data/Suresh Kumar Transcript.txt

00:00:00:03 - 00:00:06:11
Unknown
Let's begin today. I have with me, doctor Sudesh Kumar from Step in Coimbatore.

00:00:06:13 - 00:00:08:13
Unknown
He's the executive director

00:00:08:13 - 00:00:27:14
Unknown
and, he's been with PSC staff for almost 25 years now. He was president of, Indian Steps and Incubators Association for seven long years. Recently moved out of that position. Thank you very much, Doctor Celeste, for, joining me today on this conversation.

00:00:27:16 - 00:00:52:12
Unknown
Yeah. Thank you, president, for inviting me for this conversation. Look forward to contribute for your initiative. Thank you very much. Have I told you enough about guess or no. You can, say something about, guests. Okay? And we can start the conversation from there, mate, I think, we spoke, couple of years back when we were doing the first round of survey, for guests in India.

00:00:52:14 - 00:01:18:02
Unknown
It's a global initiative primarily focused on, doing a survey to understand students entrepreneurial spirit. And, in 2023, for the first time, we did this survey in India. And I remember reaching out to and doctor, this was, of course, the, you know, amongst the first supporters of, guess we released the first report of guess survey, during this spoke on in 2024, as well.

00:01:18:04 - 00:01:42:24
Unknown
So we did the survey in 2023. We had participation from about 14,000 students from across the country. And, we had a lot of data points. And now we are in 2025. Second round of survey will undergo this year. But we realized that, the data alone is not sufficient. Okay. And we need, a voice to go along with data.

00:01:42:24 - 00:02:03:12
Unknown
And if you remember, I mentioned a number to you, which was 26% of the students who have an idea, 26% go to an incubation center. Okay. And I ask you, why is it so low? And I don't know if you remember, you said, this is great. Yeah. This is kind of 6% is a huge number, 26% of huge number.

00:02:03:12 - 00:02:23:24
Unknown
So let's start the conversation with this. You know, you've been in the incubation space and my introduction to you, I came to know, I knew you, in 2017 when I had my first training program on incubation. Of course, you end up too bad about that. My first reaction was 26% is, a low number.

00:02:24:01 - 00:02:52:02
Unknown
What is, you know why do you say it's a good number? Student entrepreneurship in the, educational institutions is just speaking, and, we have less number of incubation centers across the country. And you, compared to the number of education institutions we have, higher education institutions we have. And, related to that, the number of incubation centers, that's there in the higher education institutions.

00:02:52:02 - 00:03:22:16
Unknown
Still, we have a long way to go. That's my perspective. And, the bandwidth of the incubation centers, the theme of the incubation centers will always be, very small. They will be managing the incubation center. It is a like a, lean management that we have a small deep right. You open? Well, so part of catalyst and you will be knowing that, so catering to the needs of the students, the getting to the needs of the innovators, catering to the needs of the entrepreneurs by the small team which has been there.

00:03:22:17 - 00:03:48:19
Unknown
The incubation center is will be always be a challenging one. And if you are able to reach out to 26% of 14,000 students, out of who have participated in the survey, that's a great number that you have achieved. In last few years. Okay. So, actually it's not, 26% of the, 14,000 students, 14,000 students participated in the survey.

00:03:48:21 - 00:04:11:01
Unknown
Out of them, 38% say they have an idea they are working on at different stages. They may be out of this study I did, but it's 96% have reached out. They have. They are enrolled in incubation center is not. And we didn't know why they are going to incubation center and why they are not. And for me this was the biggest puzzle.

00:04:11:01 - 00:04:43:03
Unknown
After in of 2023, I moved out of the incubation center at 80 Monday and I started sort of focusing myself on research, and I realized only 10% of the 400 startups that we supported in the, you know, seven, eight years that I was with the vision Center, they were from students in I.T. Monday. I said, you know, I was here and I was a faculty, I was teaching entrepreneurship and I could only get, you know, about 40, student teams to start up and come to incubation center.

00:04:43:05 - 00:05:05:02
Unknown
And I started reflecting on it and said, you know, I could have brought in more. And that's where, you know, guest came in. Whereas now I am trying to understand, why or why not student startup, what is in their mind vis a vis entrepreneurship as a career option? And are we in incubation centers, attracting enough students?

00:05:05:02 - 00:05:30:18
Unknown
Are we suitable for students needs? And that is why. And I thought if you talk to you with years of your experience and you've led, you know, national led incubation, ecosystem in India as the president, of this bar and, of course, you know, 20, 25 long years, in, regional ecosystem in Cambodia, having seen it grow, what is your, perspective on, on these numbers?

00:05:30:18 - 00:05:54:23
Unknown
What is your perspective on, you know, students and incubation center? Is that a match? Is that a mismatch? What are we missing? So always there is a match. You know, that's the reason the incubation centers have been, predominately, sanctioned to the educational institutions, to, to work to support the student entrepreneurs or early stage, entrepreneurs at the early stage itself.

00:05:55:04 - 00:06:26:03
Unknown
That's the reasoning behind, having these incubation centers at the, educational institutions. And secondly, the education institutions have these state of the art facilities infrastructure experts, faculty experts and, industry academia collaboration. So there so there is a conducive ecosystem which is already been prevailing, which can be leveraged for the actual partnership purpose. That's the, main agenda of incubation centers located in education institutions.

00:06:26:05 - 00:06:46:01
Unknown
But when you look at the, journey, of student startups, right, you are coming to the the last minute connectivity and you are asking me the question way to why it is only 14% or 26% or 38%, whatever the number, I am not there for the percentage or the number. Gabe. Yeah. Student startups is the last name.

00:06:46:03 - 00:07:10:08
Unknown
But you have to look at the journey of the students in their, educational, for years of their education. Say they get enrolled in the first year, they get exposed to the, technology subjects, which for which they are enrolled. Then they look, entrepreneurship as a career. And, when they come to the pre final year or second or third year.

00:07:10:10 - 00:07:32:15
Unknown
Right. So then started working with, projects and then they move on. Right. So the myth that we have is all the students projects can be converted into, startups are innovations and from innovation to the startups. And so the numbers should be high. Okay. Right. Every, finally a class, if it has about, on an average, about 15 projects, why not?

00:07:32:15 - 00:07:59:07
Unknown
These 15 projects are getting converted into a product and then from product to the market. So it is an ideal situation. That's but practically we have a lot of challenges. Okay. So my out of my experience is what I have noticed is the first instance what students give what the solutions. Based on the, knowledge that they have gathered or acquired during that education.

00:07:59:10 - 00:08:25:05
Unknown
Right. They find their problem statement and then they to try to find a solution, within the knowledge that they have acquired during their four years of education or three years or first three years of their education and right to compete as a project of the fourth year, taking factor DSA, mentored into it. So I say that they try to give a solution with the limited knowledge or the limited exposure, but the journey starts with solution.

00:08:25:10 - 00:08:53:08
Unknown
But solution is not the end. Okay. So, so I look at from the incubation point of view where the students use the word that we are developing a product, we are developing a prototype. They, they use a jargons or there is a mismatch in the job against that they use. But according to me, they identify the problem statement it it through their mental or through an industry or somewhere from the society, and with the knowledge that they have a code that try to give a solution.

00:08:53:13 - 00:09:15:23
Unknown
Yeah, but the journey starts from there, a solution from a solution. They have to move forward to an, product or a prototype or a product. Then they should look at, commercializing that, product. Right. And that should be a product market fit. It's a long journey. Yeah. Right. So if you ask me to classify this stages.

00:09:15:23 - 00:09:38:13
Unknown
Right. So from solution as a student, they are giving a solution. But from solution, if they want to move to a product, right, there should be should be an innovator. They they should be in a position to integrate the technologies. But or, or should come out with, you know, technology. Right. Whatever it is, it should be an innovator.

00:09:38:15 - 00:10:07:05
Unknown
Once the product has been developed, then it should move from an innovator to an entrepreneur. Right? So these are the three major of, stages that a student should cross, right? Okay. So where the incubation center plays a role is when he decides to become an entrepreneur. Incubation centers have a major role to play in terms of investing efforts, time, energy, money on that particular student team.

00:10:07:05 - 00:10:30:19
Unknown
Yeah. To make him to become a successful entrepreneur. Right? Right, right. So that's where, the, May 20th 6% are. Sorry, you are 36% or 38%. Yeah. Is about student startups means that, who have traveled from a solution provider to an innovator to an entrepreneur. Right. It is like a funnel. At the start of the funnel, you have more number of teams to participate and things like that.

00:10:30:21 - 00:11:05:15
Unknown
But when it comes to an incubation center, it gets filtered out because of many reasons. And very few teams decided to, take the career entrepreneurship career. Right. And once they decide to take the entrepreneurship career, they come to incubation centers and then they start working in a different ecosystem. Okay. So there are, you know, three different branches that I, you know, see right now in which we could go in this discussion, there is one which is, you know, the journey of a student from a solution provider to an entrepreneur.

00:11:05:17 - 00:11:29:00
Unknown
Second is the incubation center. And I want to share some of my, perceptions or learnings or ideas. And then I want to validate with you. Okay. Well, what do you think about that? So I will go into these two. But before that, in, in what, you know, so far we've had some conversations with student entrepreneurs. And I've been teaching entrepreneurship.

00:11:29:00 - 00:11:45:18
Unknown
And one of the things that I realize is starting with something matters. You have to begin with something students will never have a formidable, highly, you know, marketable idea ready with them. But they have to start now, and they have to get somewhere. Right? So I'm telling them

00:11:45:21 - 00:11:50:19
Unknown
entrepreneurship is a career option. Am I wrong?

00:11:50:21 - 00:11:54:04
Unknown
Say entrepreneurship is a career option and nothing wrong in that.

00:11:54:06 - 00:11:57:04
Unknown
But they have to start somewhere. Right.

00:11:57:06 - 00:12:14:20
Unknown
Well starting somewhere. Right. They should be guided by in a fair way. Means that you have to start somewhere. So you find a problem and then you start give a solution. That's one way of doing it. But where we have to do is we have to give a framework to them.

00:12:14:20 - 00:12:37:03
Unknown
Right. How the problem that you have identified. Right. Give some benefits to the right. It's from the society or it's to the industry whether the problem identified from the society or the industry. And, right. Is a pain point. And whether you are going, the solution that you are going to provide is going to address that pain point.

00:12:37:03 - 00:12:58:23
Unknown
Yeah. So we have to teach them how to validate, the problem statement first. Right. Whether it is a problem or a pain. And then second thing is how to validate your solution. Right. And what are the points that you have to follow. Right. To take this initiative to the next level. Okay. Right.

00:12:59:00 - 00:13:00:14
Unknown
So

00:13:00:14 - 00:13:10:15
Unknown
how can a student find a problem statement worthy of solving, that's where, the entrepreneurship faculty, like you should play a major role,

00:13:10:21 - 00:13:20:05
Unknown
right? So they should be able to understand what is the difference between a problem and the pain. And whether this, pain means are they in terms of volume or value.

00:13:20:05 - 00:13:40:20
Unknown
Okay. Right. And what is this pain point that they have identified. The damage that is causing as of now in, in terms of whatever it is, how you are going to measure in terms of pain, effort of money, right, right. That you have to teach them how to convert, quantify the qualitative, pain point that they have identified.

00:13:40:20 - 00:14:00:18
Unknown
It has to be quantified. Once you are able to quantify either, it can be, as I say, I am repeating the three points which I used to repeat. Right. The pain point that you have identified, I will, I would have consumed more time or would have taken more efforts from the people to address that problem, or they would have spent more money on it.

00:14:00:20 - 00:14:31:20
Unknown
Right. It can be a combination of any 2 or 3 goals. Okay. So if they are able to, quantify, right from the qualitative statement of the pain point, then the journey will become easy. The first thing is I identify the pain point. And this particular problem causes damages in terms of say can like would be for the user or it puts 50 people to work on this particular area that I'm going to reduce from 50 to 5.

00:14:31:22 - 00:14:59:05
Unknown
But if you are able to quantify it, then the solution will also become easier for them to justify and then take it to the to the market. Okay, so there should be some frameworks where there are frameworks and entrepreneurship faculty should choose the appropriate framework and one framework. Right. All the students cannot understand, but we have different frameworks to evaluate an idea or validate an idea.

00:14:59:07 - 00:15:27:07
Unknown
So that has to be shared with the students. And the thought process has to be generalized. The problem is you have to start somewhere and they come. They pitch, they go with their own, style of teaching, style of expressing their ideas and things like that. So we have to channelize that focus that and how the right you can present your problem statement and validate your idea within about, 4 or 5 steps by applying these formulas or these frameworks.

00:15:27:09 - 00:15:47:24
Unknown
That's where, the faculty should play an important role. But also, you know, as faculty, we are termed or we are labeled, we are too theoretical. It's very theoretical approach. And it's, you know, the the problems have to come from industry. And, when we try to teach frameworks, students may or may not be very interested.

00:15:47:24 - 00:16:13:09
Unknown
How do you tackle that problem? See if the problems can come from industry. The problem can come by his own experience, and the problem can come by seeing other people experiences, the source of, ideas or the problem statements can come from anywhere. Here I'm talking about the framework is not to identify the problem. So once you have identified the problems then you have to give some basic frameworks for them to channel their thought process.

