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
The workshop enabled the students get rid of pre-conceived notions about entrepreneurship
and make an informed decision of opting for entrepreneurship. For further details about the
workshop, please refer to http://sites.google.com/site/iimkstartupfair/lem-workshop.
This is what some of the participants had to say:-
“I have a strong emotional bond with IIMK as LEM (Laboratory in Entrepreneurial Motivation) was
the first class that was held on the new ‘K’ampus. The scenic beauty of the ‘K’ampus makes me
nostalgic and reminds me of the past interactions I had with students and faculty. Entrepreneurship
Cell (E-Cell) has always been active in encouraging entrepreneurship and Start-up Fair is a brilliant
concept as it provides a platform for budding entrepreneurs to check out the working of a real
business that can’t be taught in class. But it shouldn’t stop here and E-Cell should explore many other
avenues like involvement of faculty/industry experts in mentoring students. I would try to provide
help/support & guidance for the same or any other activity that would encourage entrepreneurship.” –
Sunil Handa (Faculty, IIMA & Founder, Eklavya Foundation).
“I interact with lots of people on daily basis – some of them are business tycoons & some job aspirants.
One has to have a different way of dealing with candidates outside campus. But while interacting with
students of IIMK, I could recollect my past, my student days. One thing I observed, irrespective of the
quality of the business school, is that there is some fear mixed with excitement when students face any
sort of interview. But I found IIMK students more confident with a broader vision to perceive things.
The whole process of interview was very well planned and coordinated. I wish you guys (IIMK
Students) a great career path ahead” – Gaurav Mittal (ITCONS e-solutions Pvt. Ltd.)
“In the last few years I have noticed gradual but important changes in the Indian psyche. First, there is
an increasing inclination towards entrepreneurship and second students are coming to B-Schools for
the right reasons with the right frame of mind. Both these trends would lead to a healthy business-
education environment. IIMK’s initiative of the Start-up Fair is indeed timely for companies like
Beacon which are looking for ‘high quality’ employees & trainees to scale up its operations. In return,
for students inclined towards entrepreneurship, companies like ours provide an unparalleled
experience. Overall IIMK handled this new initiative smoothly and were accommodating in terms of
modalities of the interactions like interviews on telephone which saved a lot of precious time on travel,
etc.” – Mayank Premi, Beacon Advisory Services
“After attending Prof. Handa’s LEM Workshop, my whole perspective towards entrepreneurship and
things in general has changed. I realized that I have all the things necessary to be a successful
entrepreneur and have decided to start my own venture soon after graduating from IIMK. I am looking
forward to utilize the resources provided by our Entrepreneurship Cell and interact with professors &
alumni to build upon my idea.” – Shashank Jaiswal (First Year Student, IIMK)
“Start-up Fair provided an opportunity to interact with existing entrepreneurs and understand their
business models. Their field of work also signified the upcoming markets and the existing demand".
I doing my majors in Marketing, was interested in the way the participating companies exploited
internet as a medium for communication and marketing. I could see the text book (theoretical)
fundamentals in practice which along with LEM Workshop helped in getting rid of the myths and other
pre-conceived notions.” – Viral Shah (Second Year Student, IIMK
“Start-up Fair provided an opportunity to interact with existing entrepreneurs and understand their
business models. Their field of work also signified the upcoming markets and the existing demand".
I doing my majors in Marketing, was interested in the way the participating companies exploited
internet as a medium for communication and marketing. I could see the text book (theoretical)
fundamentals in practice which along with LEM Workshop helped in getting rid of the myths and other
pre-conceived notions.” – Viral Shah (Second Year Student, IIMK
"Start-up fair is a metamorphosis for IIMK, as the institute becomes one of the few who nurture
entrepreneurship not through lip-service but through practice. The Entrepreneurship Cell at IIMK
delivered a double whammy by inviting Prof. Handa, a true champion of entrepreneurship, while the
Start-up fair was going on. Both experiences gave tremendous insight into the process of creation of an
enterprise and encouraged a reluctant bunch to dive in this ocean of value creation.” – Pranav
Awasthi (First Year Student, IIMK)
Our partners who provided support and guidance for the event were yourstory.in,
ManagementParadise.com, PICSQUARE, nLeague,
pluggd.in and learn2consult.com
For more information, please contact Neel Shah (+919388132252 | ecell@iimk.ac.in) or visit
http://sites.google.com/site/iimkstartupfair
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