A) Program Objective
The primary objective of the proposed TiE Delhi-NCR & STPI’s LEAP AHEAD Cohort Program is to nurture and empower startups who are looking for market expansion, geo-graphic expansion & funding and provide them with essential resources, mentorship, and a conducive ecosystem to grow their innovative ideas into successful, scalable businesses. Additionally, this program will be enabling startups to secure funding from external investors
B) Program Methodology & Duration
The Cohort Program will be conducted in a hybrid mode followed by demo day.
It also includes:
- Classroom Session – An immersive learning experience designed to equip entrepreneurs with essential skills and knowledge. Through interactive discussions, case studies, and practical insights, participants will gain a deeper understanding of key aspects such as business strategy, financial management, marketing, and team building. Led by industry experts and seasoned entrepreneurs, this session aims to provide actionable takeaways that startups can immediately apply to enhance their growth trajectory.
- Fire side office hours – This can be done towards the end of the sessions, preferably by these condmonth of the program.
- Office Hours – opportunity for entrepreneurs to engage directly with industry experts, mentors, and advisors. During these dedicated sessions, startups can seek guidance, ask questions, and receive personalized insights on various aspects of their business. Whether it’s refining business strategies, overcoming challenges, or gaining expert feedback, Office Hours provide a focused and supportive environment.
Selected Start-ups will undergo 3-month acceleration program (40+ Hours) which covers the following:
Table B
| Sl. No. | Activity | Duration |
| Venture Building | ||
| 1 | Module 1 – Establishing a Product Market Fit | MONTH-1 |
| 2 | Module 2 – Customer Adoption Spectrum | |
| 3 | Module 3 – Business Model | |
| 4 | Module 4 – Financial Management | |
| 5 | Module 5 – GTM & Sales | |
| 6 | Module 6 – Marketing and Growth | |
| 7 | Module 7 – Hiring & Building Teams | |
| 8 | Module 8 – Compliance, Legal, IP and ESG | |
| Execution & Business Mentoring | ||
| 9 | Module 9 – Financial Modelling, understanding unit economics |
MONTH-2 |
| 10 | Module 10 -Scalability & Growth Strategies – Industry Perspective | |
| Funding & Fund-Raising Mentoring | ||
| 11 | Module 11 – Pitching and Fundraising Session | MONTH-3 |
| 12 | Module 12 – Pitch Refining Support | |
| 13 | Module 13 – Demo Day for select Startups | |
Masterclasses on relevant topics in collaboration with other partners and stakeholders.
MONTH 1 – Venture Building
Module1-Establishing a Product Market Fit
How to find a strong alignment between your product or service offering and the target market’s needs? The focus in this session would be on understanding the target market, identifying pain points or opportunities, and refining the value proposition to meet those needs effectively.
In this session, focus will be on:
- How long will it take to deliver the entire value chain
- What % of users of the product will get their expected ROI
- How the solution is going to impact consumers and the need for change
Date: 23rd January 2024
Time: 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session:
Deepit Purkayastha, Co-Founder – Inshorts
Fireside Chat:
Suchi Mukherjee, Founder – Limeroad & Rohit Nuwal, Partner Telus Ventures (Moderator)
Office Hours:
Suchi Mukherjee, Founder – Limeroad & Rohit Nuwal, Partner Telus Ventures
Module2- Customer Adoption Spectrum
What is the best way to approach your customer? Understanding the market size for your solution/offering. Establishing the brand awareness among your target audience and mapping their conversion rate to ensure customer adoption percentage. The approach is aimed at building only what is needed to create enough value in the eyes of the target customer.
Feed back is one of the most important aspects and user experience matters necessitatingadesign thinking approach
- Prioritize MVP features
- (UX design) for user experience
- How to test the product
Channels to receive feedback and adopting changes for growth
Date: 23rd January 2024
Time: 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session: Paavan Nanda, Co-Founder & CEO – WinZO
Fireside Chat: Dr. Shikha Sharma, Founder – Nutriwel Health India Ltd
Office Hours:
Smita Mishra, Founder & CEO – Fandoro Technologies Pvt Ltd, Aakriti Bhargava, Co-Founder – Wizikey
Module3- Business Model
Learn the fundamental components of a business model, including revenue streams, customer segments,value propositions, and cost structures.
Focus will be on:
- Gaining insights in to various business models
- Agile methodology and their applicability to different industries and startup
- Iterate and adapt as your start up evolves
- Mapping the Target market for customer discovery
Date: 24th January 2024
Time: 11:00 am to 2:30 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session: Pawan Raj Kumar, Co-Founder & Director – Hoi Foods
Fireside Chat: Anshoo Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO- Magicpin & Kalpana Jain, Deloitte Tohmatsu LLP (Moderator)
Office Hours: Anshoo Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO – Magicpin & Kalpana Jain, Deloitte Tohmatsu LLP
Module 4 - Financial Management
This session focuses on essentials of financial literacy, including creating financial projections, managing cash flow, and tracking key financial metrics. Discover strategies for budgeting, funding options, and financial planning to support sustainable growth.
Date: 25th January 2024
Time: 10:00 am to 1:30 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session: Mayank Gupta, CFO – CarDekho
Fireside Chat: Mandeep Mehta, Group CFO – PB Fintech
Office Hours: Lalit Aggarwal, Senior Partner & CFO -Lumis Partners, Rohit Sabherwal, Founder & Managing Partner – Integra Solutions LLP
Module 5 - GTM & Sales (Virtual)
“Go-to-market strategy” is basically a plan of how a product will reach its audience. As a startup, it is always important to plan Resources/Sales carefully to reduce risks. Resources include costs, time, and employees which are necessary to create the product.
In this session, focus will be on:
- Sales techniques- sales management platforms, best dashboard etc.