00:16:13:11 - 00:16:35:07
Unknown
So let's say for example BMC can be a framework. Customer is a customer. Discovery can be a framework and things like that. So based on the stages at which they are going to work, then you can, give some kind of, models for them so that it is going to channel their thought process.

00:16:35:09 - 00:16:58:05
Unknown
Instead of putting them to, think in different angles at, at one point of time and they will find it to connect the dots instead the, your framework should be able to channel as they thought. And then they come with a concrete, solution. Solution. Okay. Let's, talk a little bit more about the journey from solution to a product.

00:16:58:10 - 00:17:25:08
Unknown
Right. And, you briefly mentioned it. You're saying when a student comes up with an idea, the faculty within an academic institution should have some frameworks to help students define the problem correctly? And then the student can think about some solutions. So let us, zoom into the journey of a student, you said, you know, from a student to an innovator to an entrepreneur, right?

00:17:25:10 - 00:17:47:02
Unknown
So a student to an innovator. Let's focus on this step. How have you seen students progress from just a student and then either stumbling upon a problem or faculty telling them a problem, or industry coming and getting a problem statement? How do they become innovators? You know, some story comes to you or whatever process that you've seen. Yeah.

00:17:47:04 - 00:18:13:19
Unknown
And that's where the Innovation Center plays a major role, because the jargons that has been used in academia are a little bit different, from the, real world, definition or how the, venture life cycle has been, measured or defined in the real world. So people use only two words, in academia, either they say the project or they'll say that we are developing a product.

00:18:13:21 - 00:18:37:09
Unknown
Okay. Right. But between a project and a product. Right. First you should have a proof of concept or a lab scale kind of thing. Then from proof of concept you move to prototype, from prototype, then you move to or an MVP, then to your product. Then you go to the market not to sell it, just to test it.

00:18:37:11 - 00:18:56:06
Unknown
Right, then come back, tweak the product, then you make a commercially viable product. But this is the journey that you have to make them to understand that where they stand. Right. And we say that there are five stages. We say that from ideation to pok pok to prototype, prototype to product from product to commercialization, then scale up.

00:18:56:08 - 00:19:27:08
Unknown
So there will be six stages that has been and then and in science based thing, people will say that you are at TRL one two you are a lion and things like that. So we have to make them to understand. Right. You stand with this language. And you should compare yourself with the real world language and if you are able to, make them to think big journey in the, in the actual entrepreneurship journey then about you have addressed your 50% of the problem.

00:19:27:10 - 00:19:51:02
Unknown
Okay. So it is not about theoretical. It is not about practical. It is about making the students to understand how the, processes, what are the stages that they have to cross, and how these stages have been defined academically, how these stages have been defined in the entrepreneur journey. And if you are able to make a match and they say that you stand at an ideation stage, right?

00:19:51:04 - 00:20:17:08
Unknown
Now yours is not a, product. Yours is a POC ideas. It's at a lab scale. And now from here, if you want to move forward, these are the ways that you have to, handle it. Right. So if you are able to make them to understand, then your life becomes easier. So that's where we, request them to get engaged in the entrepreneurship ecosystem at the particular stage.

00:20:17:10 - 00:20:41:16
Unknown
So for, for you know, you said from idea to proof of concept to prototype to product, this is a long drawn journey for a student to see through it clearly. You know, I have an idea. And now there are so many steps I have to study as well. Right? I have courses to take care of. I have sports to play, I want to participate in, cultural programs, etc., etc. there are a bunch of things.

00:20:41:20 - 00:21:13:15
Unknown
As a youngster, a student has aspirations to do, and now becoming an entrepreneur and not thinking about this problem statement as a project, but as possibly a product or enterprise. I do think it comes naturally to students. How you know, how have you seen students adjust to this reality? So students will adjust to the reality, right? Because, as an institution, you have let's see, as an institution, our role is to give the opportunities, right.

00:21:13:15 - 00:21:33:21
Unknown
You can't convert all the students into sportsmen. You can't, convert all the students into an orator, okay? You can't convert all the students even into an academic. Right. Engineering. If I if it's from an engineering educationally that you can't make all the engineers to become. And, way to get employed in an, engineering industry immediately.

00:21:33:21 - 00:22:01:09
Unknown
Right. Some of them will prefer for the administrative roles. Yeah. And even after completing the BS or B, people are choosing civil service exams and moving up. So every student how are you. So on aspirations and his own priorities and his own preferences. So entrepreneurship is also an opportunity that educational institution should provide. Okay. What we are giving is we are giving utmost importance, saying that 50% of the students should become entrepreneur and things like that.

00:22:01:11 - 00:22:20:13
Unknown
So for me, it is like an opportunity that we have to give to the, student how we are giving opportunity for him to do, higher education. You have given an opportunity for him to go for competitive exams. Some of them will try to get and go for, higher education, and some of them will choose sports as the idea that they are moving in.

00:22:20:17 - 00:22:45:10
Unknown
Yeah, some of them are even diverting them. So from doing an engineering they have gone into media. Right. And similarly entrepreneurship will also be a career for them. And as an educational institution we ensure that we are giving an opportunity. But certainly for if you want to become an engineer, do you want to take up a job in industry or you want to become a civil servant or any other profession that you are choosing as a student?

00:22:45:12 - 00:23:14:15
Unknown
It has an immediate return. You study, you prepare for one year, six months, couple of years, and then you land a job. And primarily you go to an educational institution with the USB of where will I get the best CTC right? And now you are saying entrepreneurship is a career choice as well? It's a valid career option, but I'm not going to get any CTC, even if you want to become a or if you are a civil services aspirant, you are not going to get a CTC immediately.

00:23:14:15 - 00:23:33:04
Unknown
People are going for coaching, classes, training and things like that for six months, one year, first to ten, second time and they are prepared for it. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, right. Every career has its own I don't say that challenges its own process. Right. But some of the things, right. Placement can happen immediately after your education.

00:23:33:06 - 00:23:57:08
Unknown
But if you want to become an IPS officer, then it will take a minimum of one year, a maximum of say. But over the years that's possible for you. That's to, right. You can withstand that. That's how you decide to become a civil servant, aspirant, and you prepare for it. That's the mindset. And if you decide to become an entrepreneur and, you and if you have that mindset that, okay, this is a journey.

00:23:57:09 - 00:24:16:11
Unknown
Yeah. And I am into your technology product development. It is not a service. And technology product development will take, a one year time for me to reach a particular stage. And if he is able to understand, see, in all other carriers, he is able to understand the journey. And so he is ready to sacrifice either right time, efforts, money, whatever it is, he is ready to sacrifice.

00:24:16:13 - 00:24:37:24
Unknown
Similarly, if you are able to make the students to understand the process and, entrepreneurship as a career, then he will also prepare himself. He means not only the individual human, his family. Okay. Right. His, surroundings will also be encouraging him. Right? What will be possible? So, we have to make him to understand the process.

00:24:38:01 - 00:25:00:06
Unknown
What are the challenges that you are going to have in that process? Entrepreneurship as a career. And if he accepts that, and he will also be prepared for it. So, again, easier said than done. We can, we will talk about parents and friends in the role of society as well. But, I need to prepare even for civil services or to become a doctor engineer.

00:25:00:06 - 00:25:17:01
Unknown
Yes, I have to put in, but that's, you know, traditionally validated way. Yes. You know, do your hard work, crack an exam, get the job. Once you get a job, you get a monthly payment coming in your bank account. You have a salary in entrepreneurship. It's not going to happen immediately. You will put in few years. Yes.

00:25:17:04 - 00:25:41:09
Unknown
And it will take you three, four, five years, even ten years, ten years. And then the money will come. What about that financial reward? So it is not only about money, right? Entrepreneurship career is not only about money. We will be look at money as the first option. But if you look at entrepreneurs and if you have the industry, I don't know whether you had interview with a lot of student entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, they will not have given, first preference to the money.

00:25:41:11 - 00:26:07:00
Unknown
They will not have seen entrepreneurship as an alternate, to placements to make money. Right. They would have identified a problem statement or a pain statement, and they would have told that I am passionate about giving a solution to the society for they and and making money becomes a by product. It's not the main product. Right. So if you start measuring entrepreneurship journey only in terms of money, right.

00:26:07:02 - 00:26:24:00
Unknown
That would be measured by others, not by the entrepreneurs or not by the individuals who are practicing entrepreneurs. I mean, they want money, but they will be passionate about making money by giving a better product, better solution, better service to the planet. Although I see that, you know, in other professions also, why do you want to become a doctor?

00:26:24:00 - 00:26:42:01
Unknown
It's not money is saying I want to serve the society. My village does not have a hospital and they don't want to become a teacher because my teachers whooped my career. I want to shape careers of many. So I do see that link that whatever profession placements all will make this state.

00:26:42:03 - 00:27:01:23
Unknown
Right. Somebody who goes and gets a placement will not say that I want to serve this particular industry. That's the reason I'm choosing it. It will be very minimal. Yeah. But if you look at, the placements, it's an employment. But when you look at what are the other professions, professions you have mentioned, they did some service, whether it is a doctor, it is a service as a service teacher, it's a service.

00:27:01:23 - 00:27:28:01
Unknown
Yeah. Entrepreneurship. It's a service alternative is a service. And it is a service because. Right. And by doing the service you are making money out of it. If you are not going to make money out of it, whether it is a social enterprise, whether it's an NGO and things like that, that's a different story then. But you want to make money by providing some good services, by addressing a problem or addressing the needs of the community or the society and and even, civil service.

00:27:28:03 - 00:27:44:10
Unknown
Right. Getting placement is the only where you immediately connect with CTC. The rest of the positions that you have mentioned, you can't connect with the city's immediate. Yeah. You have to put efforts even if you want to become a doctor now you can't stop with the DBS. You have to go with them. The and the younger proposals.

00:27:44:15 - 00:28:04:24
Unknown
And if you want to be named as a good doctor, then you have to see at least thousands of patients. And, and in your career, you get a name and fame after 40 or 45, that is eight. So that's the case if you choose, like, service as your career. And you have to wait.

00:28:05:01 - 00:28:30:13
Unknown
So, doctor, is when you are a student, how do you choose to become an engineer or a doctor or a scientist? Right. There are certain traits that students show. I have interest in this area. I have an interest in biology. So I will become a doctor. Or, you know, when you are in school, everyone wants to become a doctor engineer, because those are the only some titles that you've heard and are well respected in the society.

00:28:30:15 - 00:28:43:15
Unknown
But have you seen any traits which can say if you are somebody who likes X, Y, z kind of things, then you can become an entrepreneur. That can be a good option for you. You are good at maths. You should become an engineer.

00:28:43:17 - 00:28:46:16
Unknown
So what is it that you are good at? And then you should become an entrepreneur.

00:28:46:17 - 00:29:01:08
Unknown
So every individual is an entrepreneur. According to okay, right? Even a doctor or a teacher. Right. The only thing is whether we, it is about as I mentioned, it's, it's about entrepreneurship mindset that you have as an individual.

00:29:01:10 - 00:29:09:02
Unknown
If you have an entrepreneurship mindset as an individual and whether you work for yourself or for others, that doesn't matter.

00:29:09:04 - 00:29:10:09
Unknown
The mindset matters

00:29:10:09 - 00:29:25:08
Unknown
if you have that entrepreneurship mindset, and if you work for others, then you are called as an entrepreneur. Okay. Right. So it is not about, I see my point here is even I used to well or till to many of the students. Right. I am not here to convert you to become an entrepreneur.

00:29:25:10 - 00:29:44:23
Unknown
Okay? I want you to will or think, I don't entrepreneurially even if you are working for others. Okay? Right. Then only you can become a president of a company. Even if the company doesn't, it's not been owned by you. You can become a CEO of the company, then become, like, managing director or whatever it is.

00:29:44:23 - 00:30:09:04
Unknown
And, so it is not about, and, so again, since you attach this question, I want to make it clear, being an entrepreneurship faculty, don't try to make your faculty the best students to become, entrepreneur, convert them over to, individual with entrepreneurship mindset. Yeah. And, that will give the result for them to become that an entrepreneur or entrepreneur.

00:30:09:06 - 00:30:30:14
Unknown
Right. But of the way they choose their career. Right. And I know that you are, teaching this topic, as entrepreneurial mindset. Yeah. In the NP courses. And that is your, USP. Right. But that has to be, inculcated in the means of the story. Let's get some definitions clarified. Who is an entrepreneur again?

00:30:30:14 - 00:30:51:21
Unknown
Suddenly you are going to the basics. I didn't see why we are doing this is we want students to understand this more clearly. See, you have a vision. Yeah, right. As you mentioned that I want to provide some service to the industry, to the community and things like that. And, you decided the way you want to serve that community or to give a solution.

00:30:51:21 - 00:31:11:21
Unknown
Yeah. And if you are able to execute it and if you are able to achieve the goals, then you are not okay. So to execution means then it becomes everything. If I want to execute something then I want to mobilize resources. I want to network. I want to convince. There are several numbers statistics. 90% of the startups fail.

00:31:11:21 - 00:31:34:05
Unknown
So those who fail, they're not entrepreneurs are not achieving success. Failure is totally different. Okay. Right. If I fail in something, it doesn't mean that I don't have that capability or things like I may fail because of government policies. I may fail because of my, the, the customer's behavior. Right. I may fail in judging the customer's expectation next.

