TiE Hyderabad and ISB kicks off TiE-ISB CoNNect 2015

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) – Hyderabad Chapter and the Indian School of Business (ISB) together have inaugurated the TiE-ISB CoNNect at the ISB Campus.

“The first day of the 3-day event, hosted by ISB and TiE, witnessed enthusiastic participation from the entrepreneurial ecosystem – growth and late stage start-ups, investors, Private equity firms and entrepreneurship evangelists/mentors,” said the press statement.

The inaugural ceremony in the evening was presided over by K. T Rama Rao, IT Minister of Telangana State, Harpreet Singh, IAS, Secretary ITE &C Department, Government of Telangana and Andrew McAllister, British Deputy High Commissioner.
Earlier in the day, 33 growth stage and late stage start- ups who were previously shortlisted, participated in the ‘Investor Connect’ along with Venture capitalists and Private Equity firms such as Icici Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Helion Ventures, etc.

These growth stage start-ups from more than 8 diverse sectors were seeking to raise equity funding in the range of Rs. 10 to 50 Crores.

In addition to this, Day 1 also featured ‘Mentorshop’ – a comprehensive workshop and mentoring session primarily for early stage start-ups. Some of the enlightening sessions such as ‘Business Model – Pivoting for Success’, ‘Going from zero to million – Strategies for Growth Hacking’ and ‘Art of Valuations- Valuing start-ups’ were found to be of huge value to the entrepreneurs.

Safir Adeni, President, TiE Hyderabad and Managing Partner, Ineda Venture Group, said, “More than 30 growth stage startups were shortlisted for the Investor Connect today and many of them managed to impress the VCs and PEs. This success is a testimony of how rapidly our startup and entrepreneurship industry is maturing, particularly in Hyderabad. Platforms such as TiE-ISB CoNNect have been giving an impetus to these promising firms for 9 years now and serving as their another  stepping stone for success.”

He added, “We would also like to express our gratitude to the Government of Telangana for their immense support.”

Speaking about the objective of TiE-ISB Connect, Ajit Rangnekar, Dean Indian School of Business said, “Entrepreneurship has always been a key focus area for ISB. Over the years, TiE and ISB have genuinely bonded together to strengthen the entrepreneurial eco system.  It also reflects ISB’s belief that entrepreneurship is a powerful way to create wealth, employment opportunities and social equity in this country. TiE-ISB Connect 2015 will be able to create an engaging space for aspiring, ambitious entrepreneurs to network with likeminded peers, mentors and investors.”

TiE-ISB Connect, a joint initiative of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Hyderabad and the Indian School of Business is a forum that has been bringing entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and academicians together to interact and help build successful enterprises since 2006, the year it was initiated.

The theme for this year’s connect is “I Connect, I grow and I sustain”.

The goal for this year’s TiE- ISB Connect is to help entrepreneurs, venture capital firms, service providers, professionals, and other stakeholders to connect with their local and global business ecosystem and grow their expertise to the next level. Sustaining amongst numerous fast – growing companies is a key challenge that small to mid size companies face; TiE-ISB Connect 2015 intends to support sustainability while making continuous progress.