After 3 successful years, PuneConnect has quickly become one of Pune’s most important events for startups, and it is now back with PuneConnect 2014, the mega event for Pune’s startups to showcase their products and services to the world at large, specifically to larger companies in Pune, VCs and angel investors from all over the country, and others from the ecosystem.
Register today to be part of this show.
30 of Pune’s most promising startups have been selected from a huge pool of applicants, and they will be joining some of Pune’s established startups and companies in showcasing their products at the Westin, on 8th November from 9:30am to 2pm.
The keynote speech will be by Sharad Sharma, ex-MD of Yahoo! India, ex-MD of Veritas/Symantec Pune, and now an angel investor with 30+ investments and one of the driving forces behind iSPIRT, the national level forum for India’s software product startups. Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General of the Software and Technology Parks of India, and who has worked in various capacities with the Central Government, will also be speaking.
This is an ideal event to connect with the who’s who of the Pune Startup ecosystem. You will find lots of startup founders, successful senior entrepreneurs, potential recruits, angels and investors from all over, potential customers, mentors, business partners, affiliates, and investors from all parts of Pune’e startup and technology ecosystem – including SEAP, PuneTech, TiE Pune, PoCC, MCCIA, IPMA, HIA, IIMA’s CIIE, and SME Joinup.
Agenda
- 09.00a.m Registration
- 09.30a.m Welcome Note, Also, Start-up Alley (Demo Room) Open
- 09.45a.m Guest of Honor
- 10.00a.m Book Launch
- 10.15a.m Keynote by Sharad Sharma, Co-founder Ispirt & CEO BrandSigma
- 10.50a.m Panel Discussion: “Cloud and Mobility: Reason to Cheer or Fear?”
- Suhar Kelkar: CTO BMC
- Mukul Mukar, Co-Founder Pubmatic
- K Vishwanathan: VP Operations, Eaton
- Ankur Agarwal: CEO, Clarion Technologies
- Nandu Kulkarni: Independent Consultant, Banking & Payments Tech
- 11.45a.m Break. Also: Registration for Ispirt Roundtable
- 12.00p.m How do we Support Startups?
- 12.45p.m Lunch Break
- 1.45p.m Student Entry Opens. Also: VC RoundTable starts
- 2.30p.m On-stage Startup Shootout
- 3.30p.m TiE Nurture Startups Presentation
- 4.30p.m Awards
- 5.00p.m Show Ends
Background
PuneConnect started in 2011 and is held in late October/early November every year. In 2011 we showcased 12 startups, and had attendance of about 250. In 2012, we showcased 21 startups, and had to close delegate registrations at 600 because of space limitations. In 2013, we showcased 27 startups, out of 104 applications, and had to close registrations at 1055 due to space limitations. Click here for more information about past PuneConnect events.
PuneConnect is a joint initiative of Software Exporters Association of Pune (SEAP), TiE Pune, PuneStartups.org (POCC), PuneTech, and NASSCOM, SME Joinup, CIIE Ahmedabad, and MCCIA Pune, IPMA, Hinjewadi Industries Association, and IIM Ahmedabad’s CIIE (which will soon have an Pune presence) – basically all the important players in Pune’s startup ecosystem. PuneConnect represents a one-of-its-kind activity that bridges the gap between the new companies and the established ones.
Entries to other prestigious events: Companies featured in PuneConnect have been selected to be on TV (e.g. an episode ETNow Channel’s Starting Up show), or in national-level conferences (e.g. one organized by Zinnov), where they got to demo their products to companies from all over India, or for mentorship programs (like the TiE Pune Nurture Initiative), or even got funding (e.g. AppSurfer, a company from the first PuneConnect that got Rs. 1 crore in funding on the SuperAngels show) – all as a result of being featured on PuneConnect.
Some of our past winners will also be featured at the show.
Fees and Registration
This event costs Rs. 1000 if you want to be part of the lunch, Rs. 500 if you want to just attend the event, and is free for students with a college ID card.
The event is from 9:30am to 2pm at the Westin, Pune.