00:31:34:06 - 00:32:01:09
Unknown
Let's see. That's even even in the, the corporate career also you would have failed. Right. See, I used to tell. Right. With the students, 100 students would have joined in a company as project engineer at the start of the career. Not all the same. Hundred goes to that organization. Yeah, yeah. So make based on their circumstances, based on their aspiration, based on their, you know, commitments towards work.

00:32:01:11 - 00:32:21:24
Unknown
Right. Some of them will kick in the professional ladder, some of them most lower. But it doesn't mean that it's a failure or success. It's a qualitative statement. Okay. And, it is you have to measure against some metrics. Right. And then you have to say that, okay, I'm doing less in this particular metrics. I'm doing something more than this particular metrics.

00:32:21:24 - 00:32:48:21
Unknown
That's okay. So we clarified what is an entrepreneur who's an entrepreneur. How do you define the mindset. Who's you know, I have my way of thinking about the mindset. But you know, from your experience, what is this entrepreneurial mindset, whether you will think about, whether you plan something negative to you. Whether you do some activities which will spoil you as an individual.

00:32:48:23 - 00:33:18:12
Unknown
Right. You don't do any activities that will, hinder problems to your today. Similarly you do activities which does not create problems for others. Right. And if you're planning something some activities the way you plan for the betterment of your, individual career. Similarly, if you start thinking about, doing activities, planning activities, executing for the betterment of the organization, then it becomes means mindset.

00:33:18:17 - 00:33:47:02
Unknown
Okay, you have seen many entrepreneurs over the last 25 years. Specially, how are these entrepreneurs different? Of course they have defined mindset. But tell me more about you know, these people behave in a very different way compared to, you know, any other person that you come across. For example, let's say you sitting in the plane or you sitting in a train, you're talking to people and you, you know, have a conversation with someone and you think like they're very different.

00:33:47:04 - 00:34:13:01
Unknown
So is there something which distinguishes people who have this mindset? According to me, being in the incubation center, the first judgment I used to have when a conversation is happening between an individual, right. I don't call them as an entrepreneur immediately, an individual who has walked in, and having a conversation about his business idea, the first discrimination or.

00:34:13:03 - 00:34:32:19
Unknown
Sorry, the, the, or understanding what I have to have is whether he's an innovator or an entrepreneur. Okay. All right. That's the only thing, and I and if I'm able to judge, is an innovator. And, he doesn't want to become an entrepreneur, but, the way he talks or he thinks he wants to become an entrepreneur.

00:34:32:20 - 00:34:56:02
Unknown
But if you look at his action points, the way he wants to execute and things like that, if doesn't, meets the entrepreneur process, then, we say that you have to do better. You know it, right? You should have to have a team member. Okay, who can, convert, write your product. Take your product to the market and see to that you have for a product is the light.

00:34:56:03 - 00:35:21:00
Unknown
So that's the only, differentiation at the first stage. You want to know this thing between innovator and or not okay. And then once we decide that okay, he's, Right. How clear distinct is, if he's an entrepreneur, then he'll always talk about business terms. Okay, you say that I want to, ensure that this product is the market in next six months.

00:35:21:00 - 00:35:43:11
Unknown
I say one year. So if an entrepreneur is there, he always, most of the time he talks with timely, timely, right? Right. And, second thing is, as I mentioned in the earlier conversation, beginning of this conversation, we will try to quantify all the qualitative statements. Okay. So a person who is able to fix some timelines.

00:35:43:13 - 00:36:06:05
Unknown
Some targets and also ensures that the product is just to the right customer. And if you are able to sense that from the conversation then we say that he makes sense as another. Y'see. So innovator is different and entrepreneur is this innovators. If you want to have some kind of measurement that I used to have not the industry I don't have, but I guess.

00:36:06:07 - 00:36:33:00
Unknown
Yeah. Is that if I'm a guy comes to me and talks about five problem statements, and if he's able to give five solutions at one point of time, and he still wants to work all the five solutions at, single point of time, then it said that to this, guy to investor is an entrepreneur. Okay, okay. So an innovator is someone who find the solution, but an entrepreneur focuses more on the process of taking that into solutions to the market, to the market, to the market.

00:36:33:00 - 00:36:53:12
Unknown
That is more important. And mostly students are in then class when in college, when they are studying, they are only thinking of solutions. They are not thinking. And then they come to final year. Some of their solutions will be converted into a prototype as a final year project. Okay, from there then you have to mold that student team member, right?

00:36:53:18 - 00:37:17:14
Unknown
You want to identify all of the projects that they have done, which is having a commercial potential in aid. Right. And then you have to identify the team which has an aspiration to become an entrepreneur. And if you are able to identify of these two, points, right, a team with a good, product, a prototype which has a market value and, their aspiration is also to become an entrepreneur.

00:37:17:14 - 00:37:45:17
Unknown
Then incubation centers role starts from there. Okay. I think we have to put a lot of efforts on them too. Yeah. Ensure that they see the success in the journey. I remember, you know, when I was part of the catalyst incubation center at i.t. Monday, most student ideas will be quite raw. And, when we are running an incubation center, we are in a race, you know, we want to become a better and better incubation center.

00:37:45:17 - 00:38:07:07
Unknown
And, the quality of incubate is quality of startups that we get in the incubation center will define that those startups will take it to the world, there will be visitor, there will be exhibitions. Government will call in a center of startups. And then we want to make sure we have the best startups. And in that process, we mostly felt that the students are not ready for incubation center.

00:38:07:08 - 00:38:32:20
Unknown
They are innovators. They are. They have solutions, but they will not become businesses. So mostly we try to refrain from admitting students. And there was an internal push saying from the institute, we have to get more and more students to startup. And then we started focusing more on them. But, how do we address this problem? Incubator would focus more on advanced or more polished ideas.

00:38:32:22 - 00:38:56:13
Unknown
See, any business, has this formula, right? Even if you run, right, to to justify this statement, I, I used to say that incubation centers should work like an entrepreneur. Organization. Right. So it is not that all the, product ideas that comes to your, team can be taken to the market, like, you have your own priorities, right?

00:38:56:13 - 00:39:14:21
Unknown
And you have your own time to market certain products and things like that as an incubation center. So for you, the product is startups, startups, right? Because you are answerable to various stakeholders. But at the same time, you should not forget that the host institution is also your stakeholder. Because they have given you the resources they are given you the space.

00:39:14:21 - 00:39:36:21
Unknown
And if you are not catering to the first institutions online, then no point in catering to the other stakeholders recruitment and just getting us right. Because the starting point is the first institution. So, we are not refining. I'm just, rephrasing you, I think we are not refraining from supporting student startups. Clearly, you you have defined that are solution providers right now.

00:39:36:21 - 00:40:05:05
Unknown
You know, that where the, where they are, in what stage they are now as an incubation center, you also have access to various other initiatives where the student can be, director. So what we do is, we motivate them to participate in various challenges. And technology challenge magazines, hackathons, because these are the opportunities that is available for the solution providers for the innovators to participate.

00:40:05:07 - 00:40:30:12
Unknown
So once they go there and they get exposed, then the external world also teach them. Who they are. And what is the product that or the solution that they have and where the solutions is. Once they have a clarity on that, then most of the students will decide whether they can take it forward or whether they can stop here, right, and then move to their, placement career or that.

00:40:30:14 - 00:40:51:10
Unknown
So, so as an incubation center, it is our role to direct the students based on the stage at which they are to the right kind of opportunities or the exposure to opportunities that they have. And if you are able to do that, all right, that itself is a great, support that you are providing to the host institution.

00:40:51:12 - 00:41:20:23
Unknown
The in the last few years, we've had, so 2016 Startup India program started, which nationwide created a sort of buzz gradually that, you know, startup, nationally, you know, it is being given importance. If there are more startups in the country will have more growth, innovation, etc., etc. at the same time, Ministry of Education, started this initiative of having institute innovation councils, across higher educational institutions.

00:41:21:00 - 00:41:50:13
Unknown
How has that shaped the role of incubation centers? Is the load on the incubation centers, or how is that shaping the student entrepreneurship ecosystem in the universities today? The initiatives of the government are through Iax, through ISAs, through Ministry of Education, and things like that has reduced the lot of incubation centers. In terms of creating awareness, motivation, I mean, that's a good thing because, as an incubation center, we are doing all the activities.

00:41:50:15 - 00:42:13:05
Unknown
We have been a small team, as I mentioned earlier, being a small team, when you don't have ideas is when you don't have equals about, say, one decade before and things like that. Because what we do is as an incubation center, we do awareness games, we do motivation, games. We we do idea towards late and we take initiatives to do product exhibitions and things like that.

00:42:13:05 - 00:42:39:08
Unknown
A lot of activities that we do for the students and things like that. Because of this, initiatives. Right. By the, various, government education departments like, act, DG, UGC and other agencies, these initiatives has been rolled out in almost all the institutions. Yeah. So what happens is, your, your responsibility.

00:42:39:08 - 00:43:02:24
Unknown
Your responsibility means as an incubation center, your responsibility of, creating awareness among the students right from the year one to year three. Yeah, doing motivational sessions and things like that. That has been taken care of by this, initiatives. One, it earlier. Even if you are doing it, you are not able to do it, in a deeper of it.

00:43:03:05 - 00:43:24:12
Unknown
Right, right. But these organizations have gone into deeper, right. If you are, they are creating awareness first. Awareness. Can they do one, entrepreneurship. Second, awareness can be the one innovation. Third one is can they do or not appear. Right. So a lot of deep dive has gone into this particular journey. So your load has come down okay.

00:43:24:13 - 00:43:49:12
Unknown
As an organization which is putting a lot of resources on creating awareness and motivation, that role as reduce that or being taken care of by IYC citizen eclipse, you have to thank them. But once this has been a successful initiative and these initiatives have started results, seeing the results or the outcome right then you will have better pipeline.

00:43:49:14 - 00:44:21:19
Unknown
Right. You made a earlier statement that you refrain from supporting student startups because they had not matured enough. Right. The problem will be addressed because of this initiative. Right. So your, pipeline of matured startups, to your definition, every incubation scientist has their own definition for incubating, right. That will get increased. And once you get the pipeline, and, quality pipeline has been built because of this initiatives, then incubation center will, play a greater.

00:44:21:21 - 00:44:22:24
Unknown
Okay. So

00:44:23:01 - 00:44:33:19
Unknown
what according to you is maybe, you know, couple of things that that come to mind which stop students from thinking about entrepreneurship. Option

00:44:33:21 - 00:44:38:17
Unknown
one is that culture has not been built, as you rightly said. And

00:44:38:19 - 00:44:44:00
Unknown
right during the school days, it's actually say that you become an engineer, you become a doctor, you become an auditor, and then it right.

00:44:44:03 - 00:44:46:11
Unknown
You say something, but you don't say that. You become an entrepreneur.

00:44:46:14 - 00:45:08:10
Unknown
The date right. That's one cultural. Well, I think that's one thing that slowly it has to get changed now because of the Tinkering Labs, initiative at the school level and some of the school level initiatives by Act and other government initiatives have addressed to a certain level and then move forward.

00:45:08:12 - 00:45:30:15
Unknown
Second thing is, admissions are happening in the institutions based on placement schools based on entrepreneurship date. So that should also get changed by, entrepreneurship has been seen as an alternate career whenever there is a dip in the placements. But hey, so you should not connect, entrepreneurship and placement, together and it should coexist and it has to be built.

00:45:30:17 - 00:45:56:20
Unknown
And the third one is, I will put it in a different perspective. Even, the students who showed some interest in becoming an entrepreneur, because of this cultural thing at the family level, things like that. Can pull down. Right? So the parents would have a dream of putting it on a higher education foundation for the placements and things like that, so suddenly comes and says that I want to become an entrepreneur in doing so.

00:45:56:20 - 00:46:21:24
Unknown
That's the third point. Fourth one is if you want to address all these things and the first one and wants to become an entrepreneur, my suggestion is take that inform taken informed decision, okay. Right. With a student, with the faculty and with the parents. So, if the, nation has been tagged as an informed decision between the, stakeholders, then family will also start supporting is initiative.

00:46:21:24 - 00:46:52:01
Unknown
And, and slowly, the numbers can increase. So we're talking about culture. Culturally, we haven't probably recognize the importance of, entrepreneurship as a career option. And there have been different, you know, pockets within a country, different reasons. Well, actually, entrepreneurship has historically thrived. For example, you played college, right, as a state. And, you know, it has produced a lot of, entrepreneurs, big business, businesses from would start today, businessmen from which are today.

00:46:52:03 - 00:47:15:21
Unknown
So how do we change this culture did all things which are happening role of parents. You know, for parents. How do we tell them that this is a valid option? Because mostly they would want to. We are not here to say it is a valid option, not an invalid option and things like that. We have to just have a conversation with the parents, with the students saying that, this is what he wants to do.

00:47:15:23 - 00:47:21:00
Unknown
And this is what, the ecosystem is going to support in his journey. And

00:47:21:02 - 00:47:24:01
Unknown
it is not about taking risks. It is about taking calculated risk.

00:47:24:03 - 00:47:33:17
Unknown
Yeah. What will happen to your son or daughter after 1 or 2 years. If it is fields where you will stand and what are the other opportunities that it having.

00:47:33:18 - 00:47:53:06
Unknown
So it is, it is about a conversation or a deliberation that you are to have with. I had a couple of experiences. You know, we have consulted parents know they came to us and discussed. Right. I do not understand what my son is doing. And he says that you are giving funding for five, like something like for product development.

