The Entrepreneurship & Incubation Cell

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell of H.R. College is a student body, certified by the Ministry of Education and Mahatma Gandhi Council of Rural Education, which aims to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship in the minds of young students and create a zeal amongst the students who wish to pursue entrepreneurship as a career.

Vision: To create an environment conducive to the growth and development of the entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow. The E-Cell strongly believes that with correct guidance and support even the smallest of ideas can grow and lead to successful entrepreneurial ventures. The E-Cell aims to promote holistic learning to pave the way for a self-sufficient ecosystem that encourages the growth of new and innovative ideas.

Objectives of the Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell:

  • To create a complete ecosystem that will foster the culture of self-employment and innovation while providing training to the students.
  • To provide a platform for budding entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas and connect them with potential investors to build a successful start-up.
  • To conduct relevant seminars, workshops, and lectures with Alumni and subject experts to acquaint the students with strategies, insights, and knowledge required to become successful entrepreneurs.
  • To provide ample mentorship opportunities for the budding entrepreneurs of college.

ACTIVITIES 2023-2024

JOBS VS STARTUPS - PANEL DISCUSSION

July 24, 2023         Attendees: 70

The Entrepreneurship & Incubation Cell and The Placement Cell of H.R. College came together to conduct the first event of the year 2023-24, a panel discussion on the topic “Jobs vs Startups - A Dilemma on Campus”. The speakers were alumni Mr. Divesh Bhatija and Mr. Viraj Singal.

Mr. Divesh Bhatija is Co-Founder of UnMath School Pvt. Ltd., an entrepreneur and math enthusiast with a passion for teaching. He has taken UnMath to international heights with schools not only across India, but in Sri Lanka, Nepal and UAE as well.

Mr. Viraj Singal is Founder of the Board of Industry Academia Partnerships, a youth organization working towards creating a common platform for industry and academia. When he was a student at H.R. College, he started The Placement Cell and is the Founding Chairperson of The Placement Cell of H.R. College.

Principal, Prof. Dr. Pooja Ramchandani felicitated our panel speakers with mementos and encouraged students. Vice Principal as well as faculty-in-charge, Dr. Navin Punjabi welcomed the speakers on the panel and also acted as the moderator for the event.

Dr Navin Punjabi asked questions to the speakers about themselves, their careers, and the journey of how they reached their achievements in life. This was followed by a Q&A session with the students themselves, where the students asked the speakers about their doubts on the subject. The session concluded with a formal vote of thanks.

WEBINAR TALK

August 27, 2023         Attendees: 45

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell of H.R. College organised a webinar for World Entrepreneurs Week with speaker Masumi Mewawalla, H.R. College alumnus who gave her inspiring talk on the topic “Exploring Entrepreneurship - Pathway to Success and Challenges faced along the Way”.

The talented Masumi Mewawalla started her journey as an entrepreneur at the age of 21 and is now an award-winning designer and the founder of the high-end bridal couture label “Masumi Mewawalla” and the D2C fast fashion brand “Emblaze”. From acting to wedding planning to catering to choreography, she has experienced numerous entrepreneurship excursions and thus was able to give valuable advice to the students. The event concluded with a formal vote of thanks.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101

September 2, 2023         Attendees – 50

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell in collaboration with the Sindhi Society of H.R. College organised a seminar on the topic “Entrepreneurship 101”.

The speaker at this seminar was Ms. Dhairya Gangwani, ECE Engineer turned Management Consultant, full time Career Coach and Content Creator. Ms. Gangwani has given more than 500 talks all across the world over the past two years and through her initiative on career development coaching: Dhairya Decodes, she has managed to impact over 5,000 working professionals as well as students for the better. Ms. Gangwani gave an insightful talk on the topic of entrepreneurship as well as the steps to be taken towards building a successful venture.

Event Outcomes:

1. Students were presented with the opportunity to interact with an accomplished career coach and gain knowledge on the important subject of career development and entrepreneurship

2. Resume Writing, Interview Preparation, Public Speaking, Content Strategy were discussed at length and students got the opportunity to clear their doubts regarding entrepreneurship.

IMPACT OF AI IN BUSINESS

September 5, 2023         Attendees: 40

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell of H.R. College conducted an informative webinar on the evolutionary topic “Impact of AI in Business” on September 5, 2023 at 04:00PM on Zoom by the speaker Mr. Tarun Katial.

