For Gurgaon to truly become India’s Silicon Valley, and more, the IT and IT Enabled Services (ITES) sector will have to embrace and promote entrepreneurship and put a premium on innovation. This is crucial for making the next leap forward. To develop an eco-system that can boost start-up action and accelerate the growth of start-up companies, the industry in the City, led by NASSCOM, has launched an ambitious programme, which involves the mentoring of young entrepreneurs based in Gurgaon and NCR. In the connection, NASSCOM this week organised ‘Pub Crawl’, an event that brought top CEOs and IT honchos in close contact with IT startups, to share knowledge, discuss funding and develop a collaborative partnership. Rakesh Kapoor, Co-chair NASSCOM Haryana Chapter, told Friday Gurgaon that they want to ensure that this City emerges as a leading centre for innovation and entrepreneurship in the ITES arena, for which the startup eco-system needs to be given a big boost. "Gurgaon is strategically located, has the benefit of a large NCR home market, and is home to big companies – who can be both customers and investors. It is an optimal location for start-ups," said Kapoor.
Many would-be entrepreneurs in the IT and mobile application space attended the Pub Crawl, to seek advice, suggestions and funding from angel investors and venture capitalists. The business ideas from these youth in Gurgaon included: a private chat portal, an online forum for developers, portals for children, GIS applications and much more. Prashant Naghati of IIT, Delhi and his friends are developing a chat application that ensures anonymity in a closed user group. Naghati said that many people want to contribute knowledge and ideas online, but do not wish to share their personal details. Rajat Harlalka, who has set up Bellurubic, is now developing a mobile application. He said that the start-up scene in Gurgaon has improved a lot, and now it is easier to get in touch with industry leaders and seek mentors. "It helps to get some sage advice when a project is not going as planned. Also funding is now more readily available,“ he stated. Aparna Gupta, MD, FirstRain, said that a lot is happening on the start up scene in Gurgaon and NASSCOM is trying to build an eco-system that will support good ideas and, through mentoring, help turn them into great products and services – and thereafter help scale them up. The IT leaders in Gurgaon feel that there is positive spirit in the City, and their industry, which is a major player in the local economy, is ready to be taken to the next level. Nitin Seth, CEO Fidelity, believes that that there is a unique set of opportunities that can help Gurgaon to truly reach its Silicon Valley potential. “The City has a variety of skilled people, a strong industry network and a concentration of large national and multinational companies, which provide a perfect playground for harnessing its IT and ITES potential – a sector that laid the foundation of the services industry in the City. If timely and purposeful action is taken, Gurgaon could become the innovation capital of the country,” said Seth. Prabhat Agarwal, an IT and social entrepreneur, who has been involved with start-ups, was of the view that more than funding, it is events like Pub Crawl that help budding entrepreneurs move forward in the right manner. They benefit from the guidance of top IT leaders who have the experience of running such businesses. "Knowledge sharing is priceless," he said. Pawan Vaish, a noted entrepreneur and the co-founder of Daksh, a large BPO, said that the presence of a large number of top executives in Gurgaon provides an unparalleled opportunity for the start-up space in the City. "While the government wants the industry to be socially responsible through CSR efforts and spends, I think supporting entrepreneurs and innovation, by mentoring and funding businesses, is as great a responsibility to society," said Vaish. He has funded a Legal Process Outsourcing company, which has done multi-million dollars business in the legal space. Vaish added that both local and global opportunities abound for any entrepreneur who is willing to work hard and go the extra mile. The VC community in Gurgaon is ready to support talented people whose ideas are original and scalable.
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