00:47:53:06 - 00:48:11:13
Unknown
And he says that he wants to become an entrepreneur. Right. So I want to have a clarity on where he will stand, if this project has been successful or the product has been successful. Okay. He said something, but I want to, here for you, then it is also a good, another trade because, we tell one of the traits, to become an entrepreneur is information gathering.

00:48:11:13 - 00:48:35:20
Unknown
But you say that you should collect as many information as possible. Yeah, from the sensors. So similarly, we should also encourage, right. If they come forward and ask that, we should be happy because this has shed some light, right? Whether they understand the technology or not, the product or not, this son or daughter has, gone back to his or her parents and said that I'm going to do this, and this is what the support, I get it.

00:48:35:22 - 00:48:54:02
Unknown
And they want to get more clarity on this. And if you are able to tell them about how this ecosystem is functioning and if they are able to understand and if they know that where they will stand and, what will happen if it goes in the right direction or if it, being on a negative sense, what will be the damages that is going to happen?

00:48:54:02 - 00:49:14:01
Unknown
And if you are very clear, it's going to happen in any, right. That's the reason we have to say that it is not risk taking. It is calculated risk taking. Yeah. So that calculate risk taking, it is not only for the entrepreneurs but also his, surrounding people. You think they should make it part of the process admitting a student team or student innovator into a program.

00:49:14:03 - 00:49:31:20
Unknown
Let's talk to the parents. Let's get them on board. So you should not be a compulsory one, but that's what they should be kept informed once they kept informed. And if they come back to you and ask for more details, it's our duty to go. But tell the students that. Keep them informed what you are doing, okay? And if parents are able to understand, they will not come back.

00:49:31:20 - 00:50:06:15
Unknown
P you mentioned, you know, failure. So information reduces the sort of it increases students or their, stakeholders understanding of what risks are involved. Right. Mentally, how have you seen students cope with this pressure or this fear of failure? You know, how do you how do you help them emotionally see, see, my point here is, students start their, startup when they are students.

00:50:06:17 - 00:50:24:00
Unknown
But when they see whether it is a success or failure, they are not students. Okay? Right. They graduated. And I pray that you're going to help them in the third year of phobia. And, and when when they're starting their venture, they will call it as a student and instead they when the venture moves to the next level and things like that.

00:50:24:00 - 00:50:47:09
Unknown
They're not students. They're a genius. They put one year after graduation and things like that. So, so it is not about student failure. So starting point is student, but when it comes, the challenges, I'm not saying it as a failure. The challenges that they face, they would have graduated and they would also gone into the community and they have interacted with many of their peers.

00:50:47:11 - 00:51:07:01
Unknown
They would have participated in many of the networking events, and they know where they stand. And, from the college environment, they would have moved to the external environment. Yeah. All right. So all these changes should also take into consideration, and most of them will be prepared to have alternates. If they have started in the first year.

00:51:07:01 - 00:51:27:21
Unknown
And if they want to see the results in the third year, then it is called as a student starter. Okay. So the definition of the student startup is they started during the student period as a but their the growth is not during their college days. The growth is during after their graduation and things like, okay, okay, I think we are taking credits while starting.

00:51:27:21 - 00:51:51:20
Unknown
Yeah. So your survey of 38% is, well, starting. Right. But you should also have the your, data point, right. How many of them have started the final year? And what happened after their graduation? Yeah, right. Out of 38%. But at the same 38% less, surviving, after graduation. They right that, graduating from the college that also matters.

00:51:51:20 - 00:52:16:12
Unknown
I don't know whether you have. Yeah. Covers that. Not. No, no, no, not right now. We are only focusing on students in colleges. Yeah, students in colleges. Well, starting it while serving it. What happens to their startup, after the year, whether they graduate, after they graduate. So that data point is more important because, that's where you can go back to the institution or to the other, junior, students and say that 38% started, right.

00:52:16:12 - 00:52:41:06
Unknown
And after three years, out of 38%, 48% are still surviving and still they are continuing it. Right. So that number will give you what I. So we are only talking about starting point. You should also have what is the state of that particular percentage of students like for one year after two years, up to three years of their graduation, whether they are continuing in the same business or whether they have tweaked their idea and more.

00:52:41:10 - 00:53:04:09
Unknown
Still, there are entrepreneurs with the same idea or with a different idea, or whether they have left entrepreneurship and they have joined, any of the organization, even if they have joined, whether they have taken, they assigned a different role in the organization because of their entrepreneur journey line. These, three points are more important for us out of your survey.

00:53:04:11 - 00:53:23:07
Unknown
Right. To handle or to convince the students who are having, or less clarity whether to choose entrepreneurship as a career, then you have somebody deal who has taken that path, and they can tell them, you know, this is what I experienced, and you can probably follow. Yes, but but when you have a number of 38%.

00:53:23:07 - 00:53:25:04
Unknown
Right. Yeah. We have started.

00:53:25:06 - 00:53:49:15
Unknown
And then, let's say, for example, 23, 24, 38%, blooded out of this, 38%, 2425. Yeah, right. 30% are still continuing in the business. And. Eight 2425 again, another 20% are continuing. So what happened to that $50 and cutting. Right. If they're joining a corporate, the other important point is whether they join in a corporate in a different role because of their entrepreneur.

00:53:49:18 - 00:54:14:15
Unknown
Exactly. If they would have been selected for a mid-career, which, an opportunity will be there after five years. But because of their entrepreneurship journey, if that opportunity or the position has been given within three years, that itself is a great. Yeah. In fact, there are a lot of entrepreneur in resident positions in companies today. You know, a lot of large companies have realized that, you know, people who are entrepreneurial bent, they are problem solvers.

00:54:14:17 - 00:54:35:00
Unknown
So within that, they are hiring them as auditors, of the business processes. Come in and tell me why my sales are not increasing, what is the problem in my team? And they come in as change agent, and then they disrupt the organization, and then they suggest to the, you know, top earners. And this is what we call it as entrepreneur mindset.

00:54:35:03 - 00:55:04:15
Unknown
Yeah, right. I think we call it as entrepreneur as a normal for innate need. So don't assume these, students there are different generation, right? We, we have generation Z today. Zenzi. And with generations students, technology has changed the way students are thinking. That changes. The culture changes. You know, we talk about, you know, risk management, calculative risk, process frameworks, probably.

00:55:04:15 - 00:55:28:19
Unknown
All of this is so boring for Gen Z's. How do we make it more relevant? How do we change the lingo? How do we make it more appealing for the Gen Z? You know, think about entrepreneurship. Today's the day of social media content creation and what not. So we, I don't have one, immediate answer, but, for for any generation, gamification is the gamification.

00:55:28:21 - 00:55:50:20
Unknown
That's the only answer we have. Whenever you feel boredom about the processes and things like that, implement that processes as a, gamification process. And, and to add gamification as a tool that implement the process that may happen. But according to me, once a student decided to become an entrepreneur right now, again, the I'm reiterating he is not a solution provider, right?

00:55:50:20 - 00:56:12:05
Unknown
He moved from a solution provider to an innovator. Right. And then he also understood the process, the journey. And he decided, sir, I want to become an entrepreneur now. I decided to start a organization. Right. Once he decides that he is not a student entrepreneur, even though he's a student, you should treat them as an entrepreneur. I see the mindset has changed.

00:56:12:07 - 00:56:31:19
Unknown
Okay. And still you call him as an student entrepreneur and things like that and you are differentiating him. So a student entrepreneur is a journey, as I told you, right? And he has moved from solution provider to innovator. And then he decided he formed a team and they formed a company. Right. And they registered that or not or a as a firm, whatever it is.

00:56:31:19 - 00:56:51:01
Unknown
But they name the company and now they started decided to take their product or solution to the market. Then you stop saying that you can or use that word for your stakeholders. Right. But therefore if you start treating them as at another entrepreneur in your journey, that is sometimes a great recognition that you are giving to them.

00:56:51:01 - 00:57:16:24
Unknown
That is the differentiator that you are going to give them. That is the recognition that you are going to, give them. And and that in itself will be a motivation for them to go forward. So when you address them as entrepreneurs, they'll start behaving like working on this. That's what I want to, if you say them you are a student entrepreneur, then always that you feel that, entrepreneur is different, student entrepreneur is different thing, is that any discrimination and things like that.

00:57:16:24 - 00:57:36:07
Unknown
But, once they decided to form a company or form a firm. Yeah. And they move forward. Yeah. Called them as an entrepreneur in entrepreneurship literature. You know, when we look at the research that is being done there in different terminology student entrepreneur, graduate entrepreneur, nascent entrepreneur and so on. But I get the idea that, you know, an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur.

00:57:36:10 - 00:58:01:00
Unknown
I see even women entrepreneur, student, entrepreneur, all these things should be there to give some incentives to them that because of the risks that they've taken, because of the constraints that they have. Right. This student, as you mentioned, they have a constraint of teaching, learning process, examination, their assignments. What are the tests? Despite the challenges that they have decided to plunge into this particular process.

00:58:01:00 - 00:58:29:17
Unknown
Right. So you need this classification. I don't say that, if not, have this classification, you should have that to provide them the incentives. Right? To make them, right. Equity with other entrepreneurs, very women or, differentially abled. Right. And right. And other classifications that you have maybe should have it, to provide the benefits or the incentives for the risks or the calculated risk that they taken.

00:58:29:19 - 00:58:59:23
Unknown
Yeah. I mean, the, constraints that they have. But it is only for that particular purpose. But when it comes to addressing them and it's all entrepreneurs, there should not be any differentiator. And they should all be a part of a future. Can you teach entrepreneurship to anyone. Can the mindset be changed? Have you seen people you know, we said in the universities we can give more awareness to the students.

00:58:59:23 - 00:59:22:24
Unknown
All these hackathons, competitions, they create a sense of achievement amongst the students and know more about the ecosystem. Oh. Often our behavior is something invisible to us. We are not able to observe ourselves. Self-awareness at that level is low. Can we teach entrepreneurial mindset or is it ingrained in in the we see it is not about teaching on the mindset.

00:59:22:24 - 00:59:49:07
Unknown
As I told you, each individual will have this mindset when they work for their personal commitments. Right. If I want to work right. Travel, it's all my personal thing right I plan aggregate, I look at alternate sources, I look at the budget. Right. So I put all the efforts if I want to travel, if I want to buy something right I do a little comparisons.

00:59:49:09 - 00:59:59:24
Unknown
Right. And then I will go with budget. I will compare the price and negotiate. So it is not that I am not doing it. I'm doing it all from all my personal activities.

00:59:59:24 - 01:00:06:22
Unknown
I used to say that entrepreneurship is nothing but common sense, right? Whatever you are doing it for your personal things just extend to your business.

01:00:06:23 - 01:00:22:20
Unknown
But what happens is when you you started using entrepreneurship, then people will think that it is the different way of thinking. Okay. Right. But it is the same way of thinking, right? You have to look at alternates. You have to look at what benefit is going to, bring right? When you are buying something, you look at value, right?

01:00:22:23 - 01:00:43:12
Unknown
You look at the value for money, and you look at whether it is within my disposable income. Right. Or all these decisions have been taken by based on, on, your exposure experiences and your thought process. The same process you have to extend. And if you extend to your business, then it becomes an entrepreneur mindset. Yeah.

01:00:43:18 - 01:01:04:12
Unknown
If you same process, if you extend to the corporate or the industry that you are working, then you become an entrepreneur. In the in the classroom, when we teach frameworks, we try to, you know, package things within some limitations and we draw some lines and, you know, boundaries and set things like this. But entrepreneurship is about problem solving, creativity.

01:01:04:12 - 01:01:22:09
Unknown
So by teaching it in a class, sharing those frameworks, are we binding their thinking process or, you know, are we are we really helping them with their creativity? You said it's about common sense. So can you teach common common sense now? Well, what we used to say is let's see one thing repeatedly. We have to say is it the thought processes?

01:01:22:09 - 01:01:42:10
Unknown
Nothing different date right from morning to evening or taking many decisions for your life for day. Once you woke up and, what are the tasks you are doing just like that? You are not doing right, but you also have some framework, right? Like that framework is based on somebody your parents have taught you. Right? The the culture of your family.

01:01:42:10 - 01:02:03:15
Unknown
Right? Right. The experience and exposure that you had as an individual or the exposure that you have built by seeing what is happening. Around the other, thing. And you take some decisions and you move forward. Right. Similarly. And that is called framework right here. You that framework, you mentally you have built something and you are fitting into those, framework.

01:02:03:15 - 01:02:20:18
Unknown
Right? Yeah. But when it comes to business. Right. You have been taught that it is an alien and, right. And, it is not that easy to do it. And people will think that, okay, if you want to do business, you have to think differently, right? Yeah. You have to think differently. But the thought process should be the same, I will say.

01:02:20:20 - 01:02:46:13
Unknown
So the difference here is, when you are taking decisions for your personal activities, already there are certain frameworks which has been, imbibed within you and knowingly or unknowingly, subconscious mind, fits all your addictions into the framework and comes down here. You have to say that, right. So that's the reason at the beginning I told it is about analyzing a process.

01:02:46:13 - 01:03:02:11
Unknown
Okay. Once you have the practice, no. Then you will not, I'll say, a business man first time. If he is doing a business that he will go with all these frameworks. Yeah. Then he comes with the second business and third business. He will not look at the framework at all because it has been gone into his subconscious.