Mr. Katial, celebrated TedX Speaker, Kellogg’s former CEO of ZEE5 is an alumnus of H.R. College of Commerce and Economics. Mr. Katial is the CEO & Founder, Eve World, which launched ‘coto’ (come together), a Web3 based social crypto community platform for women which creates a decentralised web space designed for giving women equal opportunity at digital value creation.

Mr. Katial provided an overview of the current situation of the world of artificial intelligence. He held an interactive session with the students where he asked then about their future plans and talked about how AI will impact the same. Mr. Tarun also educated the students on the steps to positively use AI to solve labour-intensive arduous problems. The insightful webinar also breached the topic of how the current education system can teach students to make use of AI in a moral way.



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ACTIVITIES 2022-2023

ANGEL INVESTING 101

July 28, 2022         Attendees: 50

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell conducted a webinar on Angel Investing 101. The webinar started with our guest speaker, Mr. Aanchal Taatya, Co-founder & CEO of Sparklehood, asking for students’ opinions on the topic of Angel Investing. After a healthy interaction, the speaker went on to explain how start-ups works.

The speaker threw light on how people can build on their strengths and be creative. Various stages of investing were discussed, followed by a discussion on the risk involved in such investments. Certain technical terms, like Deal Flow and Traction, were explained. The webinar concluded with a Q&A and a vote of thanks.

STARTUP ESSENTIALS 101

August 6, 2022         Attendees: 35

The webinar began with guest speaker, Mr. Aman Goel Co-founder of Congo AI (acquired by Exotel) talking about his journey as an intern in a start-up to an entrepreneur. Mr. Goel shared his experience of co-founding Congo AI. He discussed making ‘Chatbots’ through which customers received help with banking services, online food/product delivery and so on. He also explained how successful the idea went on to be, but saw a downfall, primarily due to lack of focus. He emphasised on the qualities of perseverance and optimism that helped them to bounce back. Towards the end, Mr. Goel encouraged the students to not lose focus, and always be customer-centric. Session ended with an interactive Q/A and a vote of thanks.

MAHARASHTRA STARTUP YATRA

August 20, 2022         Attendees: 130

The Entrepreneurship Club of H.R. College of Commerce & Economics hosted the Maharashtra Startup Yatra, an initiative of Maharashtra’s Innovation Society: a platform for bringing innovative ideas to reality.

This event was organised for students and individuals to pitch their start up ideas with rewards in cash prices, pre-incubation mentoring, and incubators. The institute's innovative cell welcomed esteemed guest, Mr. Pradeep Kapadia, accompanied by our Principal Dr. Pooja Ramchandani and our Vice Principal and professor in charge, Dr. Navin Punjabi. The event ended with a formal vote of thanks by Mr. Faaiz Patel.

WALKING THROUGH THE UNLISTED ZONE

December 17, 2022         Attendees: 30

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell of H.R. College of Commerce & Economics organised a webinar about Investing in Unlisted Shares, with Mr. Umesh Paliwal. Speaker Mr. Paliwal, co-founder at Unlisted Zone which facilitates the buying or selling of unlisted shares, started with defining entrepreneurship and startups. He talked about how he came up with the idea of Unlisted Zone, how it operates and his future plans to expand it. He stressed that finding and serving customers are the most challenging part about running a business. The webinar concluded with a Q&A and a formal vote of thanks.

INTERCOLLEGIATE ORGANISED

RISE 2023

February 21-22, 2023         Participants: 52

The Entrepreneurship & Incubation cell conducted the 3rd Edition of their Pan Mumbai Flagship Entrepreneurship fest, ‘RISE - Re-Inforcing Start-up and Entrepreneurship’. The team conducted 4 main events, which ranged around testing participants financial knowledge, marketing and entrepreneurial skills. The events that took place during the fest were - Market Kshtera, A man with a plan, Alliance Arena, De Novo, and the flagship event Pitch & Rise.



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ACTIVITIES 2021-2022

APPLYING ARITHMETIC TO BUSINESS

June 11, 2021
Attendees: 40+

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell conducted a webinar on "Applying Arithmetics to Business". The speaker for the session was Mr. Divesh Bathija, founder of UnMath School Pvt. Ltd. He explained his entrepreneurial journey, as well as the need for mathematics in business and everyday life. He shared anecdotes of how Dr. Navin Punjabi taught him and was an inspiration to the speaker, during his college days.

