Bangalore recently witnessed the grand finale of Conquest, BITS Pilani's prestigious startup accelerator, as it hosted Demo Day ‘24 at Four Seasons, last Sunday. This flagship event brought together over 300 attendees, including top investors, industry leaders, and emerging startups, all vying for equity-free grants totaling over INR 25 lakhs.
Demo Day, the pinnacle of Conquest’s accelerator program, offers startups a unique opportunity to present their innovations before a distinguished jury panel consisting of angel investors, venture capitalists, and industry veterans. The event also featured insightful panel discussions and keynote speeches by India’s leading entrepreneurs and investors.
The day began with an inaugural address by Prof. V Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani, followed by a speech from the Guest of Honour, Prof. Sudhirkumar V Barai, Director of BITS Pilani.
Next up, the first pitching slot of the day began, which was exclusive to startups from Conquest’s Sustainability Track—Breathe ESG, Purple Farms, Angirus IND and Deepfleet, competing for the Conquest Sustainability Track's equity-free grant.
The sustainability pitching slot was followed by the first panel discussion for Demo Day '24, titled “India’s Investment Landscape”, hosted by Aditi Shrivastava (founder, The Arc). The panel comprised Shuvi Shrivastava (Partner, Lightspeed India), Vishnu Acharya (Head of Corporate Strategy & M&A/Investments, Razorpay), Sarita Raichura (Director, Blume Ventures) and Kiran Vasireddy (Partner, Kalaari Capital). The panel discussion covered an array of topics including the trends in the Indian investment landscape over the years, choosing the right investor, stage to secure investment at and runway and financial planning for early-stage founders.
As Demo Day proceeded, founders from Conquest’s sector agnostic “Pan-India” track pitched their businesses one-by-one, battling for Conquest’s equity-free grant and seeking investment from the jury panel.,There was heavy engagement between founders and the jury, with the latter showing a lot of interest in understanding their businesses as well as offering feedback.
This was followed by pitches from the seven remaining pan-India startups, leading Demo Day closer to its conclusion, when the equity-free grant winners for Conquest '24 would be announced.
The second panel discussion was titled “Evolving Tapestry of India,” featured Srikanth Iyer (Co-Founder & CEO, HomeLane, and Venture Partner, Capria Ventures), Sharath Loganathan, and Amrendra Singh, moderated by Mohini Kumar (Senior Lead, WeWork Labs India). The panelists explored the evolving Indian market, emerging technologies, and the future landscape for startups.
As Demo Day approached its conclusion, Arvind Radhakrishnan, Head of WeWork Labs at WeWork India, delivered a keynote address. He highlighted the role of WeWork Labs in fostering innovation and community, providing startups with crucial resources and networking opportunities.
The final session featured a discussion between Varchas Subrahmanya (Director of Products, ADP & Startup Mentor, Nasscom) and Amit Kumar Gupta (Co-Founder, Nosh Cooking Robot). Amit, an alumnus of Conquest’s 2022 cohort, shared his journey and insights on the support Conquest provides to its startups. Varchas, a long-time mentor with Conquest, reflected on his experiences mentoring the accelerator’s participants.
The climax of Demo Day saw the announcement of the equity-free grant winners. Angirus IND, a sustainable construction materials startup, won the Sustainability Track grant for its innovative approach to repurposing waste in construction. Prodancy Pvt Ltd., which develops protective ergonomic healthcare products, was the winner of the Pan-India track. Qlan, a social discovery app for the gaming community, was named the runner-up.
The 20th edition of Conquest’s accelerator program concluded with a resounding success, boasting over 3000+ startup applications, 120+ mentorship hours, and $300K+ worth of resource credits. Demo Day ’24 not only showcased the incredible talent within India’s startup ecosystem but also reinforced Conquest’s role as a premier platform for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship.