01:03:02:13 - 01:03:20:04
Unknown
Then immediately you say that it once you have the idea immediately the first question is who is your target market. Okay. What is your marketplace. Right. Because that has become a practice. Yes. Practice for a business for six months, one year. And whether it has been successful or he has not been successful, then he decide to the second business.

01:03:20:06 - 01:03:42:16
Unknown
He will not take a white sheet and he will not do the homework. Right. It has gone into his subconscious mind and, immediate first question will be like, all these questions he has within answers. Right. So the frameworks in the classroom that you have taught is, to to imbibe that framework into their subconscious mind that, okay, that's it.

01:03:42:21 - 01:04:00:15
Unknown
And once it has been done, then even if you do 15 business again, people will not go with BMC, right? It will automatically they'll work out will think about the right question. Right. And to say that that is the revenue, what is the cost and things like that. What is my, bottom line. Right. Automatically they will start working.

01:04:00:17 - 01:04:20:20
Unknown
Right. And they will even if you're giving a lot. Right. People used to say that, or emphasize, or a small piece of paper will give them the calculations and results. Right, right. But, instead of having the framework in the white sheet, right, that has gone into their mind because of the practice, and they started, applying it.

01:04:21:01 - 01:04:47:00
Unknown
And that's what the mentors also do. Okay. Many educators get this question, you know, teaching entrepreneurship or, you know, for yourself 25 years helping hundreds of startups by doing. But you will become neither. Do you have a startup or have I got to deal with that will always be a pay player and Tendulkar coach will be always be a coach.

01:04:47:02 - 01:05:09:20
Unknown
But if you if you haven't got the rules right, somebody has to play and somebody has to coach. The coach cannot be a player, right? I can become a coach is an interesting, answer. Yeah. There are rules for every land area. Yeah. Okay. If you have to startup today, what kind of startup would you do? You hear many problem statements say, is this something that is exciting you?

01:05:09:20 - 01:05:14:22
Unknown
Yeah, maybe. Let me start.

01:05:14:24 - 01:05:42:04
Unknown
Say, one answer to is I'm not an entrepreneur. I am an entrepreneur. Okay, let's define it up. Internet. That is what? Whatever. The organization that I'm working for as an object is to achieve and things like that. And if I, look at the way it has to be executed to achieve the goals, and if I'm able to mobilize resources, public people execute it, and give the results, then I become within an organization or human, or you are becoming a being an entrepreneur.

01:05:42:08 - 01:06:06:02
Unknown
You're behaving like an or not. Okay. So, so I'm an entrepreneur, right? Okay. So I have enough for a task to be completed. Okay. Once I completed this task given by my organization, then I'll think about becoming up. Okay. That's that's not going to happen then therefore is because there are a hundred things on your list every day that you have to do as an enabler.

01:06:06:04 - 01:06:34:21
Unknown
But what kind of feeling do you get when you look back, you know, 20 years, so many entrepreneurs that you have supported, incubated, enabled, powered, right. And so many of the, sorry, you know, I want to know got I assume you have got them right. But, see, I have only to, well, after this 20 years or 25 years of my experience in an incubation center, how I look, because you mentioned.

01:06:34:21 - 01:06:59:12
Unknown
Right. The generation gets changed as NZ has come and things like that is not only for the students, the units, for the entrepreneurs, even. It's for the technology. And, even I have seen many technologies, I mean, the organization that I'm working for, but my team has seen many, entrepreneurs at different stages with different technologies, different businesses and things like that.

01:06:59:14 - 01:07:32:21
Unknown
So first initial years we have also struggled a lot. But then we, for an incubation center to be successful. Right. According to me, it is it is my perspective. Right. Which we follow it, as our values, in our team values as two points, one, empathetic towards entrepreneurs. Okay, means that forget about the technology and entrepreneurial, comes to you today and us by, I need this particular support for my business.

01:07:32:23 - 01:08:03:24
Unknown
And, the same, service has been asked to by five entrepreneurs who are working and. Yeah, then I find that there is a need for it. Okay. Then it is the incubation centers role to create that service. Okay. So as an incubation center, we cannot have, readymade services. We should have tailor made service. Okay. Which service to be let we, the definition of, shunting some of the services, including some of the services, depends upon the query that comes from the entrepreneurs.

01:08:04:01 - 01:08:23:00
Unknown
Okay. So we keep our eyes open, eyes open when we are interacting with an entrepreneur. Right. So same problem has been given by for for your entrepreneurs. That's the reason I again we say that incubation centers are not service providers. They should also behave like an entrepreneur or another service. Yeah. So for me the customers are entrepreneurs.

01:08:23:02 - 01:08:42:01
Unknown
Right. If I hear the same problem statement from five entrepreneurs then it is not a problem. It is a pain. Okay. If I'm able to address that particular pain then I am a successful incubation center. Okay. Wait. So that is one particular value that we have. Right. So when we started we do not have biotech enterprises in 98.

01:08:42:01 - 01:09:03:14
Unknown
But today we have biotech, we have nanotech. We have biomedical and things like that. So that is an incubation center. I can't keep on investing on the infrastructure. Right. But that's not possible. Right. Government will not keep on pumping in, every year. Right. So what we have to do is, right. We have to have an ecosystem where this, pain point of the entrepreneurs can be addressed.

01:09:03:16 - 01:09:19:01
Unknown
If you want to address their pain points, you have to treat them as your customers, and then you have to listen to them and create a service called a date. It can be a mentor pool. It can be an investor pool. It can be an infrastructure that your host institution or it can be an infrastructure from other institutions.

01:09:19:03 - 01:09:43:07
Unknown
That's why the organizations like his bar are helping us a lot. Yeah, in this. But today we have about 175 members as incubators, and it's getting increased across the country. Yeah. If you step doesn't have a facility, I can write to you and ask that whether it is one, message in a group says that I need this facility for just about for five incubators coming forward and saying that, we are able to provide that service stream.

01:09:43:09 - 01:10:11:22
Unknown
So those are all the things that, we are building with one particular sentence, right. Empathy towards entrepreneurs. Okay. And to achieve that, we have is, we have networks. We have capacity building, we have host institutions. You know, we have collaborations, we have corporate collaborations. All these things will happen once you start towards the second. Thing that we keep our reminders, how we can give that service.

01:10:11:24 - 01:10:33:13
Unknown
Right. In a cost effective manner. Okay. It's not about cheaper, it is about a cost effective. Right. So converting that capital expenditure into recurring expenditure helps them a lot. Yeah. Right. So how we are going to solve one is listen to them and identify their problems. And if the same problem has been repeated by many entrepreneurs, yes, there is a need for that service.

01:10:33:13 - 01:10:55:11
Unknown
Build that service or get that service by collaboration. Right. And try to give that service at an affordable, price by the entrepreneurs. Okay. So these are the two things that, we are doing it, and that is where we are able to sustain. Okay. I see that now we are moving towards, you know, incubation centers.

01:10:55:11 - 01:11:21:07
Unknown
Let's have discussion around this, with, discussed so far. I know students perspective, students viewpoint. And, what are the learnings from your experience around how do students begin as, a solution provider and then innovator, and then to an entrepreneur and how the ecosystem plays a part in their the social surroundings and so on. Now let's shift our discussion to incubation centers.

01:11:21:07 - 01:11:43:15
Unknown
Although we have made several references to incubation centers, you know, both of us, the common thread we have is the incubation center. And I remember back in 2017 when we started incubation Center diet, mainly my first training program, I had you as the trainer along with, Doctor Bala. And we learned some very interesting ideas on how to think about Incubation Center.

01:11:43:17 - 01:11:49:07
Unknown
And I fondly remember the, elephant and the rubber band story. Okay.

01:11:49:09 - 01:11:54:03
Unknown
Academic institutions host most incubation centers today. They,

01:11:54:03 - 01:12:03:22
Unknown
tell us about this relationship between the incubation center, and the host institution,

01:12:03:24 - 01:12:44:15
Unknown
So, as the scheme byline says that the host institution should, create an organization as a separate entity and then, you should have this incubation center as a separate entity. That is the first mandate. It's some space allocated and things like that. So, usually what happens is, the host institution has an intention to have an incubation center, and, they identify your faculty, and then they submit the proposal, and once it gets sanctioned, if that faculty has been appointed as the CEO, the challenges are very limited.

01:12:44:17 - 01:12:52:01
Unknown
Okay. But what happens is one of the project gets sanctioned. A CEO has been appointed, and most of the time

01:12:52:01 - 01:13:04:12
Unknown
there is a mismatch between the proposal that has been submitted and, the execution. Execution matters. And the timeline also varies. Right. The day when you submitted the proposal, the day when you get the sanction, the day when you you get the funding.

01:13:04:12 - 01:13:31:23
Unknown
And so you graduate one year from this 1 or 2 years was got right. So and so the CEO has more role to play over here. And what I say try to say here this the, the head of the incubation center on the team, is more important, for the success of the incubation center, right. He has to manage all the stakeholders,

01:13:32:00 - 01:13:32:09
Unknown
right.

01:13:32:09 - 01:13:44:15
Unknown
Host institution as a stakeholder student as a stakeholder government as a stakeholder entrepreneur from the community as the stakeholder. Right. He has a greater role to play being a smaller organization.

01:13:44:17 - 01:13:55:12
Unknown
And the team is also very will be very small. Any incubation center, right. On an average incubation center will have about 5 to 10 employees. So they by very few will have about 50 or 60.

01:13:55:12 - 01:14:21:10
Unknown
And they'll be doing apart from incubation, they also have other projects that are segments, other consulting activities to do it. But if you are focusing only on incubation activity, you will have about five member team to do it. But this five member team, even it is a small team lean team. The responsibility that they have shouldered the accountability that they shoulder with various agencies balancing them is not that easy.

01:14:21:10 - 01:14:43:10
Unknown
Yeah. So no, the head of the, incubation center plays a critical role in achieving the objectives of the incubation center in the York. So being a greater role in meeting the, objectives of the host institution. So one of the challenge for these stakeholders within the institution is that now there is a new department. Is it a project?

01:14:43:10 - 01:15:06:13
Unknown
Is it a school, is it a department? Is it a company? You know, for the host institution which is not used to? If these questions have been answered before submitting the proposal, then there will be a charity. I'm saying the the proposal is submitted by a small team. But then once we have an incubation center in a hosted institution there's several services that you borrow from the host institution.

01:15:06:13 - 01:15:27:04
Unknown
You have to deal with the administration and then everyone is not aware of what this new. That is what I would say. Who is planning an incubation center itself is it should be a process. That's what I mean to say. Okay. If you are planning to have an incubation center, right. For the new institutions, I'm saying, you know, the, earlier years instead of years.

01:15:27:04 - 01:15:54:04
Unknown
We looked at a project and we submitted and we celebrated. But today, awareness has been created. It is an organization, and, an organization which promotes entrepreneurship right within the campus. Outside the campus. Yeah. Becomes the torchbearer of your host institution, promoting entrepreneurship among the community. So you you should look at it as a big picture and see the contribution that have been that has to be made.

01:15:54:04 - 01:16:16:21
Unknown
Then one thing second thing is, without the support of the host institution, an incubation center cannot survive. Right, right. Because see we are supporting the startups, our kinds of customers are startup startups, doesn't have, rate of money to pay you. Right. So you are doing business with this, customer. Which, which a move the finger basically.

01:16:16:22 - 01:16:37:10
Unknown
Yeah. Which doesn't have the purpose. Then how you make money. Right, right. Unless otherwise the host institution subsidize your operations, it will be very difficult for you to generate revenue and sustain on your. Yeah. Say a cordial relationship has to be built. That host institution stakeholders has to be educated. And that's the role I, I was telling the CEO role was a greater.

01:16:37:12 - 01:17:01:24
Unknown
Right. And he has to, meet all the stakeholders. Yeah. Try to explain the concept of incubation, educate them, convince them. And then you should take, the host institution along with you. Yeah. To the host institution, the elephant story with it. We I made that reference, but we never completed that. The host institution is like a big elephant.

01:17:02:01 - 01:17:29:00
Unknown
See, so every department, if you look at it as a department or as an initiative and things like that, it is, it is very, small. But the challenges that the, the, the incubation centers had in the earlier years are there now those challenges are very limited because there is an awareness about incubation center, the role of incubation centers, the entity that has been there separate no number of rankings on the innovation.

01:17:29:00 - 01:17:53:09
Unknown
Yeah, that has been there. So the stakeholders have been well informed about the role that incubation centers should play, and it should be a separate entity. And, and how it has to behave within the institution. And I would say the institution. So it is an, internal dynamics that you should handle right inside dynamics that, you should underline it.

01:17:53:09 - 01:18:16:18
Unknown
Also, where is the region at which you are coming up? If you're coming over to cities like Bangalore, Chennai, you have a bill, you have a different, exposure. Right? You are coming from an entrepreneurial city that, you have a different exposure. But if you are coming with to the territory where the entrepreneurship, itself is very less an incubation center should play a role of promoting entrepreneurship in the region.

01:18:16:20 - 01:18:38:13
Unknown
Then you have a different, more responsibility shoulder on you. Right. In Bangalore, if you open an incubation center you may get startups on the day one. Yeah. Right. But if you have starting an incubation center in a type three type for whom I said for this, right. Then you have to sell the concept of what is incubation, then that itself establishes a greater role that she has to play.