Mr. Bathija started the session with an intriguing quote, "If you don't wish to come out of your comfort zone, you cannot become an entrepreneur." He explained the same thing to the students by narrating his start-up journey. The students received an overview of the challenges that one faces as an entrepreneur and ways to overcome them.

E-TALK WITH MR. KARAN SHAH

June 25, 2021
Attendees: 45

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell conducted an E-Talk with Mr. Karan Shah, founder, and CEO of the Indian Institute of Digital Education (IIDE). An alumnus of H.R. College and has studied private equity and e-commerce strategies at Harvard University.

The lecture was conducted online via Zoom. Mr. Karan Shah first introduced himself and then narrated anecdotes from his life explaining how he took up internships from the age of 17. These internships determined him to pursue digital marketing as a career. He further touched upon the components of digital which include coding, digital design, digital marketing, and data science. He advised the students to pursue any of these courses in their college life to help them with effective skill building.

TALK SHOW WITH MR. RAJAN LUTHRA

October 30, 2021
Attendees: 70+

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell conducted a Talk Show with Mr. Rajan Luthra, co-founder of Metvy and alumni of Y Combinator Start-up School.

Mr. Rajan Luthra first introduced himself and then narrated anecdotes of starting Metvy at the early age of 19. He further shared his real-life experiences of studying at Y Combinator School. He touched upon the five T’s of Fundraising, which are Traction, Team, Technology, Target Problem, and Timing, and how Metvy received it is funding from Instart Foundation, IIM Bangalore, and the Delhi Government.

MOTIVATIONAL SESSION BY MRS. SUJATA PAWAR

December 20, 2021
Attendees: 65

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell conducted a motivational session by Mrs. Sujata in collaboration with Enactus HRC. Ms. Sujata is the co-founder of Avni and a menstrual activist.

Mrs. Sujata Pawar first introduced herself and talked about her journey in establishing her start-up. She explained her inspiration for her venture stemmed from her dissatisfaction with sanitary napkins in the market. She further explained how she conducted product development for around 2 years, which helped her conceive the idea of Avni.

The students were shown the range of products offered by Avni, and the solutions offered by the start-up. The students learned lessons in entrepreneurship such as the importance of networking, developing an MVP, creating a product framework, developing a sustainable and profitable customer base. All the participants interacted with the speaker and benefitted from the experiences shared by her.

Intercollegiate Organised 2021-2022

INNOWIZ 2021

August 15-24, 2021

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell of H.R. College (E-Cell) hosted a revival-based intercollegiate national event called "Innowiz - where innovation meets wisdom", inaugurated on Independence Day on August 15, 2021.

WINNERS

1st place Lavanya Bhatia from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies and
Mahima Arora from Hansraj College by reviving the company - Orkut.
2nd place Jazlynn Lobo and Ashish Jain of St. Andrews College by reviving - Jet Airways.
3rd place Prem Suthar and Karan Tiwari of H.R. College offered reinvention strategies - Theranos.

RISE 2022

March 21 to 23, 2022

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell of H.R. College conducted the 2nd edition of its flagship entrepreneurship national fest - RISE - Re- Inforcing Start-up and Entrepreneurship.

WINNERS

1st place - Rutvik Mehenge

Runner-up - Moksh Kothati



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ACTIVITIES 2020-2021

INCUBATION FEST - RISE 2021

February 22-27, 2021

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell (E-Cell) conducted its Inaugural Incubation fest of H.R. College called RISE – Re-enforcing Startup and Entrepreneurship. The committee invited business ideas from participants and contingents all over Mumbai. From these entries, the top 8 teams were given an opportunity to present their business ideas to the panel of judges. I/C Principal Dr. Pooja Ramchandani and Vice Principal Dr. Navin Punjabi, graced the Opening Ceremony with their presence.

