Big plans hatching at ‘Eureka’ as top incubators warm up

Priya Srinivasan in Mumbai

Even as VCs shy away from early stage funding, start-ups are still finding takers. IIT Mumbai’s annual business plan competition—Eureka—has found strong support this year in the form of MIT Media Labs and The Enterprise Network (TEN), the latter being a global technology incubator founded by NASA’s jet propulsion laboratories. Both MIT Media Labs and TEN have pledged mentoring and incubation services to the winners of Eureka 2002.

The competition, which is an annual event, was started a few years ago by IIT Mumbai’s ‘e-cell’. It has thrown up successful companies in the past like the Mumbai-based telecom outfit, MyZus.

The event, which is being lent a helping hand by TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) for the first time this year, hopes to garner participation from about 400 colleges across the world, according to Mr Mahesh Murthy who is one of the TiE members co-ordinating the effort. TiE’s 33 Chapters across the world will be involved in the effort.

MIT Media labs has pledged its participation for the ‘Rural Innovation’ segment of the competition, where it will be involved right from the selection stage. “MIT Media labs has said that it would like to select the winner and then help them through with global contacts and networking,” said Mr Murthy.

TEN will be participating via its Pune based Indian affiliate—Indiaco.
TEN is offering incubation services to three winners this year. One winner will be incubated in Silicon Valley for a year or more by TEN, while two more prizes are being offered by TEN in terms of incubation facilities at Indiaco in Pune.

The total value of the prize amounts to over Rs 1 crore this year, according to Mr Murthy.

The competition will throw up three winners across the different categories.

The winners who qualify for the incubation will be offered a host of management services including legal support.

The various categories for the competition include software and new media, Life Sciences and Biotech, Hardware, Materials/Physical Sciences/Environment, Consumer Products, Services, Rural Innovations and others.

The first closure of entries for Eureka 2002 is slated for January 20 and the competition has already started receiving entries.