cum-home -delivery business of sprouts. Primarily targeting breakfast seekers keeping in mind the hectic work schedule and lifestyle, the cafe, Happy Sprouting, offers a healthy option to consumers comprising students, professors and other staff members inside the campus as of now.

“I have opened this cafe inside the IIM-A campus three months back. I also do home delivery before 8 am, but right now the delivery is restricted within the four walls of the campus. I do intend to expand this business. However, I will embrace placement offers to be on the safer side,” Byomkesh, a student of class 2011-13, said.

He has received franchisee offers from people outside the campus and if things unfold according to plans, he would like to establish his venture first in Bangalore, to be followed by Pune and the NCR. “There are also people interested to take this up in Ahmedabad. In fact, there are a few juniors who are willing to keep it going inside the campus after I complete my studies,” he said.

In another entrepreneurial initiative, Arshdeep Kaur, a first year student, along with her friend Kunal Gupta, has started a home delivery business of fire crackers keeping in mind the festival season. As of now, the target consumers are people of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar who can place orders with their online shop, ‘mypatakhe.com’.

“After considering several ideas of online retailing such as diwali lights and diwali gifts, we zeroed in on fire crackers. People often find it hard to find out shopping time because of their busy schedule; so a home delivery option for something like fire crackers, is an integral part of diwali, would come handy for them. Prices are cheaper compared with the market rates, as we are sourcing crackers directly from factories in Sivakasi,” Arshdeep said. According to her, prices are 20 per cent less than the prevailing market rates.

The duo, been helped and guided by an IIM-A alumnus in this venture, has plans to sell other festival accessories, such as designer diya and rangoli in future.
Some of the other start-ups initiated at the campus by the students include selling T-shirt and similar concepts.

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