The following three days, renowned industry experts such as Mr. Mithun John, CEO at the Strategy & Operations for the Maharashtra State Innovation Society; Mr. Rishabh Shah, Founder and President of IIMUN, Founder and CEO of Aufklaren Group of Companies; and Ms. Namita Shah, Founder of Presolv360; conducted three workshops, which were actively attended by the qualifying participants, as well as other students from H.R. College. These workshops provided the participants with insights into essential topics such as the role of government in entrepreneurship, obtaining funding for start-ups, and the role of communication and pitching for start-ups.

The first speaker Mr. Mithun John, is a graduate from IIM - Bangalore and has more than 11 years of experience in two start-ups. He elaborated on the various initiatives provided by the government such as the Maharashtra Ignition Grant for young entrepreneurs at a college level, as well as the Maharashtra Grand Challenge, which aims to invite solutions for the problems faced by the various departments of the government.

The second speaker Mr. Rishabh Shah, addressed the young business enthusiasts on how to master the art of communication and pitching for startups. He emphasized the important role of communication and pitching in establishing a successful venture. Mr. Rishabh also highlighted the fact that knowing when to pitch is as important as knowing how to pitch to potential investors.

The Government of India recognizes the third speaker, Ms. Namita Shah among the top 60 in the ‘Women Transforming India’ initiative. She has also secured a gold medal in chartered accountancy. She enlightened the audience about the various options available for start-ups to obtain funding. She highlighted the importance of identifying the correct time to find gather funds for one’s ventures. The speaker also shared the various alternatives to seed funding available for budding entrepreneurs. Based on her vast experience, she also narrated her personal experience in the field of entrepreneurship and the various motivational factors that can inspire one to set up their entrepreneurial ventures.

The participating contingents also took part in a social media contest where they needed to design a logo for their start-up. The Entrepreneurship cell witnessed immense creativity from all the participating teams.

On the main day of RISE, the shortlisted contingents presented their business ideas in front of the expert panel of judges that consisted of Mr. Mithun John, Miss Namita Shah, and Mr. Kapil Arya. The shortlisted teams needed to present their business plan in a concise manner with the help of a PowerPoint presentation subject to maximum of 10 slides. The judges witnessed a diverse range of problem-solving ideas from teams all across India. Chinmaya Naik bagged 1st place and received Incubation from our Incubation Partner PedalStart. His idea was to provide an ed-tech platform for blind people for their better development.

The E-Cell partnered with PedalStart to provide incubation to the winning business idea. PedalStart provided mentorship, financial education as well as brainstorming with dedicated teammates to polish the winning idea and team into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This was the first time an aspiring entrepreneur received incubation through H.R. College. The team shall receive expert guidance from industry leaders from the Partner Pedalstart. Besides, the top 3 teams received trophies, hampers, vouchers from the diverse range of Sponsors.

I/C Principal Dr. Pooja Ramchandani thanked all the contingents for coming up with innovative viable solutions and for participating in RISE. She also congratulated Ecell and the entire team for successfully conducting RISE - the first Incubation fest of H.R. College.

Workshop conducted on REDC by the Faculty Development Centre

October 19, 2020

The Faculty Development Centre of Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE), set up by the Government of India, conducted an online workshop for students under the Rural Entrepreneurship Development Cell to educate students on preparing a sustainable action plan for promoting entrepreneurship in developing sectors of the country.

Objectives of the Workshop:

  • Functionality of RED Cell
  • Preparation and implementation of business plan
  • Strengthening the way for business plan competition
Alumni Lecture Series
Masterclass with Masumi Mewawalla

September 10, 2020

Ms. Masumi Mewawalla is an alumnus and fashion entrepreneur who guided students about her inspirational journey of setting up her entrepreneurial venture at the age of 21. Her story motivated all the students to follow their passion with all their heart, to never give up, and continuously embrace failures but always learn from them.

Learnings at H.R. College – inspiration to build BOHECO

October 24, 2020

The two successful alumni, the founders of Bombay Hemp Company – Mr. Jahan Peston, Co-founder and Director, Strategy & Investor Relations and Mr. Chirag Tekchandaney, Co-founder and CEO; guided the budding entrepreneurs of H.R. College on how their college learnings helped them in building a massive company. The alumni also focused on strategies they used to turn around the stigma of cannabis and how beneficial cannabis is in the field of textile, automobiles, and medicines.

GOING BEYOND THE DEGREE

October 31, 2020

Two other alumni Mr. Anirudh Agarwal and Ms. Priyanshi Chokshi, were invited to share the learnings that helped to set up their venture “Beyond the Degree”.

