The Startup Weekend hosted by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the region, had men and women eagerly discussing innovative ideas, coupled with some serious brainstorming. Organised for the first time in Eastern India, IIMCIP brought in some of the key stakeholders in the startup ecosystem like TiE, Calcutta Angels, Nasscom, CII and Innokul.

Young talent came together to share ideas, form teams and even launch startups in 54 hours. The weekend event saw a good turnout despite the heavy downpour.

"All ideas presented addressed a critical social problem or a market gap. We were impressed by the tremendous enthusiasm exhibited by the teams and their achievements in just 54 hours," noted Subhrangshu Sanyal, CEO, IIMCIP.

While 48 participants presented their startup ideas through a 60-second pitch, another set of participants joined as co-founders to take the ideas forward. Some 15 teams were selected for the finals.

The participants formed teams and worked on their ideas over the weekend to create an outline of the minimum viable product. Eminent mentors conducted one-on-one advisory sessions on the second day and helped participants to structure the ideas and explore strategies and feasibility options

The event was judged by an eminent panel comprising of different stakeholders of the startup ecosystem. The ideas were evaluated with respect to the business model, customer validation and execution and design.

Startup Weekend had three winners: ComBuyN, Hephaestus Techno and Yello! Two social enterprises, iJustice and Garbage to Gold, received special recognition in the event for their sheer ingenuity.

The Entrepreneurship cell of IIM Calcutta is to support all the teams to shape their ideas and firm up their business model. The top teams also get an opportunity to pitch for incubation at IIMCIP.

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