Aarambh Ventures believes there are original thinkers and innovators in India, and our pursuit of innovation will not stop until we find them and help them grow into successful entrepreneurs.
CEO, Vivek Kaushik
Name of Accelerator: Aarambh Ventures
Location: Gurgaon, Haryana, INDIA
Website: www.aarambh.ventures
Chairman: Mr. Pramod Saxena
CEO: Mr. Vivek Kaushik
Web Technologist, Research Analyst: Mr. Ravneet Singh
This article is part of our Startup Accelerator Spotlight Series featuring accelerators from around the world. We hope these spotlights will assist the entrepreneur should they consider attending an accelerator program.
In two sentences or less, tell us about your accelerator and its objectives.
Aarambh Ventures is an innovation and design driven startup accelerator on a mission to generate a steady stream of venture fundable startups in India.
Why is your accelerator program unique? Please describe the benefits of participation in your program.
Pramod Saxena
Our 3 pillars- Design, Business Innovation, and Technology form the basis of all our decisions such as startup selection, defining designing & developing their products, go to market strategy, fund raising etc. We work with startups with an Innovator’s solution to a problem that can be capitalized by an entrepreneur to create an Economic Impact. Such solutions may include leveraging radical and affordable technologies, business innovation and design. Our partners, mentors, and funders’ network provide ideal environment to ideate, prototype, build, launch and grow ideas in these domains.
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What is the most difficult part of working with startups?
Execution is the key to success. It’s always challenging to bring startup entrepreneurs from their futuristic five-year grand vision plan to present day of execution. One has to keep constantly reminding them that there are various milestones in the journey to that grand vision. The journey starts from achieving the first milestone, and then let’s get into the execution mode.
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What do you enjoy the most; what do you find most appealing about working with entrepreneurial startups?
At Aarambh Ventures, we always say that we mentor entrepreneurs. But, on the other hand, it’s us who are actually learning from those entrepreneurs. Their persistence motivates us to reach out to more such entrepreneurs and help them realize their dreams.
Tell us about your success stories; which are the most interesting companies to have participated in your program?
Aarambh Ventures is nearly two years old, and in this short span of time we were able to successfully graduate two startups- kalaage.net and Hungry Foal. Kalaage is a social networking platform connecting writers with publications. Hungry Foal is in the child nutrition domain. They aim to curb childhood hunger and malnutrition through its healthy and nutritional snacks. There are two more startups, which are undergoing acceleration at Aarambh Ventures.
What are the three most important factors startup entrepreneurs should consider when contemplating attending an accelerator?
The three most important factors while selecting an accelerator are:
- Right Fit– Entrepreneurs should be very clear in terms of their expectations from the accelerator. Does the accelerator have the right set of mentors and/or focus which actually meets the expectations?
- Fee – Second most important is fee. How much does the accelerator charge as it’s fee (cash & equity) against the services offered.
- Network – Last but not least is the kind of network the accelerator brings onboard. Can that network be leveraged as a potential vendor/business partner/potential customer and so on?
Every startup and accelerator is different. One should take note of these three factors – expectations, fee and network and choose the accelerator which can address them.
What else would you like to share?
Revneet Singh
A startup idea is like a seed sown by an entrepreneur. It’s him who chooses the right soil (the right market) to sow that seed. It’s the water (his passion), the air (his commitment) and the light (his core team) which are a must to have in order to grow this seed into a big tree (into a big enterprise). Investment to a startup is what compost is to a plant. It is a good source of nutrients (money) and it builds soil structure (helps grow the startup in a market). However, too much compost without the proper ration of Nitrogen to Phosphorus (startup stages via seed series) can be a problem.
And that’s what we do at Aarambh. We help startups grow their seed to a plant and help them procure the compost in the right ratio and right quantity. We believe there are original thinkers and innovators in India and our pursuit of innovation will not stop until we find them, nurture them and grow them….
Interested in reading additional Startup Accelerator Spotlights?
Are you familiar with other accelerators you believe should be spotlighted? If so, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about them, sharing your comments below.
Pam Goforth
Pam Goforth is Research Manager for FundingSage, which provides valuable information, tools and resources to entrepreneurs seeking to start, grow and fund a business.
