- They said that this partnership will facilitate the journey for exceptional and talented individuals who aspire to start tech ventures
- Entrepreneur First will support the process of finding a co-founder at the very early stage of a startup and close mentorship on the idea and business model, and pre-seed investment
Entrepreneur First (EF) and Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science and Technology (F.I.R.S.T.), a section 8 company promoted by Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) have joined hands to build a support ecosystem for aspiring tech entrepreneurs. They said that this partnership will facilitate the journey for exceptional and talented individuals who aspire to start tech ventures.
EF will support with the process of finding a co-founder at the very early stage of a startup and close mentorship on the idea and business model, and pre-seed investment. The startups formed will have an opportunity to access IITK business incubator. This will help to build a network of expert advisors, access to prototyping facilities, and grants. It also said that the partnership will help expose technical graduates and researchers from IITK and affiliated institutions to the potential impact they can create through entrepreneurship.
Co-founder, ideation, mentorship, and financial support
Esha Tiwary, general manager of Entrepreneur First India said, “This partnership is an important step toward strengthening the early-stage tech ecosystem in India. These are challenging times, but EF and IITK will work together to support early-stage entrepreneurs. EF addresses many of the barriers that aspiring founders face – including finding a co-founder, ideation, mentorship, and financial support. Combining this with the access to expertise, lab facilities and network of IITK will become a powerful resource for ambitious individuals to create and accelerate tech startups.”
The two of them said that the startups that come out of EF will have access to mentors from IIT Kanpur. The relevant ones can also get fast-tracked to the IITK incubator with all its lab and technical support facilities. The two will also engage with potential founders through webinars, interactive discussions, and online mentorship for students, researchers, and alumni of IITK and affiliated institutions
Bright technical talent find the right business experts
Professor Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, faculty head of IITK Incubator, “We are delighted about the partnership with Entrepreneur First. It will be a win-win situation for industry and academia. EF will help our bright technical talent find the right business experts as co-founders and build ambitious businesses, which we can then support further through our incubator. In the current times, the brightest minds need to be working on new innovative solutions to global problems.” He further added, “The innovation ecosystem of FIRST/IIT Kanpur is apparent from the fact that in the past two months alone, IIT Kanpur’s incubated companies have commercialized three products aimed at fighting different aspects of the COVID-19 crisis. The collaboration with EF will further enhance this ecosystem.”
