Conquest, BITS Pilani unveils startup spectacle with demo day

In the challenging world of entrepreneurship, where startups often navigate uncharted territories, access to guidance and resources is crucial. BITS Pilani’s Conquest, the premier student-run startup accelerator, has become a cornerstone of the Indian startup ecosystem, offering early-stage businesses invaluable mentorship, resources, and networks.

A Vision of Empowerment

Conquest, driven by a team of thirty students from BITS Pilani, is committed to empowering entrepreneurs through an equity-free business model. This unique approach allows startups to secure grants without giving up any equity, ensuring they retain full control over their ventures. Over the past three years, Conquest has distributed over Rs 1 crore in equity-free grants, supported by resources valued at more than $300,000. This model has fostered the growth of several successful startups, including Bitespeed, SocialCops (now Atlan), Trell, and Thinkerbell Labs.

Each year, Conquest receives over three thousand applications, from which around thirty of the most promising startups are selected to join its cohort. These startups benefit from sector-agnostic mentorship provided by industry experts. Through fireside chats, "Ask Me Anything" sessions, and interactive workshops, featuring business leaders like Sameer Nigam (PhonePe), Nithin Kamath (Zerodha), and Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal), participants gain diverse insights and enhance their pitching skills.

The Thrill of Demo Day

The program culminates in a week-long offline phase in Bangalore, India's tech hub, featuring networking opportunities, pitching sessions, and one-on-one mentoring. The centrepiece of this phase is Demo Day, a grand event that gathers top investors, industry leaders, and emerging startups.

Recently, Demo Day ‘24 took place at the Four Seasons, Bangalore, drawing over 300 attendees, including angel investors, venture capitalists, and industry veterans. This flagship event provided startups with a prestigious platform to present their innovations before a distinguished jury panel, competing for equity-free grants totaling over Rs 25 lakhs.

The day began with pitching sessions from Conquest’s Sustainability Track, introduced this year in collaboration with Pepsico India. Startups in this category showcased their innovative solutions for sustainable practices.

The event also featured two engaging panel discussions. The first panel, titled “India’s Investment Landscape,” brought together industry leaders such as Aditi Shrivastava (Founder, The Arc), Shuvi Shrivastava (Partner, Lightspeed India), Vishnu Acharya (Head of Corporate Strategy & M&A/Investments, Razorpay), Sarita Raichura (Director, Blume Ventures), and Kiran Vasireddy (Partner, Kalaari Capital). This discussion explored investment trends, the importance of choosing the right investors, and strategic financial planning for early-stage startups.

The second panel, “The Evolving Tapestry of India,” featured Srikanth Iyer (Co-Founder & CEO, HomeLane, and Venture Partner, Capria Ventures), Sharath Loganathan, and Amrendra Singh, moderated by Mohini Kumar (Senior Lead, WeWork Labs India). This panel delved into the Indian market’s evolution, emerging technologies, and future trends impacting startup growth.

The highlight of Demo Day was the announcement of the equity-free grant winners. Angirus IND, a trailblazer in sustainable construction materials, secured the Sustainability Track grant of Rs 10 lakhs for its groundbreaking use of waste in construction. Prodancy Pvt Ltd., celebrated for its protective ergonomic healthcare products, also won a Rs 10 lakh grant, this time for the Pan-India track. Additionally, Qlan, an innovative social discovery app catering to the gaming community, was honoured as the runner-up and received Rs 4 lakhs.

With over 3,000 startup applications, 120+ mentorship hours, and $300K+ worth of resource credits, Conquest’s 20th edition concluded on a high note. The program continues to solidify its role as a premier platform for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in India.