India Theme Night held by STARTBOARD has caught the fancy of the audience on September 11, 2018. Located at Social Innovation Lab, the event was filled with excitement and curiosity from the audience. Not only to have a deeper understanding of India startup market and entrepreneur, but also to build a connection with fellow audiences and get some real-life experience from the professional guest speakers.
From student to startup, from India to Taiwan
Our first guest speaker is Nikhil Pathak, the founder of GO-ECO. As someone who took Ph.D. and has experienced university life in Taiwan, Nikhil brings out the real-life stories and his experience from being a student and his journey until he managed to build his own company. His company, GO-ECO, is a startup concerned about the worsening plastic pollution from all over the world. Nikhil built GO-ECO with the hope of their customers to be eco-friendly, just like the company name.
By Joining a competition called The Hult Prize, Nick was able to learn on how to turn an idea into solutions and make solutions into business model, and he thinks business model can make an impact on society.
Some inspiring words and tips from Nick that he got from his life experiences:
- Dream big
- Have a bigger vision and mission
- Turn an idea to a vision
- If you believe you can change the world, one day you will.
- A good idea is an idea that solves a problem
The leap of faith
Nick pointed out living out the comfort zone and go to do something you are not quite aware of is called the leap of faith.
Even if we succeed or fail, the leap is worth to take, so please take the leap.
Nick also encouraged students in Taiwan to take the first step to start a startup, since Taiwan has nice ecosystems, incubators, and co-working spaces. Startups are very diverse and powerful in Taiwan, so Nick encourages every student to go for the idea they have.
“If you really want to have a startup, you should have a habit to work hard and get out of your comfort zone.”
Why to start a startup in India?
Our second keynote speaker is Ananta Kar, having had a lot of experiences and a great education background, also experienced living and studying in various countries, including MBA at National Taiwan University, he is a founder of startup company Consult Dr, a platform that helps patients to make online appointments and to connect doctors online. He shared the experience of Indian entrepreneurs and how is the startup ecosystem in India.
India is expected to grow more than 7% in the near future, which means that there is a great possibility to start a business or startups in India. They have 3-4 startups growing every day, and 55% of millennials preferred to start their own startup. Also, the number of incubators in India has increased by 40%.
Ananta emphasized that India has an unparalleled opportunity for startups. India is the 6th largest manufacturing country in the world, and highest FDI inflows in last for about 2 until 5 years, plus there is an ease of doing business in the country, and you can do any business on the internet, mobile platform, and cashless economy.
