I-Venture at Indian School of Business Helps Turn Startup Ideas Into Profitable Ventures

I-Venture @ ISB is devoted to supporting entrepreneurs to grow their startups rapidly by providing them with access to the market and financial help. Learn more about the various programmes they offer.

By Pranita Bhat

February 21, 2023

This article has been published in partnership with I-Venture @ ISB.

“Start up, speed up, scale up” — This is the mantra of I-Venture @ ISB, which “fosters entrepreneurship and nurtures startups”.

Its numerous initiatives provide startups with the resources and support they need to transform into profitable ventures. It helps entrepreneurs to grow their businesses by giving them access to the market, mentors and finances.

“We have very specific programmes that will cater to entrepreneurs and ventures of all stages. I-Venture @ ISB is constantly working towards creating a strong ecosystem of mentors, VCs and academicians to ensure startups’ reach to market and their growth,” says the team on their website.

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Handholding entrepreneurs on their scale-up journey

I-Venture @ ISB focuses on domain-specific initiatives, where renowned mentors and investors offer their expertise and years of experience to startups.

As an outcome of this initiative, it recently started a programme called I-Heal @ ISB under the healthcare domain. The onboarding process has already begun for many healthcare startups, the brand informs. Furthermore, the groundwork to support edu-tech startups is also underway as part of their EduRise programme.

“I-Venture @ ISB is already interacting with startups, investors, and different ecosystem enablers to bring everyone onto a platform that will assure better interaction and deeper engagement,” says the brand.

They have also recently launched the second cohort of their flagship initiative, I-WIN 2.0 (Women of Innovation), which brings women entrepreneurs to the fore. The last cohort I-WIN 1.0, which was conducted over a span of six months, supported 16 women-founded/co-founded ventures. On 24 September 2022, they organized a Demo day to mark its completion.

Selected founders of I-WIN by ISB. — I-WIN 2.0, Women of Innovation supports women entrepreneurs on their scale-up journey.

“I-WIN is propelling women-founded/co-founded startups in their scaling-up journey by hand-holding them in every possible way. Of the 16 selected founders, 13 pitched their ventures to investors followed by a series of discussions, deal negotiations, and investments. Currently, three startups are in the final stages of closing their deals,” the incubator informs.

Prof Bhagwan Chowdhry, faculty director, I-Venture @ ISB says, “It’s vital that innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups become part of the narrative in India and be seen as career options for the youth. We expect a maximum number of people to take advantage of and apply for the programs at I-Venture @ ISB, where we are turbocharging the entrepreneurial spirit of the country.”

Yet another pioneering initiative by the brand is the Blockchain Impact Lab — a dedicated space in the ISB campus at Hyderabad, exclusively for startups working on Web3 technologies. Through the Impact Lab, I-Venture @ ISB aims to create a support system and peer learning platform that the founders can benefit from.

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Marching ahead with a robust ecosystem

In addition to programmes that support and incubate, I-Venture @ ISB also hosts events that contribute to building a better startup ecosystem in the country.

Their I-Speak @ ISB is a platform where startups can interact with successful entrepreneurs, understand their journeys and learn from their experiences. Whereas, I-Connect @ ISB allows for the community to get together and network, encouraging the exchange of knowledge and experience through peer learning.

Also, I-Hustle @ ISB provides startups with a platform to interact with investors and I-Mentor @ ISB facilitates interactions with various domain experts.

To date, 250+ startups were incubated and 50+ women-led startups were supported by I-Venture @ ISB. They claim, “Under various schemes, we provided financial assistance to 28 startups and over 100 startups have raised a follow-on round of funding. Portfolio startups collectively raised more than Rs 2,200 crore. Also, 178 mentors and domain experts were onboarded from various industries, and over 500 investors and industry connections were achieved.”

I-Venture @ ISB is now expanding its presence beyond the parent campuses at Hyderabad and Mohali and says that “it is now poised to take charge of the entire startup ecosystem in India”. You can find more details here.

(Edited by Divya Sethu; All images courtesy: I-Venture @ ISB)

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