IIMV-FIELD hosted the WSP Graduation Day
The Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam (IIMV) hosted the Women Startup Program (WSP) Graduation Day at the IIMV campus on Saturday. Addressing the gathering, the chief guest for the event, Neha Mishra, CEO of the Fin Lit Project and an alumnus of IIT Madras, quoted Oscar Wilde to say, ‘Success doesn’t rush, the greatest reward is the journey.’ Sharing one of the important learnings from her entrepreneurial journey, she said 99% is execution and 1% is the idea. She also observed that the best investment one can make is in the people around oneself and everything will fall in place with the right amount of hard work and perseverance throughout the journey.
The Program Director Prof. Mohammed Shameem Jawed congratulated the graduating entrepreneurs and highlighted they are a special cohort that achieved even more milestones of success than their predecessors, despite the challenges of the pandemic. He also spoke about the key partnerships and collaborations of IIMV FIELD – AWS/Azure credits, access to platforms such as RazorPay and Kotak Mahindra banking solutions for startups, and platforms for funding support such as YONOS, FundEnable, and Arthayan. There were around 20 startups which graduated from this cohort.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. M. Chandrasekhar, Director IIMV, emphasized the importance of 3 ‘P’s – Patience, Passion, and Perseverance in an entrepreneurial journey. He also spoke about the recent achievements of IIMV-FIELD and funding support from organizations such as MTAR Technologies Ltd. Hyderabad, a high-tech precision engineering company, serving core sectors such as nuclear, space and defence. He also highlighted the host of new initiatives which IIMV FIELD launched this year such as the NIDHI (National Initiative for Development & Harnessing of Innovations) Accelerator program of the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India for supporting women-led ventures, and the Vidhyarthi 2 Vyavasayee program for Andhra Pradesh students from engineering and science institutions, in collaboration with S2Tech Pvt. Ltd (a Silicon Valley based tech fund).
Some of the women entrepreneurs of the WSP also shared their experiences. Ms. Harshita Lalchand, founder of All is Well said “Hard work, patience, and belief are what helped me throughout my entrepreneurial journey. Also, to add on it is the right guidance and mentorship from IIMV-FIELD that has enabled my vision to transform into a reality.”
Ms. Shruthi Ajmera Reddy, founder of Hapup shared, “Sincerity and the support from all the IIMV-FIELD mentors have enabled me to cross all the hurdles and go ahead in my entrepreneurial journey.”
Ms. Aruna Gali, founder of School Radio, spoke about her key learnings and how she overcame her obstacles in her entrepreneurial journey.
Ms. Aparna, founder of Vidh-Ya said, “Every beginning has an end, and hence our journey begins today.” She also emphasized the importance of having a visionary mind, determination, and self-belief in the entrepreneurial journey.
The faculty cohort of IIMV was present. The IIMV FIELD team comprising P B Srinivas, an alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Calcutta; D Harsha Vikas, an alumnus of NIT Warangal and IIM Bangalore; Sravya Vasireddy and Durga Devi Kona cheered the graduating entrepreneurs.
The IIMV Foundation for Incubation, Entrepreneurial Learning and Development (IIMV FIELD) is one of the fastest growing incubators in India with 7 flagship programs. Out of the 60 ventures which it has incubated, 46 are led by women entrepreneurs.
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