[kartik]

PRESS RELEASE

Start-up Fair

IIMK’s first ever “Start-up Fair” was held at its scenic campus on 4th and 5th of October, 2008.
Keeping in mind the interest of students of current batches in entrepreneurship, the event was
organized by the Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) of IIM Kozhikode. The event saw participation
from 200+ existing & past students of IIMK, 20+ new/young companies from all across India,
faculty, etc. The primary focus of the two-day event was to provide a platform for existing and
budding entrepreneurs to interact and share ideas. Many aspiring entrepreneurs from the final year (PGP11) batch of IIMK interacted with participating firms to understand the business model
proposed, the nitty-gritty and intricacies involved, the challenges faced and the firms’ working and
proposed solutions. Many start-ups agreed to outsource part of their work/business function to
these interested students as “live projects” and get guidance/consultation to make their business
more profitable.

Enthusiastic students from the first year (PGP12) explored opportunities of taking up summer
internships with these start-ups. The roles offered were in fields of Finance (Investment Banking,
Corporate Finance), Marketing (Sales, Branding, Strategic), Operations (Supply Chain, Logistics),
Systems/IT (Software Solutions for various industries), Strategy (Business Development, New Plant Setup, Consulting) and Human Resources (Recruitment, Training). Students had a plethora of options to choose from and make an informed decision. The field of work of start-ups varied from hi-tech products & services to intellectual property rights, investment banking to software
solutions, education to consulting, movie making to food & entertainment, merchandising to eco-
tourism. Please visit Participants (IIMK - startupfair) for list of
participating companies.

In parallel, E-Cell also organized LEM (Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Motivation) Workshop
conducted by Professor Sunil Handa (Alumni – IIMA & BITS, Pilani) to enable students dispel
myths and fears related to entrepreneurship. Prof Sunil Handa is an entrepreneur himself who is a
visiting faculty at IIMA. He has mentored many of the biggest entrepreneurs in India today
including Rashmi Bansal, Chetan Bhagat, Gaurav Dagaonkar, etc. As part of the workshop, Handa sir took sessions for both batches which covered topics like ‘Why Entrepreneurship?’, ‘What it takes in starting a venture’, ‘Overcoming fears and other barriers’, etc. He also had one-on-one interactive sessions with participating firms and budding entrepreneurs amongst existing & past students of Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode

IIMK Campus P.O., Kunnamangalam
Calicut-673570. Kerala. India
| Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode