Entrepreneurial Society - Business plan discussion
In the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is facing a humanitarian crisis of massive proportions. This is the moment when we all must come together. Ideate, the CMS Gomti Nagar Campus I Entrepreneurial Society was formed with the idea of giving the youngentrepreneurs a platform to display their innovative ideas. Seeing theworldwide plight, it was decided to organize a competition where students couldintroduce their plans for a business in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, and how it would benefit the common masses.
The Final Round of Pitch Palette began on 10 am, May 31st, 2020. Kruiti Rai welcomed all the eminent guests attending the event. She introduced the judges for the event - Mr Shirish Bhatnagar, lead Business Systems Analyst in Samaritan Health, Oregon; Mr Somil Gupta, assistant manager, GENPACT, and Mr Vijay Raj Srivastava, Asst. Professor dept. of BBA(IB), Center for Management and Foreign Language, Sri JNPG College, Lucknow.
She then gave a brief idea of the competition’s preliminary round, where the participants’ proposals were rated out of 10 by each of the Founders, to give a total score out of 30. Subsequently, a set of Rules and Regulations (decided upon by the Board of Founders) were read out. Participants were requested to strictly adhere to them. The first team was that of Saarth Shah and Ribhav Sahu. They began by saying that during these unprecedented times, to all eviate the adverse impact of this situation on the people, the government has announced several welfare schemes. But the problem is that the people for whom these schemes are being made do not have complete knowledge about them; they know nothing about which schemes will benefit them nor do they know whom to contact for details. Through their proposed application, they provided a solution. By ensuring a comprehensive inclusion of all government schemes for individual benefits, this application will hold the users in good stead even after the pandemic is over.
Sir Shirish asked about their stream of income, and the return on investments. Ribhav replied that since it is for social welfare, NGOs and other sources can provide the funding. Later, they would charge 50p for each phone call for monetizing their app. The next question was how under privileged people would operate the application. Saarth said that they aimed to make the UI as simple as possible, also available invernacular languages.
The second participant was Mitul Sharma with his startup - Cook, Donate and Sell which is a platform for donation of food to those in need of it and as well as for the purchase and delivery of Home-made hygienic food according to the FSSAI guidelines. It connects the people who can cook and the people who can't, like bachelors and those at the frontline in the battle against the Pandemic. The business would be based on a website. Keeping in mind the current situation, they would only allow online payment for the Food. Their delivery partner would be Swiggy Genie which would pick up food from the seller and deliver it to the buyer. Their business will be financed through government programs that offer start-up Capital like Prime Minister's "MUDRA" program.
Ma’am Sushmita Basu enquired about what would happen if the donated food was not up to the standard. Mitul replied that it was mainly for poor people. There would be two aspects to the app-donation to the needy and selling to everyone to get profits. Sir Shirish asked about the supply chain. Mitul described it in detail where the food would be prepared according to strict guidelines.
The third team was that of Ananya Subodh Jain and Shangana Yadav, with their mental health app - Ecstasy. It provides users with a comprehensible status regarding your mental health with just a few simple questions. Methods were given to cope-up with mental illnesses, stabilize the users’ thinking process and make healthy minds even better, by providing users certain alternatives with which they could fruitfully utilizetheir time in this COVID-19 situation. The alternatives provided would not only help them indulge in areas of their interests but also supply them with adetailed report on how a certain task can be accomplished with ease, andavailable near-by resources.
Eventually, they planned to monetize it by charging a nominal membership amount from the users post a month of free-usage. Sir Somil expressed doubt that the samplesize was very low. Ananya replied there are suggested activities on app which can be financially beneficial.
The fourth participant was Anujesh Anshwith his idea - Groce-Up. He began by mentioning that one of the most needed start-ups today is selling grocery online and delivering parcels within the city. His business aimed to lift the local retailers, curb unemployment, and ensure fast delivery of parcels. The small retailers would be their target suppliers. They would collect the grocery items and the parcels as ordered through the website/mobile app and the managers would properly sanitize it and seal it, taking appropriate cleanliness measures. They would have a unique delivery mechanism, using the E - rickshaws.
Sir Shirish asked him how he planned to prevent other market contenders from taking over his customer base. Anujesh replied that they would continually aim to make their services better. In the judges’ addresses, Mr Shirish began by appreciating the great deal of research and efforts put in by everyone. Heemphasized the need to make all business ventures revenue-based. Mr Vijay Srivastava expressed his wish to see other schools in the competition, in apossible inter-school event. He also said that the participants’ way of presenting was indeed commendable. Mr Somil advised that finishing touches were still required since the apps were not yet market-ready. He wished all the participants all the best for future.
The Keynote Speaker for the event, Prof. A K Sen gupta was introduced. He is the former member of the Planning Commission of Uttar Pradesh. He is a senior research fellow at CSR, New Delhi. He is also a former professor V.C. as well as former Acting V.C. at the Lucknow University. He began his speech on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Indian economy. Firstly, he mentioned the economicmerits and demerits of the pandemic. The positives included enhancement of domestic goods leading to domestic employment opportunities, bumper production of rabi crops, increased possibility of earning foreign exchange and controlling import content of inflation. India can also assume the role of a world business leader.
The negatives were that the GDP growth rateis likely to decline by 1-1.5% by 2021, decreased size of the economy from 3 trillion dollars to 2 trillion dollars, 200 million people below the povertyline and widening income inequality.
He also informed the gathering of the Governmental measures and RBI monetary policy to combat these adversities. The government would
Provide enough money to the poor forhealthcare management.
Protect the economy from financial bankruptcy.
Support the poor and vulnerable who need food and financial support.
Our Founder-Manager, Dr Jagdish Gandhi mentioned how it was a revolutionary idea that led to the formation of the European Union, and the European Court of Human Rights and Justice. He stressedon the importance of entrepreneurs providing jobs to the common masses.
Anjali Tiwari gave the vote of thanks by thanking the judges, the attendees, the Board of Founders, the audience and the participants for making the event a success.