After the successful completion of the first edition, the Launch-n-Zoom 2.0 cohort from IIM Udaipur is back to help startup entrepreneurs and founding teams to hone their skills and scale their ventures. The second edition of the accelerator programme focusses on creating a positive impact on the way startups roll out their products or services and build ventures. Through 12 weeks of learning, mentoring and networking, the startups are prepped for the demo day where they get an opportunity to pitch their ideas and models to investors, for potential funding.

Rajasthan has seen tremendous growth over the years in the context of its startup ecosystem— the state was named the best performer in the 2018 DIPT rankings. According to DataLabs by Inc42 the state was home to 1,200 startups and 51K entrepreneurs in 2018.

One of the major hubs in the state from the point of view of startups is the lake city of Udaipur. Thanks to the IIM-Udaipur incubator, startups in the city have gained major prominence in the state and in the Indian market. Since its inception in 2016, the incubator has offered courses, activities and events to promote an entrepreneurial culture and create a robust ecosystem for early-stage startups. 

One of the most significant efforts has been the Launch-n-Zoom initiative. The first cohort of the event was announced in 2018 and saw applications from over 275 startups. This year IIM-U incubator has come up with Launch-n-Zoom 2.0, to continue the work done in the first year and to support the new wave of startups.

The selected startups for the first edition of Launch-n-Zoom included names such as PiChain Innovations, Mati Amrit, Doodhbhandaar, Tempoo & Trucks and more. Apart from providing these startups with the right mentorship and support for their products or services, revenue growth, go-to-market strategy, three startups from the first cohort also received funding through the IIM Udaipur initiative.

In the first edition of Launch-n-Zoom, the cohort concentrated on building products, MVPs and prototypes for early-stage startups from all over India. The effort was to create a process for helping them build their offerings, do market-testing and thereby achieve customer-refined products. Additionally, continuing mentorship was provided to build the ventures including prototype allowances and possible funding-references.

Launch-n-Zoom says it’s looking to enable startups that have completed Proof-of-Concept (POC) of their products or platforms or just completed MVP, not just from the city or the state of Rajasthan, but all over India. It helps to build their entrepreneurial capacity, refining products (through technical inputs, customer feedback and market demands), refining their operations, rolling-out into the market and securing finance. These startup entrepreneurs receive mentorship to develop their products according to the market fit, get the right target audience and positioning for the product or service. Additionally, plan the operations and logistics, as well as manage finances, legal-agreements and compose and draft commercial agreements. In simple words, Launch-n-Zoom, 2.0 focusses on everything from market validation to launch.

Apart from lab sessions that help refine products, there are platforms with one-to-one sessions with technologists and specialists. Additionally, case-studies are planned to revolve around topics such as sustainable business development, services and product marketing, legal aspects of business, people management and more are important takeaways.

Joining the list of mentors this year are names such as Sovan Sunil Panda, CEO and cofounder, Mangosteen Holdings, Anjana Vivek, visiting faculty IIM Udaipur and startup mentor , Saurabh Kwatra, innovative designer and function cost analyst and Rishabh Verdia, business builder, investor and mentor and Yogesh Andlay business builder, investor and mentor, amongst others.

Focussing on startups that have completed POC of their products and service-delivery platforms, the second cohort will look at sustainable ventures that have created tech innovations to provide real solutions to the problems of today. Apart from the mentorship and guidance, startups get:

• Access to equipment and software for MVP development, prototyping
• Discovery of customers, price-points of products in the market, prototype refinement, assistance for the development of newer edition and market testing of products
• Coworking spaces with 24x7 internet connectivity
• Tailormade topics and knowledge resources
• Costs of prototyping and development will be borne by IIM-Udaipur incubation centre
• Access to Invention Studio to create and experiment
• Support from experts to build ventures
• Possible seed funding

Any startup that has completed its preliminary research and in the process of building MVPs and has started building a prototype or has completed the prototype can apply.

Post-closing its applications on November 30, the applicants will have mentoring to refine their ideas and re-submit their applications if any. The structure of the cohort is divided into three parts:

Phase 1

This phase focusses on sessions that help in building the startup founders’ capacity and hands-on product building

• Advanced product-building and refining
• Business and product/platform design workshops
• Marketing and Customer discovery modules 

Weekend Programme:

This is an online programme offering benefits and mentorship on topics such as:

• Intellectual property protection and management
• Social media marketing
• Proactive selling skills
• Building network effect

Phase 2

Final phase of the cohort deals with providing the finishing touches to the startups ahead of the demo day. 

• Finance and valuation 
• Roll out
• Demo day
• Seed Funding

With a focus on sectors such as smart technologies, AI/ML, AR/VR fintech, FMCG, healthtech, agritech, robotics, IoT, cleantech and more, Launch-n-Zoom 2.0 is a perfect opportunity for startups to get access to the right mentorship and guidance, and potential investors.

The biggest advantage is the potential for seed funding for the startup at the end of the cohort. Applications close on November 30.