Pune: Founder and Chairman of Marico Ltd Harsh Mariwala inaugurated the Pune Startup Fest’21 organised by Entrepreneurship Cell of BHAU Institute of College of Engineering Pune (COEP) on Saturday (February 27). While speaking during the inaugural session, Mariwala said that “start-ups are playing an important role and entrepreneurs will and have to change India.”
Pune StartUp Fest’21 is a mega-conclave of 100 start-ups. The third edition of the start-up expo, organised virtually this year, attempts to bring investors, mentors, students and budding entrepreneurs under one roof. Sakal Media Group Director Mrunal Pawar was the Guest of Honour for the event.
Mariwala said, “First thing to look for as an entrepreneur is to identify an opportunity. For this, you have to dig deep into the consumers’ unmet needs. There are multiple ways to grow your business through innovation which is a continuous process. It is also absolutely ok to fail during this process.”
“Passion is important but along with that determination and perseverance is also needed. There is war for getting right talent and entrepreneurs need to market themselves with the right employee-value proposition,” he added.
While answering questions from students which were presented by Mrunal Pawar after the inaugural address, Mariwala said, “There is a fundamental shift in the government thinking which is reflected in the Union Budget for this year. However, we need to see if it is actually implemented. Nowadays, the ecosystem for start-ups and entrepreneurs has developed. They have different types of funding available which the earlier generations did not have. The entry barriers for marketing of products have been removed and technology also has changed dramatically.”
About Pune Start-up Fest’21
Link to visit: https://coep-psf21.exposim.io/
The exhibition will be live on February 27, 2021 - 11:00am to 5:30pm and February 28, 2021 - 9:30 am to 4:30pm
The key segments of PSF's virtual exhibition are:
100 start-ups
60+ Investors and mentors
8 zones - Technology, Healthcare, Lifestyle, Agriculture, Social, Student Startups, Innovation Zone, Breaking the Pandemic and Sponsors Zone
Internship opportunities
Keynote Sessions
Keynote lecture Series:
The keynote lecture series has speeches of notable personalities from the entrepreneurial world. The keynote speakers will give their insights and share their experience of working in the business field.
Sonakshi Nathani: Co-Founder & CEO, Bikayi. Bikayi is backed by the world's leading accelerator Y Combinator
Shaloo Garg: MD Growth Stage Startups & Unicorns, Microsoft and Global Champion of Innovation, UN Women.
Mukul Kumar: Managing Director, Pubmatic