01:18:38:14 - 01:18:59:17
Unknown
Right? And suddenly, the, the selling, the concept itself will take two years and third years. Somebody will ask you, right, how many success stories you have, whether you have funded stories and, things like that, then you will get diverted into it. And then to prove yourself as a successful person. Right. You move to the other activities of, incubation, centers and you focus on.

01:18:59:20 - 01:19:19:06
Unknown
Yeah, right. And if you cross five years, then sustainability become an issue, and you are to generate revenue for your own salary. Yeah. So then, then along with the incubation, you will be doing, other activities. And at times that things will happen. And, you will be doing more other activities along with the incubation. But that situation should not be a date.

01:19:19:08 - 01:19:58:05
Unknown
So if you want to write as a, as an incubation center, if you want yourself to call yourself a sustainable incubation center, then this first institution, it cannot happen. So, yeah, I mean, I have so many different questions now in different directions. But, let me again press on this. So one thing that we learned in that very first, training program, was that the host institution is critical, as you said, everything is going to come from the host institution, but the host institutions, like a big elephant and incubation center, is a small creature, let's say that.

01:19:58:05 - 01:20:22:22
Unknown
But which is which is tied to the elephant with a very thin, very fine thread. And, the the CEO or the faculty, in charge of the incubation center has to make sure that this this thread does not break. This thread is the source of all the feed that flows to the incubation center. And the rule is to make sure the thread is strong enough.

01:20:22:24 - 01:20:48:06
Unknown
And it is flexible enough as well. So that elephant does not, you know, it moves away and the thread breaks it. Okay. And the rabbit should also stick around the elephant, not try to venture out too much. Okay. And the elephant doesn't like it. So that role and the criticality of the head of the incubation center, that was something that I picked up from the very first, training program that that I had with you.

01:20:48:08 - 01:21:13:21
Unknown
So here it is. Support of, No problem. I'm reiterating the same point. Right. And, yours is an, your organization should have an entrepreneur mindset. Mindset, right? That that should be your one mantra that you have to repeatedly reiterate whenever you find a challenge. And, you know, so an entrepreneur, if he can find the challenge, right.

01:21:13:23 - 01:21:32:01
Unknown
He will not because the operation on the day, but he will try to address everything he will keep on representing to the government when it does a government, thing or whether some other agencies, whenever he finds a challenge, but he goes the right way. They keep on representing through association. He will keep on representing whenever he gets a chance.

01:21:32:03 - 01:22:04:14
Unknown
So that's how you have to do it. And as an institution, they have, a big vision, right, in terms of growth, in terms of, scale, in terms of, providing services to the community, whatever it is has an incubation center of, if you you first, you are to align yourself with the objective of the host institutions, since is your activity should also get aligned with the objective of the Sameera and you have a room for it.

01:22:04:16 - 01:22:25:06
Unknown
But if you are not able to understand the host institution's growth strategy that they plan for next five years or ten years, right. By the end. Right. And if you are not planning your activities, right, it should also support entrepreneurs at the same time. It also, aligned with the growth strategies of your organization today.

01:22:25:08 - 01:22:52:07
Unknown
And if there is a match that is happening right, then, you know, that that will not get the, the backlog get too much stress and there will be support that will constantly come. Another question which is, very widely and, not very openly discussed is the, you know, you, you bringing a CEO into an incubation center and you have a faculty in charge.

01:22:52:07 - 01:23:09:12
Unknown
And we have seen in many cases where there is a conflict between these two parties. There is difference of opinion that is decision making, you know, sort of power tussle as well. Tell us, you know, how do we handle such situations when you.

01:23:09:14 - 01:23:34:20
Unknown
Personally do not have that kind of challenges. And, I have not come across, the faculty in charge of things like that. But there is another stakeholder which I have not mentioned. You have you have also, have a board of directors. All right. Advisory board. And you have also have board of governors and things like that, so many, stakeholders and things like that.

01:23:34:22 - 01:23:58:07
Unknown
But the, the, the administration of the host institution, right. Is the is the, kingpin of all the boards, are all the positions that has good create, right, right. So you have created governing board, you have created board of directors, you have created advisory board. You have created faculty in charge, you updated CEO, you have some of the organization as CEO.

01:23:58:09 - 01:24:23:20
Unknown
Right? Right. It is not about faculty. So you obviously you and you have a CEO. So there will be a conflict between CEO and CEO. It's a cutting. Right. So it's not the positions that has been created by the promoters of your organization. So you have to take time and you have to decide on the roles and responsibilities of each, roles and responsibility of each stakeholder that you have created for the commission.

01:24:23:20 - 01:24:47:18
Unknown
So they unless otherwise you have a clarity this will be, challenge. So some of the incubators doesn't have a faculty. Coordinators or faculty in charge, some of the incubators as faculty and as even then they are doing it, performing at the national level, you never had a CEO, actually, but catalysts have us. All right.

01:24:47:20 - 01:25:14:16
Unknown
So, so that's the, reason, so it all depends upon aligning yourself. The, the, strategy of the Austrian situation once there is an, alignment between both the organization then roles, the designations doesn't matter. Right. But if there is a mismatch to address that mismatch, you will bring in one particular, designation and even that doesn't address it.

01:25:14:16 - 01:25:45:22
Unknown
Then you increase another level. You bring in another person, another role. Yeah. And then if doesn't work, then you bring in an advisory board. Right. And then things may get complicated. So you have to have a clarity on where we stand and where we have to be in next five years to achieve that. What kind of structure that we want to have it, that discussion, we have to have, with the host institution and then in consultation with that, if you are able to come out with the, hierarchy and things like that, 90% of the problem can be solved.

01:25:45:22 - 01:26:10:21
Unknown
So the vision has to be clear. Where is it that we are headed? And then all the people who are involved, if they are aligned, then these situations can be handled okay. And it is there not only an incubation center, even if it is there, this leadership basis, succession of leadership, even it is there, in big corporates, which has spent a lot of money on strategic training with, on leadership training.

01:26:10:21 - 01:26:41:12
Unknown
Also, they are not able to find the successes they. Right. So it is the challenge is not only for the incubation NGOs, even the industries. The corporates find it difficult to find a successor to take it to the next level. Right. And we have seen many, such stories in the industry world. Yeah, absolutely. So once we accept that there is a challenge that is an issue, then we have to have more kind of deliberations and discussions to address, the gap, the, the and how it can be addressed.

01:26:41:14 - 01:27:12:01
Unknown
Okay. Another very, hot topic, in incubation centers is, around financial sustainability. There are several government schemes. And I think government has done tremendously well in supporting, you know, establishing new incubation centers. In 2016, we were amongst, I think, 15 or 20 new, DBA that was set up by DST and later on, Atal Innovation Mission set up, so many incubation centers across the country.

01:27:12:03 - 01:27:38:00
Unknown
But most of these schemes fund the incubation centers for about four years. Two years idea scheme, no funds for three years. And beyond that, the incubation center is supposed to entrepreneurially you know itself, you know these resources and be self-sustainable. There are different opinions, about it. You know how can and many places, at many places it is treated as a project and leadership can change the inside.

01:27:38:00 - 01:28:15:00
Unknown
Do the CEOs can change. So how have you seen incubation centers handle the sustainability issue? See, the first point is, the first support should come from the host institute. Right. Whenever there is a crisis right. Host institution is our model. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So the first a helping hand should come from the host institute and and secondly, there are policies, funding methods and policies that has been kept by the government, which has been followed, right, for capital expenditure for 1 or 2 years.

01:28:15:00 - 01:28:47:07
Unknown
That mean for five years and things like that. Yeah. So that can can be some kind of relook. Can happen. Right. Whether, veteran can be given for 5 or 5 years and after five years, next three years, reckoning can be extended only for manpower cost so that the team can be sustained and things like that, or one thing or the, what happens is if you are not getting funding support, then you start looking at other ways of generating revenue and you slightly get not slightly, majorly, you get deviated from incubating startups.

01:28:47:07 - 01:29:23:09
Unknown
And they do also look at how to raise funds. So you go with consulting, you go with taking projects, execution of projects and things like that because you want to sustain your operation and things like that. So government can also look at how you can already they have tapped on the, support, but they can also, look at extending their, only for the manpower support for next two, three years and regular, so instead of five years, first five years, all directly your travel, your maintenance, utilities, everything is been covered under, first five years of your degree.

01:29:23:11 - 01:29:44:12
Unknown
And then what you can say is next three years or five years, I will give you one of your manpower costs. You have to later so your support can be tapered down slowly instead of abruptly stopping at five years. Right. And then it can be extended. And once an organization is able to sustain for more than five years, it gives in ten years, then they will find a way to come.

01:29:44:14 - 01:30:05:21
Unknown
Yeah. When the recurring support abruptly get stopped at five years. Then the challenges comes during and second thing is it is it is like a psychological effect. If your salaries have been taken care, yeah, it will be mentally free and you will be focusing on generating revenue to meet your utilities, to meet your maintenance cost, to expand your operations.

01:30:05:23 - 01:30:24:01
Unknown
So, so one is actually, a cash is king of rivers and not stopping it abruptly tapering it off. And also the sellers, they are tapering it off. Yeah. But, after five years there is no support. Right. Instead of, after five years, 6 to 8 year, remember cost only can be extended. That is what my point is.

01:30:24:07 - 01:30:57:24
Unknown
And it can be selective wherever you see the growth is there. Yeah. Growth is there good performance by the incubation centers. We can continue. So, you have as president of SBA for, seven year long standoff extensively, spoken to, incubation manager CEOs across the country. What were some top concerns, during this time of now, I'm talking about the talent in the incubation sector, the people who actually make this sector, thriving, creating all the enablers.

01:30:58:01 - 01:31:23:17
Unknown
What have been what were some top concerns of the CEOs and managers during your time, and how did we handle it? To whisper. See, incubation industry doesn't, been a lucrative industry as far as, kind of growth is concerned. Right. You don't you you see, in all other organization, you start your career and you reach the CEO plane, but in this you start your career a bit, a CEO itself.

01:31:23:17 - 01:31:45:10
Unknown
What next? You know? Yes. You start as a carrier and you and as you and you and as your career. SEC. You, that's one the other ways you start your career as a CEO and then you move as an investor. Do you start off right, you go to other things, but what happens if you are there for first five years as an incubation center CEO and then you move to the next level?

01:31:45:10 - 01:32:08:00
Unknown
But the results of an incubation center comes after five years only. Right? Right. So longevity of an CEO matters for the success of the incubation center. But if a CEO wants to continue more than five years, either he has to generate for his salary and his team salary. Right. And then and he has to decide on his increments and things like that becomes so challenging for them.

01:32:08:00 - 01:32:35:06
Unknown
And since the industry doesn't pay, you look creatively then people are moving. They're, they're in the ecosystem that they are in the ecosystem managing an investment, that they're in an ecosystem that's, heading a corporate challenge. So if I'm a incubator CEO, they join in a corporate and they head, innovation, head off at corporate or out of, there or,

01:32:35:08 - 01:32:54:16
Unknown
The, the the, salaries has been on that's out there. CDC has been taken care of by the corporate or the it's but so that is the only challenge that we, face. Well, but what are the factors which compensate for lack of very lucrative financial rewards? But there you work with the innovators on the ground.

01:32:54:16 - 01:33:18:21
Unknown
You see different technologies. So it's always been good. But, but as I mentioned that, you are working with the client or not, that they must have some lead. Right? If you're working within, corporate and if you are operating a consulting assignment, then you are giving a solution, right? You can charge out, hardly basis or, or on a project basis and things like that.

01:33:18:23 - 01:33:42:15
Unknown
When you are working with the innovators and with the startups. Right. You can't charge them more. So your time and effort has to be subsidized from other resources, right? So the other resources can be a projects that you have taken based on your team's strength and your strength, a consulting assignment or any projects, any government projects, multinational projects, that you take it and you execute it and you generate revenue.

01:33:42:17 - 01:34:04:00
Unknown
So incubation has been subsidized by doing other activity, other activity and that and you have overheads is high. The other activity should also get increased rate because there is a limitation for your incubation space. That you would have been given 20,000ft² of space and or whatever the number that government is asking for. And you have a limitation at any point of time you can.

01:34:04:00 - 01:34:28:14
Unknown
So going to support the 30 entrepreneurs or 50 entrepreneur. That's right. So now you look at other ways of raising funds or you go with investment. You take the equity in the companies and the equity make the returns may not give returns. You have to wait for five years. Seven years. Yeah. Right. So you do multiple activities. Right doing and investment is also related to incubation activity and accepted.

01:34:28:14 - 01:34:51:11
Unknown
But doing non incubation activities for revenue generation is becomes inevitable. I also wanted to take your opinion on I felt in catalyst we had a number of funding programs, government supported funding programs. Early on when incubation centers started, we were mostly incubation centers, no funding. And then gradually funding programs of government. One, two, three, ten.

01:34:51:13 - 01:35:21:06
Unknown
So incubation centers are becoming funding agencies. Is it a do you see a difference between incubation centers primarily primary role of mentoring startups, activating services versus distributing funding? Yeah. See, the landscape is getting changed or got changed. And, few of the incubators become investment incubators, right? But, incubation means that you have to admit them at the early stage.

01:35:21:06 - 01:35:45:16
Unknown
Right? Means that, ideation stage up or POC stage, you give them the infrastructure, like cure the access to the equipments, labs, facilities often then and ensure that they move to the next level. Right. And then wherever they need money, you give funding support to them and they are right. Feed money and then ensure that now they are ready to face the external world and then move forward.

