24/10/2023
"Connecting the dots started with a valuable learning experience. I didn't get a chance to watch the podcast after the program, which was wonderfully made with Mr. Lalit Singh, a young entrepreneur and Director at Nexop - Digital Marketing Agency.
Following observations have led to an understanding of where the startup ecosystem stands today. I can connect the dots as follows:
Ground Phase 0: The initial experiences of starting up from 2012 to 2015 included highs and lows, an unorganized sector, and traditional modes of business, which were the expectations from businessmen and entrepreneurs.
Phase 1: The Startupassam Platform was launched in January 2015 - a platform for all startups and entrepreneurs of Guwahati to connect and collaborate.
Phase 2: From 2015 to 2018, 30 programs were organized month by month with Startup Saturday Guwahati Talks.
Phase 3: The Industry Academia Connect included the Assam Hackathon in 2018 and the Northeast Hackathon in 2019.
Phase 4: In January 2019, the Government of Assam, in collaboration with IIM Kolkata, launched Assam Startup.
NRL also launched NRL Ideation and NEDFI Venture Funds were also granted .
Phase 5: In 2021, Assam Startup Cohorts 1 to 4 gained access to grants and NEDFI Venture Funds. Incubation centers and awareness were also developed to create the ecosystem in Meghalaya, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Phase 6: In 2022, Assam Startup ran incubation programs and mentoring sessions. However, no Angel Investment network was formed. As a result, some startups that received seed funding could not be scaled, and some even failed. Seed Funding to startups have not happened since 2022 to 2023 and count is minimal .
Phase 7 : Startup Assam and Redlemon Technologies Pvt. Ltd organized the Northeast Startup Festival 2022, a year-long event featuring the Northeast Hackathon, South East Asian Connect, and the Northeast Startup Festival, creating mass awareness among the startup ecosystem across all campus startups and entrepreneurs in Northeast India.
Startupassam and Northeaststartupfestival, supported by some entrepreneurs from Northeast India, are still running with minimal support from different stakeholders. Despite this, we have been excelling day by day due to their energy in understanding the dynamics of startups. The website, www.northeasthackathon.com
, speaks for itself, having mentored startups and campus startups from colleges and universities across the region for the past five years. The SEA Hackathon and Global Startup Summit is also planned in Singapore .
However, I have observed that in the ecosystem, some individuals are trying to undermine it by involving inexperienced people in the startup ecosystem and assigning tasks to consulting firms that have not made significant efforts in the past. There is a need to engage the Startups and entreprenuers who have already experience in managing upcoming businesses . Therefore, as a local team in the Northeast startup ecosystem, we are launching a Startup Podcast and inviting stakeholders for frank discussions on how they intend to contribute to the startup ecosystem."
Thanks and Regards
Pankaj Gogoi
President , StartupAssam
Director , Redlemon Technologies Pvt. Ltd
099545 40493
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnYDjAfwFbE
Discussion on Various aspects of Startup Ecosystem, Hackathon, Startup Assam, Bamboo Industry, Trends and Scope With Mr Pankaj Gogoi ...