The speakers, both chartered accountants, decided to use their knowledge of various professions to encourage students to pursue unconventional choices in the field of entrepreneurship. Both alumni emphasized on the fact that no one is born as an entrepreneur, but what distinguishes an entrepreneur from the others is their passion and dedication.

They shared with students their experiences in college and how the numerous opportunities of participating in committees along with academic activities, taught them valuable lessons in time management and goal alignment. They also showed the several aspects of the entrepreneurial journey right from ideation to implementation, and shared with students the Do's and Don'ts of a startup. Our speakers also bust popular myths that are associated with the entrepreneurial journey, and motivated us to put our best foot forward. This event had active participation of around 100 attendees.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A HABIT

November 7, 2020

The E-Cell conducted its third session of the Alumni Lecture Series with Mr. Abhinav Ravi, a senior executive of restructuring services international at Deloitte Global FA. The topic for the lecture was “Entrepreneurship as a Habit”.

Mr. Abhinav shared his knowledge on wealth creation, money management, and savings. He focused on the wonders of compound interest and investing at an early age. He also encouraged the students to consider the time value of money while taking important decisions. Focusing on how entrepreneurship can be instilled as a habit amongst students, he said that entrepreneurship is more about mindset and providing value rather than its traditional definition as a startup or merely a business.

He touched upon important topics such as public speaking and stressed upon the fact that students must break out of the bubble and overcome their fear of being judged by others. The first step towards speaking confidently in front of people is starting with a small set of people and communicating in one’s native language.

Mr. Abhinav also touched upon the topic of personal development and its role in one’s success. He stressed upon the fact that one must always be humble and kind, and should not be influenced by the world’s definition of success. He urged students to consider failures as a stepping stone to success, and that the trial and error method always proved to be true. His views on traveling and its ability to influence one’s personality and keep one grounded resonated deeply with students.

TEACHING SELF-COMPASSION AS A PRIMARY HUMAN VIRTUE

November 11, 2020

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell conducted its fourth session of the Alumni Lecture Series by Mr. Sahil Raina. He is a bodywork, movement, and breath-work practitioner. The topic for the online lecture was “Teaching self-compassion as a primary human virtue”.

Mr. Sahil conducted an inspiring session on self-compassion as a primary human virtue. He spoke about self-acceptance and its inherent connection with understanding oneself and acknowledging the parts of ourselves that we reject. He taught students about the importance of an internal validation system and the need to acknowledge our feelings. His positive perspective towards overcoming obstacles in life, and belief that rejection provides us an opportunity to offer ourselves more love truly resonated with the audience.

Mr. Sahil conducted an activity called ‘Connecting to the wise person’ involving deep breathing and imagination to guide us on the essence of self-awareness and self-appreciation. He also introduced our audience to the components of our inner selves and taught us how we can work towards keeping each component healthy and active. He described the importance of creating a safe space with the audience and the role of comfort, authenticity and trust in making a situation more accepting. Mr. Sahil also narrated his personal experiences in using performance and story-telling as ways of self-engagement and self-acceptance.

HOW TO BUILD EFFECTIVE RESUMES

November 21, 2020

The Entrepreneurship and Incubation Cell conducted its fifth session of the Alumni Lecture Series with Mr. Sharang Dhaimade, a higher education specialist and the co-founder of Seed Global Education. He is also a certified resume reviewer from the State University of New York.

Mr. Sharang gave a brief introduction, touching upon his 5 year journey in H.R. College. Using his own resume as an example, Mr. Sharang explained the key points that one must mention in their resume. He touched upon the steps of preparing a resume which include knowing oneself, researching the company, networking with individuals and lastly creating a resume. He also explained the process of recruitment right from creation of job opportunities to hiring of candidates.

Mr. Sharang broke down the resume to explain in detail each key element that is to be included, and it’s relevance in the recruitment process. He highlighted the importance of carefully reading and understanding the job description and tailoring one’s resume to suit the needs of the organisation. He also introduced students to the CAR concept in resume writing that would enable students to create a result oriented resume, and the 5 P’s of resume writing. He shared insightful tips as well as common mistakes made by students that must be avoided.

The event was a success that witnessed active participation from the students.



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