01:35:45:18 - 01:36:05:10
Unknown
Right? So that is the process of an incubation center, which has been different studies. But today funding mechanism has become one of the primary apart from the and instead of access funding, you know, funding has become a buzzword. All right. Startups are chasing funding agencies funding. And gates are also chasing startups and things like that. Right.

01:36:05:13 - 01:36:25:07
Unknown
So, so both the things are happening. But what happens is if you have more funding schemes and things like that, then, as I told you, the focus will be more on funding and things. Right. And each funding agency will have a criteria. Maybe some of the funding schemes will say that you should choose startups.

01:36:25:09 - 01:36:45:06
Unknown
Right. TRL level seven and above, it is only for scaling up and things like that so that the incubation comes very limited investment becomes an aid. More so incubation managers have to play no dual role right. During an investment manager of time go portfolio manager. Right. Then let's say first they will become investment manager. Then they will become portfolio manager.

01:36:45:08 - 01:37:02:02
Unknown
Right. Because if you are making 1 or 2 investments, it's good. Now if your investment goes to 10 or 15, then you will have a portfolio. You will say that I am investing in climate startups. I have invested in EV start of. Right. And then you will say that I will be having 3 or 4 portfolios, right?

01:37:02:04 - 01:37:35:04
Unknown
Yeah. So, earlier years being, we had a challenge of being an incubator, managing at eight. Then, the incubator manager has been asked to be an investment manager today, as you like you said, investment manager is also been called as a portfolio management. They don't know what next with this, another observation that I had during my time with catalyst was, there are different funding schemes, some schemes that, give you know, schemes, all these schemes would give anywhere between 50,000 to 50 lakh rupees to these startups.

01:37:35:06 - 01:37:57:24
Unknown
And many times you have a pulse for a year. So if, for example, you have one crore to distribute and you have to chase the target of saying, you know, minimum ten startups and then you start rationing money, right? And then you get to lakhs to some, you give five lacs to someone, you give it to someone. And somewhere I felt that, you know, although too much money can spoil the entrepreneurs too.

01:37:57:24 - 01:38:17:03
Unknown
Less money can also break the entrepreneur. But when I had to ration saying I had this much money and let me show more startups that I have funded, then I see it is a personal decision, right? Whether to ration it or whether I have to give it more startups. Right? It is the decision of your team. Right.

01:38:17:05 - 01:38:39:13
Unknown
Any ex incubators or team based on their, ecosystem in which they are working and the kind of results that they want to show. Right. So you cannot if I universally make a statement. Right. Yeah. Rationing order of, giving and things like that. So it is, it is a decision of every individual incubator.

01:38:39:19 - 01:39:03:05
Unknown
But from startups perspective I need five lakh rupees. But you've only given me two lakh rupees. Yeah. Don't go with the incubator. You look at the other ways of raising funds. Right? See, that's what I'm getting, right? I have an expectation, right? And if my expectation is not aligning with the incubators, processes or, that way of releasing the funding, right?

01:39:03:07 - 01:39:23:20
Unknown
Don't try to change them. Right. Because they have taken a policy decision based on some conditions. You put your approximation. If not, find the other, incubator, which can match you similarly, I have the some policies and that say you have an entry policy says that I will admit only these incubator, you know, startups as incubators, they should be two years old.

01:39:23:20 - 01:39:47:08
Unknown
One year old. They should be only private limited. So you do have some entry policies, right? Right. Similarly, the startups should also have an incubator selection process. Right. If if the startups look at that particular point of view, then your life will become easier. An actually, you know, startups do have a policy. Startups are going to multiple incubation centers and maybe even that because they're in need of money.

01:39:47:08 - 01:40:10:07
Unknown
Yeah. And, any entrepreneur will source for funding and the and, how can, you stop them in a play. Right. But your selection process should be cautious enough. You should ask them the question whether you have applied for five incubators. And even even I am say that even five incubators or three incubators coming together in supporting a startup is nothing wrong.

01:40:10:09 - 01:40:30:13
Unknown
But the, the support that you have extended are unique and you are not repeating the same, funding support for the same services. Right. It's it's relevant. Yeah. Means that I got NEA funding from catalyst where I validated it. But you do not have to ask. Scheme. I went to an incubation center that the prior scheme.

01:40:30:17 - 01:40:50:12
Unknown
I told that this has been done from next stage. I need this money tonight. Right. And then I go for the seed fund. And, you do not have a seed funding event for receipt for this. Then I go to an angel investor and say that I have done all this processes. But one more thing. But here as an association, we have to have a practices moving from one incubator to another incubator for, thing.

01:40:50:14 - 01:41:08:09
Unknown
Right. Should be informed to the other incubators. And these two three incubators come together and collectively should take any other center. That is where this is working on Covid Commission one. Okay. Right. We we are working on a in commission model. We have discussed a lot and said that, we we come and collectively we say that, right.

01:41:08:09 - 01:41:28:00
Unknown
This, you know, startup has been supported by these three incubators, right? The first incubator is the anchor incubator, which has identified this startup rate at a third level. One, two, three supported it, and then they need the further support. Since then, this, that particular incubator does not have that particular service. They have recommended. Two. Incubator two.

01:41:28:02 - 01:41:51:17
Unknown
Okay. Incubator two has infrastructure. Has the facility give access to the equipments and things like that. So if the incubators role and responsibilities in supporting this part of startups has been clearly mentioned, and these three incubators have come together, I had a discussion and then extended the support, that that will, that has to happen.

01:41:51:19 - 01:42:14:02
Unknown
This that is in there. And, and that is what we call it a square incubation trade. I can't keep on investing. The right means the government cannot keep on investing for the same equipment and the things to all the incubators, and instead that I have a state of the art facilities at it. And if I put a recommendation to you and say, that is my startup and why not your support him for six months on this particular area?

01:42:14:02 - 01:42:42:02
Unknown
Yeah. And, we come collectively, we come together. Right? That is what, like cured. For the startups. Okay. And and have in, in the last, CEO conclave that held that, which I, sorry, which I Putnam is but I have decided that how we can formalize this through the association.

01:42:42:02 - 01:43:10:21
Unknown
Okay. Right. And and we are trying to have, extend that, support order under is about going commission twice. I mean, that means that, all the three incubators have gone through the startups proposal, have decided that, roles and responsibilities have been, clearly defined by incubator A, B, and C, and we have also decided with the startup that this is a charge for the service one service to service three, they have a raise up to date.

01:43:10:21 - 01:43:30:24
Unknown
Collectively we come to an agreement. Right. So end of the day, if you say that incubators role is to ensure the success of the startups, the need of the this incubation center should come together, have a formal cohesion Commission policy that is by based started working on that. And, we will achieve that in another couple of months.

01:43:31:02 - 01:43:32:12
Unknown
Okay. Great. I think,

01:43:32:16 - 01:43:36:07
Unknown
if incubation centers can collaborate, which is something

01:43:36:08 - 01:43:49:07
Unknown
that is the purpose of his bar. Yeah, it will bring an event to bring everyone together. We have brought 175 incubators together. Now this 175 incubators can collaborate with each other. That's the power of association right.

01:43:49:09 - 01:43:57:14
Unknown
We know each other when we know. Right. A particular startup needs particular support, and we have to come together and we have to take it.

01:43:57:20 - 01:44:17:11
Unknown
Have you ever seen the sense of competition amongst incubators in this? In my startup, this is not just talk, you know, that's what they're about five, six years before, now, even now, if you talk in the same language, then you will not grow. Yeah, right. The competition should come. Yeah. You should compete for a startup, which you are owning it.

01:44:17:12 - 01:44:33:14
Unknown
But a startup says that, it money is having that facility. Why not? You support your. I should not say to the startup. Say that. No, no, no. I'll talk. Not top priority Monday. Yeah, right. It is. The days are gone, right? I have to say that. You see, that's the reason I told you, right? Our model is empathy towards entrepreneur.

01:44:33:15 - 01:44:58:22
Unknown
Said it. If I don't have the facility and if, I put a posting in the group saying that I need an, facility from this entrepreneurial folk, my entrepreneur. And if you come forward, that is the need of art. So co-creation, co-creation, networking, coding commission, all these things, which has been discussed as a theory about five years before in conferences and workshops.

01:44:58:22 - 01:45:20:11
Unknown
Yeah. The association should start practicing it. And we have started practicing ethics. Another thing which has been discussed or sort of theorized was virtual incubation and probably before Covid, it happened as well. But post-Covid, a lot of virtual incubation is happening. Do you believe in virtual incubation or not only, virtual incubation, other models have evolved after Covid.

01:45:20:11 - 01:45:42:10
Unknown
Okay, hybrid incubation has come. Means that, because of Covid, I moved to my own native place. Right. And now, only for the facilities. I have to come to it in my day or to stay open like that. So it is a hybrid incubation. I will be that when you are incubation for about three months, I do all the testings, all the things done, and then go back for my analysis.

01:45:42:10 - 01:46:04:20
Unknown
Why should I sit here and do it? I go back to my native place and do it and come back so it becomes hybrid incubation. Queen commission as say about it after, Covid and virtual incubation has also come Avalon fourth one, which has been discussed in the association is hub and spoke model hub and spoke.

01:46:04:22 - 01:46:27:17
Unknown
Okay. Right. Being an incubation center located here, the government is not sanctioning, to the same city. Eight we say they'll say that, Monday has, an incubation center. Other institution cannot be given. Now, I will say that I take Mondays. Responsibility is to go to the other institutions and take them on board instead of competing with them, like,

01:46:27:19 - 01:47:03:08
Unknown
So hub and spoke should also be discussed. So after Covid, with the support of Department of Science and Technology. Now it is DTA. Yeah. Let it be. We had a detailed discussion and we came up with a model called distributed incubator network model. Okay. So before Covid, as you rightly mentioned, we have been discussing about virtual nation post-Covid, through the association, we had a detailed deliberations and we evolved, from the actual to, as I mentioned, from the try to coin commission, then, hybrid, then hub and some of small model.

01:47:03:10 - 01:47:30:19
Unknown
And collectively we called it as a distributed, and incubation, network. Okay. And we have also released the concept node, in the is back on 2022. Okay. Which was held in Chennai, concept. Now what about these models? So in in such models where you are hybrid or you are virtual, how do you still ensure that you have a connect?

01:47:30:20 - 01:47:52:05
Unknown
You have some supervision, for example. And I said empathy is a central value that you bit this in a system. So how do you ensure that you are able to empathize when you are able to connect? You know, not that frequently. You don't see the, entrepreneur in person. So it so virtual incubation is this is a word, right?

01:47:52:07 - 01:48:19:21
Unknown
Which says that somebody is at remote and you are giving some services today. But the success depends upon what kind of services that you can extend from there. Incubation for it located person. Okay. Right. That is where I told you. Right. It is not about readymade services. It is tailor made services. Right. If you sitting in some, some part of the country and he is asking for mentoring.

01:48:19:23 - 01:48:49:10
Unknown
Right. And if that particular location doesn't have the mentor, I can suppose. Right. Sitting in Bombay and if he is asking for a mentoring then no point for me to provide that virtual incubation service to him. Instead, I can connect to any of the incubation center from this bar network to mentor, him. Right, right. So what I mean to say is an incubator is there, which is not at your vicinity, but he is, seeking some support from a location.

01:48:49:12 - 01:49:12:19
Unknown
Right. And that particular location doesn't have an incubation center, doesn't have, any ecosystem. Right. And he needs your support. Then you can extend it for number sake if you are going to register him as a virtual incubator charging about ₹3,000 per month and say that you can have access to mentor, it becomes a task. Okay, right? Then you are going to do it as a revenue generating activity or not as a service for it.

01:49:12:21 - 01:49:36:04
Unknown
Right. If somebody comes from money and says that, I need a virtual incubation, my first responsibility is to refer to catalyst. Right. So that is how we have to take it forward and, and everywhere you have to keep it in mind. Right. If you are member of his bar then you have to say that I member of his bar and my fellow member is there in my database of aluminum there is that in Chandigarh.

01:49:36:04 - 01:49:57:00
Unknown
Maybe a fellow member is in Delhi, Bombay, Hyderabad. And I should take the help if I'm able to take that help, then, right. The virtual incubation, any incubation can be managed. And after putting that effort, if I feel that there is no member to help there, that particular vocation does not have an incubation center. But he has approached you.

01:49:57:00 - 01:50:21:03
Unknown
Then you can, extend your help so that are optimizing your resources, your time, your effort, and, you're moving forward in providing a valuable service to the other right. What are some what are the right metrics for an incubation center to track? How can an incubation center measure the success? So what is the, definition of success?

01:50:21:05 - 01:50:39:17
Unknown
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. How do we measure it? First you define the success. Then we will discuss about measuring the, I'll tell you what is in my mind. Okay. In my mind is how many startups do I have? Every year I will incubate 100 startups. You know, it looks a great number, a story to tell and so on.

01:50:39:19 - 01:51:00:21
Unknown
How many startups will I fund? How many exits will I have? Right. How how what is the total funding that I have been able to generate? We are talking about success metrics or you are talking about outcome of your process. The outcome is the success. That's it. See, what are the questions that you have asked?

