YourStory in an exclusive conversation with Girish Joshi, Head, Microsoft BizSpark in India.
Recognising the Most Promising Startups :
In the competitive technology space how do you differentiate yourself? Do you have what it takes to be recognized as the most promising technology company? Here is a great opportunity for your company to gain the visibility you would need to scale up your operations.
With internet penetration and mobile internet becoming popular, India is poised to be one of the biggest markets for product technology companies. This gives tremendous opportunities to tech entrepreneurs in India to come up innovative ideas suited to the Indian context. Ours is an initiative to recognize and reward the best in the technology startups. This platform provides an ecosystem for growth of product technology startups.
Microsoft BizSpark and YourStory have come together to provide innovative startups a platform to showcase their technology and business acumen. Technology entrepreneurs can feature in this program and successful companies will get the approval and exposure that they deserve. As part of this program a case study will be conducted on selected companies and a final showcase will take place in July. This is also a great way to get the stamp of recognition from Microsoft and is an excellent platform to reach out to investment agencies, venture capitalists, media and corporates.
For the Selected Startups
Every selected venture case study will also be reviewed by our panel of experts from Canaan Partners, Bharti Airtel Innovation Fund, Mumbai Angel Network, Ojas Venture Partners,Black Diamond PE Advisors, Khare Legal Chambers, Pears Capital, 02 Supply Venture Fund and Capital 18.
The showcased startups will be provided with strategic and marketing support, mentoring and funding opportunities. Recognition and visibility among potential customers/clients, investment community, media and partners is guaranteed. Check out the details of what the winners will get here.
Criteria for Selection
Product/IP startup (with defensible technologies) which are leveraging Microsoft technologies to create impact in the marketplace Viability of the startup (Market opportunity, Competition, etc.) The disruptive role the start up plays in the IT landscape, the unique value proposition Focus Areas - Software products, Mobile products, Cloud computing , Web 2.0