- Lead generation strategies
- Art of effective sales communication to build a scalable sales process
- Nurturing customer relationships
Date: 8th February 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session: Ruchika Rattan, Head – Business Application Platform, Google Cloud India – Google
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
Module 6 - Marketing and Growth (Virtual)
This session focuses on fundamentals of building brand awareness, crafting compelling messaging, and developing effective marketing campaigns on a limited budget.
In this session, focus will be on:
- Discover growth marketing techniques
- User acquisition strategies
- Leveraging digital platforms, influencers to maximize your reach and impact
Date: 15th February 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session: Sangeeta Sharma, General Manager Sales – South Asia – Lufthansa & Punit Kapoor, Sr. VP & General Manager – India – MRM
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
Module 7 - Hiring & Building Teams (Virtual)
Talent acquisition, from defining job roles to sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding top talent is an art. Discover strategy for fostering a positive company culture, promoting teamwork, and motivating your team members. Gain valuable insights on leadership, delegation, and effective communication within a startup environment.
Date: 22nd February 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session: Radhika Ghai, Founder & CEO – kindlife.in
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
Module 8 – Compliance, Legal, IP and ESG (Virtual)
Learn about legal obligations, business entity formation, contracts, and regulatory compliance to protect your startup’s interests. Gain insights into IP protection strategies and navigating potential legal challenges.
Additionally, explore the importance of incorporating ESG principles into your startup’s operations and how it can drive long-term sustainability and social impact.
In this session focus will also be on:
- Term Sheet- Deal terms and rights of the investor
- Shareholding agreement
- Legal due diligence- good governance, aligning SDG, ESG as best practices
- International and domestic dynamics of intellectual property
Date: 29th February 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session: Nidhi Killawala, Partner – Khaitan & Co.
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
MONTH 2 – Execution & Business Mentoring
Module 9 - Financial Modelling, understanding unit economics (Virtual)
Learn to analyze and optimize the financial performance of your business at the unit level, including revenue, costs, and profitability. Discover key metrics and frameworks to evaluate the viability and scalability of your business model. Gain insights into pricing strategies, cost structures, and customer acquisition economics to ensure long-term sustainability and profitability.
Financial modelling gives the picture of the overall health of a business. It is an important aspect to check and analysis the growth of the business on all parameters. To raise funds, financial modelling is mandatory.
In this session, focus will be on:
- Analyzing day to day operations
- Create an exhaustive monthly MIS.
- Finding important data to analyze the performance- Sales and marketing
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC), ROAS
- Future business plans
- Break-even metrics and organizational life value
- Cash in hand and funds required for the next 1 or 2 years
Date: 7th March 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session:
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
Module 10 - Scalability and Growth Strategies – Industry Perspective (Virtual)
Discover strategies to expand your customer base, enter new markets, and leverage partnerships for accelerated growth. Gain insights into operational scalability, product diversification, and effective resource allocation. Whether you’re a tech startup or a traditional business, this session will provide you with valuable knowledge and practical tips to navigate the challenges of scaling your startup successfully.
In this session, focus will be on:
- Emerging trends
- Market dynamics
- Make a Solution or buy an existing product/Service
Each of these sessions will be followed by group mentoring by experts and accomplished business mentors who will provide inputs to founders reference their individual queries and challenges.
Date: 14th March 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session:
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
MONTH 3 – Funding & Fund-Raising Mentoring
Module 11 - Pitching and Fundraising Session (Virtual)
Crafting compelling investor presentations is art and science. The session will provide founders with the essential skills and strategies to engage and inform investors in an effective manner to secure the funding you need to fuel your growth. The session will help founders craft a compelling story and to effectively communicating their value proposition and market potential while guiding them on how to deliver a confident and persuasive pitch to make an impression on potential investors.
In this session, focus will be on:
- Must have details in the pitch document
- What an Investor look for before investing into a company
- Effective way for Art of Pitching
- Valuation
- How to find an investor to fund your startup
Date: 21st March 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session:
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
Module 12 - Pitch Refining Support (Virtual)
This includes hand holding founders and supporting them on their individual pitch decks and presentations by seasoned experts.
In this session, focus will be on:
- Individual Pitch Deck Evaluation
- Feedback on structure, content, visuals, and overall flow of the presentation
- Feedback on body language, voice modulation, delivery and slide design
- Practice and Rehearsal Session
Date: 14th March 2024 to 30th March 2024
Time:
Speakers:
Classroom Session:
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
Module 13 - Demo Day for select Startups (Physical)
A platform for startups to pitch their business ideas, demonstrate their product or service, and generate interest for funding, or further development.
- Select pitches will go into a Demo Day
- They will pitch to the most relevant and potential investors
Date: 30th March 2024
Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm IST
Speakers:
Classroom Session:
Fireside Chat:
Office Hours: To be spread over the week
C) Commitment and Expectations from attendees
- Full-Time Engagement: Entrepreneurs to be fully engaged in the program throughout its duration. For specific session on Marketing, Finance etc. you may allow your core team member/Subject matter head to attend.
- Attendance at all Modules: Participants are generally expected to attend all sessions, and events organized by STPI. These events are designed to provide valuable insights and mentorship.
- Networking and Community Building: Startups are encouraged to attend networking events, engage with other startups in the program, and establish connections with potential Customers/Partners/Investors/Advisors
- Implementing Feedback and Insights: Startups should be prepared to implement the feedback and insights they receive from mentors, advisors, and program organizers.
- Immersive learning and engagement over 3 months: Expected in person attendance at the zonal jury selection rounds, launch event in Delhi and at the final pitch preparation and demo day in Delhi during completion of the program. All other Modules and Masterclasses to be attended virtually. During the program if invited physically then participant has to attend the event/ session physically.
Investor Partners