01:51:00:21 - 01:51:24:04
Unknown
You know how many, fundable startups, how many, startups have supported them? How should be an outcome of your process if your incubation process is been, proper, proper delayed, and these things will be taken care automatically? Right. No need to, right now, if I start working on the reverse. Right. This year I won five fundable startups.

01:51:24:04 - 01:51:42:13
Unknown
Yeah. Then it said and, pressure on me and my team that way. Now I'll say that, I want to raise one crore funding for five startups if I do not have, my incubator for incubator is that's are not at that particular readiness level, then I will go out to the external world. I will find someone and say that I will raise funding for you.

01:51:42:13 - 01:52:22:00
Unknown
Then I will put an incubator tag to, him. Yeah. Seal to him and do it. So according to me. Right. If your incubation process is been established and, you are very clear at what stage you are going to admit an incubator, and, how we are going to select your, startups and how we are going to, see, choose your, or evaluate your founding team of the startups they and how we are going to connect the startups with your services that you have with your equipments that you have invested with the manpower pool that you have.

01:52:22:04 - 01:52:50:23
Unknown
So if you are able to feed your startups with the resources that you have developed, and then this, goes as a process and all the other things can be met automatically without any efforts. This is my experience. Okay. A few of our startups, even, three, four months before one of our startup, have been acquired by an ad for, 61 crores, about 70% of the whole stake has been.

01:52:50:23 - 01:53:14:04
Unknown
That could be made, right? They have gone this process once we in the ecosystem, we had a lot of events, programs related to investment and things like that. The entrepreneur gets engaged and he finds a way to, move forward. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So another company has raised, investment from an industry holes and, things. And so we have not put any,

01:53:14:06 - 01:53:35:14
Unknown
Oh, right. What to say that a target too much is a when when you are choosing a company, right. As an incubate. B with the proper, evaluation process, looking at their team, looking at that idea, matching with their, with the resources that you have in your incubation center. Yeah. And then what will happen, what will be an outcome?

01:53:35:14 - 01:53:54:07
Unknown
The product will come within three years or five years, whatever the timeline, your fixed rate, because they do the process. Once the product is out, then they know how to take it to the product because you have connects with the investors or the ecosystem and things like that, right? So that is the reason I am saying that if you have a process that has been laid down is proper, right?

01:53:54:09 - 01:54:14:11
Unknown
Whatever you are saying is that outcomes. Right. Of an incubation center, the outcomes of an incubation center has been defined as a success by other people under your incubation. Okay. And according to me, how will you measure the success of an incubation center. Right. I do not have any metrics. I have only two metrics.

01:54:14:11 - 01:54:43:01
Unknown
Okay. One, if I'm incubating, if a startup comes to me with some objective to achieve in next 2 or 3 years, and if my incubation center can provide that, service to achieve. And if he's able to achieve it. Right. And a successful incubate. Okay. That's one. If he comes with an objective to generate, employment for 100 people in next three years.

01:54:43:03 - 01:55:01:14
Unknown
Right. And if I'm able to support and if he's able to achieve it, I'm happy about it. I have so success of my, means that not the success. That means that the achievement of my, event is when he comes to me and when he declares that, I want this particular support to achieve this.

01:55:01:16 - 01:55:23:12
Unknown
Right. He has the numbers. I don't have a metrics Khatib as a metrics. And if I'm able to contribute to his metrics then I need like you said to the to that's what one is objective. One is whether I'm able to meet his objectives. If I'm able to confident of meeting his objectives then I will admit him.

01:55:23:14 - 01:55:45:17
Unknown
One then there is some metrics, his metrics. Right. The second one is the objectives are right. I have been telling in the beginning. Right. Any quant qualitative statement has to be quite quantitative. Now I admitted it. The second one is he has his own metrics. I am not fixing you the metrics. That is an objective. He needs an objective to give an employment for 100.

01:55:45:19 - 01:56:08:07
Unknown
I am not putting pressure on him to think about giving employment for 500 today. The second one is what is this number? And if I am able to contribute to his number, no connecting with people. Are they connecting with the investors? If he wants to raise funds, I want to connect with the right investors network put to him fixing my appointments and things like that, if I'm able to contribute towards achieving his goal.

01:56:08:09 - 01:56:47:24
Unknown
Yeah. And if he is able to achieve that goal, then it's my success. Great. So, yeah, I think, so let me bring this conversation to a conclusion towards the conclusion. I do have many questions, but also, this will become too long a conversation already has. So in the, six, seven years as the president for this bar, what what are, you know, top 1 or 2, achievements that you are proud of, the changes that you were able to bring about in the ecosystem, or one is, we had reached out to the various stakeholders of the, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

01:56:48:01 - 01:57:13:10
Unknown
Okay. Because it was a booming period, as you mentioned, many government agencies were funding incubation centers, establishing incubation centers. So we had been able to reach out to various funding, sorry, various government agencies saying that as an association, we are there to, to contribute to the ecosystem. Yeah, right. Because it's been for the members.

01:57:13:12 - 01:57:33:07
Unknown
But I by the members to the members. Right. Absolutely. So that gave the conference that it okay. There is an association called this bar which contributes. Yeah. Here's the second thing is we started working with the state governments also. Okay. It was like that. We I've been working with various state governments. We have been more used with state governments implementing programs, projects and things.

01:57:33:10 - 01:57:57:12
Unknown
But we are able to reach out, the central and the state governments. The second thing, third thing is, as I mentioned, the number base got increased to date means that the members had confidence. And the association means that we try to bring in some value through workshops, conferences, events, programs, online programs, and things like that.

01:57:57:14 - 01:58:19:08
Unknown
That's a continuous effort that we have put. We have done manager training program for the second learning people, a date we have recently, Association Asylum is the CEO connect, right, where the CEO has come together and discussed about the challenges and what is to be represented to government. Then what next for the incubation moment? Right. Things like that.

01:58:19:10 - 01:58:50:19
Unknown
And so, the, the stakeholders have built some conference on the so in the education. Okay. And the new team has to about taking it forward. They have now having rounds and rounds of discussions with the, stakeholders, especially with the government and, and hope will be moving to the, next level. Well, even before my tenure to be the past presidents have contributed a lot for the incubation movement.

01:58:50:19 - 01:59:35:10
Unknown
When the government the numbers were not critical. I thank my predecessors because, they got exempted, they received the exemption from the erstwhile the service tax regime as well as GST for the incubation centers. They have included, incubation centers, and positions for contributions and things like that. And these incubators which have been registered as societies, have the, they have brought in an amendment, in the income tax that incubators registered as a society can, to invest in, in, in on the startups until capability, obviously.

01:59:35:12 - 01:59:56:10
Unknown
So I have to thank my predecessors who have been there as the president of the association has contributed. And, during my period, that is where we have faced some challenges of Covid, for two, three years. And then, but at the same time, the ecosystem had a booster. All the agencies and programs are scattered. Several government agencies came actually for India.

01:59:56:11 - 02:00:27:17
Unknown
And so we played an important role in continuously doing capacity building for the yeah, maybe during Covid time, all the initiatives that on this empty government DST were done were anchored by or. Yes. But for Covid for example this and and Kabak something is being done. So so that is what the, the the activity that we have done and now the new generation of, incubation centers, CEOs have taken the leadership.

02:00:27:22 - 02:00:49:03
Unknown
Yeah. And, we will see, what is what is your unfinished agenda that you want them to they put, they have completed that may only one more unfinished agenda was, I was dreaming of having a CEO connect. Okay. The CEO country. Okay. Right. Which, due to some reasons I couldn't complete before March 31st. Okay.

02:00:49:03 - 02:01:22:01
Unknown
But thanks to the, new team that has taken over the, fulfill my dream of being a CEO, conclave advisor, and about 65, 70 CEOs across the country came together. And, we organized in that in the month of June, I Vizag and, so now, now it's my, our role to, contribute back to the association in various capacities whenever they need some inputs, whenever they need some suggestions.

02:01:22:03 - 02:01:42:24
Unknown
We are there to support them. Okay. Is there one big policy change that you want to see? We are dreaming now. We wish things. And the very there are many policy changes which we have given it as a memorandum to the because it is not all about 1 or 2. Right. Policy is a policy, whether it is a small or big.

02:01:43:01 - 02:02:10:11
Unknown
So always we keep on pushing some, memorandum, to the government, and to not only to the government, but to the, even the, the carpets and utilizing the CSR funds, sanctioning this yourself and considering the training centers and things like that. Okay. So this team has now formed a working group or a, or a or what to say that it's a working group on policies.

02:02:10:11 - 02:02:41:07
Unknown
Deliberations are being employed. Okay. And now they start that, giving, concept notes on funding on them on, on seed funds and on, reckoning funds. And they are, how to handle that, which we discussed. Right. So that's all been presented to the various funding agencies. Okay. Great. Thank you so much for sharing all the, you know, ideas and answering these questions.

02:02:41:09 - 02:03:13:01
Unknown
To end this discussion, I would like you to give some messages to the student, entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders. What would be your message to the student entrepreneurs I see? I'm not that person to give messages, right? And, people are contributing for the, ecosystem. Right. And, the contribution from various stakeholders, year on year, it's increasing day by day, it's increasing.

02:03:13:03 - 02:03:42:17
Unknown
And, and we should be incubation centers should, reach out to those, stakeholders. Because when we started, our journey, we had the relationship between, or the government of the academia. But today, as an incubation center, we are handling with many stakeholders, we are handling with government, we are handling with, corporates, you are handling with governments been central state and corporates.

02:03:42:19 - 02:04:07:03
Unknown
Then we are handling with service providers. Right then we are handling with immense market rate, which are coming with a lot of challenges which we can reach out to the various stakeholders. Yeah. So when we started, we had only one word entrepreneurs. Right. Today, the entrepreneurs category has been classified into various subcategories, as you rightly mentioned, it has become niche.

02:04:07:05 - 02:04:46:11
Unknown
But some of the entrepreneurs incubation centers are working even for assistive technologies, social innovation and medtech or biotech climate change. So we are going deeper. I mean, we are going deeper and deeper. Right. We should have a strong mental pool and this strong mental pool should come from all the stakeholders. So association should work as much, should work on creating a strong mental pool because when you start working with these technological areas, not all cities will have this kind of, make those, our experts.

02:04:46:13 - 02:05:14:08
Unknown
So I only collectively we can, contribute to the ecosystem. So I believe that, association is by has a major role to play in bringing the mental pool so that even the incubation centers at Pi 2 to 3 will constantly will start incubating deep tech. Yeah. Start, looking at, startups and various technology ideas because they should have the confidence that I if I need an expert, if I need a mentor, I can reach out to the association.

02:05:14:08 - 02:05:39:18
Unknown
They can, give access, anywhere across the country. And the mentors will also should come forward to support incubators at, all parts of the country. Yeah. So, there is a rising trend, but, as an association, we should, raise up to the trend and we should have the mentor pool. That should be the the next goal, where as a member, all of them will benefit out of a boat.

02:05:39:20 - 02:05:59:22
Unknown
Great. So, I had I wanted to give you more messages, but you said I'm not giving messages. There are enough messages left. Message? I'm still a practicing, CEO. Yeah. Every day I also face some challenges. Right. So I need solutions for the challenges that I'm facing on day to day. But having said that, the past president and other things.

02:05:59:22 - 02:08:03:12
Unknown
But my, day to day activities, the, director of PSG stuff, executive director of PSG, said, supporting startup.

02:08:03:14 - 02:08:28:17
Unknown
You build their incubation ecosystem that I be my it's a great story, you know, that we have learned it's not a story. It's a journey of yours. Right? All these things has given us the confidence that, yes, we can go back to climate and, contribute. And, it's a great opportunity for me to recollect my memories, my experiences for whatever of, we have gained over the last two and half decades.

02:08:28:22 - 02:08:48:23
Unknown
Yeah. And I'm able to share it with you during this conversation. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. So as I mentioned earlier this year, by from me to you. So thank you so much. One one more thing I have to ask you. So how was it experience in this conversation? That's what I told you know, you may need to think, right.

02:08:49:00 - 02:09:12:21
Unknown
For what, 25 years of our experiences? Yeah. And you made me to, or take a few pointers out of it, you know, which might be helpful for the startups or the budding entrepreneurs or the incubation centers, who have been operational or who are going to be operational. Right. So, we have made me to take, cues out of our own experiences.

02:09:12:23 - 02:09:32:20
Unknown
And by sharing to the community, I hope it will be benefiting, to the, ecosystem. Yeah. Please also give a message for guests this initiative. I've shared some information with you. What we are trying to do. Yes, yes, I have given you a task. Even though it was a part of the conversation, I will not forget that you have taken a survey about student status.

02:09:32:20 - 02:09:53:20
Unknown
But I want to have an outcome of what happened to the student students after they graduated two, three years and things like that. If it is, the numbers are same, then it will be, reflecting that will give a confidence, thing, but keep continuing it. I know that, these initiatives done in the initiatives are not that easy to, who will execute executed.

02:09:53:22 - 02:10:17:07
Unknown
You need resources. You need manpower where you need, credible partners. And I think, from when compared to last year and to this year, you are able to mobilize that. But, that's still a long way to go. And this initiative should not be a 1 or 2 year initiative, at least it should be for 5 to 10 years of initiative and guessing the according to me, it should not be an initiative.

02:10:17:07 - 02:10:23:14
Unknown
It should, emerge into a moment. That's what I want to say. Thank you so much. All the best to you. Thank you.