Business Plan Competition 2021-22

About the Business Plan Competition
The Business Plan Competition was initiated by the Pillai Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the year 2015 as a platform for budding student entrepreneurs to come together and build a successful business from scratch. A grand prize of Rs. 1 lakh has been awarded to the winner of the competition since its inception in 2015.

Every year, the competition is announced in the month of July and several workshops on idea generation, accounting, legal framework, motivational talks, etc. are conducted throughout the year. In Year 21-22, 67 teams registered for the competition and 7 teams competed in the final round. The jury members were Mr. Sijo Varghese, Manager – MSInS, Ms. Mansi Thakkar – Founder Mansi Thakkar Training Systems LLP, and Mr. Sagar Chandni, Head- Growth, Partnerships and Customer Success, CIBA.

Objectives of the Competition

• To foster an entrepreneurial culture and environment in the Pillai Campuses.
• To provide a platform for generating ideas, and pursue them from ideation to fruition.
• To impart training to students who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship as a career opportunity.
• To arrange networking opportunities with important stakeholders (mentors, investors and advisers) in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• To nurture and mentor startups to set up successful businesses.

Learning through participation in the Business Plan Competition

• Identify problems that can become business opportunities.
• Conduct market research to study business feasibility.
• Attend legal and accounting workshops and learn the frameworks and structures of businesses.
• Develop communication and presentation skills.
• Create Prototypes and apps.
• Develop business models and write formal business plans.
• Receive mentorships for fostering business from ideation to fruition.
• Learn to work in teams.

Steps and Stages of the Competition
Students were invited to fill in the BUSINESS PLAN REGISTRATION FORM and register for the competition by 25th September, 2021
All registered group were expected to submit business ideas (maximum three ideas) in the BUSINESS PLAN IDEA SUBMISSION FORM by 5th October, 2021
There will be five rounds in the competition after the registration process is completed.

First Round: One on One discussion on the ideas submitted with the mentors of PCIE (11th October, 2021)

Second Round: Teams presented a rough prototype / structure as well as a website / social media presence for the business. (15th November, 2021)
Teams were shortlisted on the basis of viability and scalability of the business idea for the quarterfinals.

Third Round: The quarterfinals of Business Plan Competition 21-22 were conducted on 16th and 17th December, 2021 at the Rasayani and Panvel Campus respectively. 15 teams were shortlisted for the quarterfinals. Dr. Priam Pillai, Ms. Munawira Kotyad, Dr. Celina Joy and Ms. Susana Cherian were the judges present. The students were expected to show a draft prototype, website and also a pitch deck for the competition.
Shortlisted Semi-finalists were required to provide an update of their business. (15th January, 2022)

Fourth Round: Dr. Celina Joy was a part of the jury to judge the Semi Final (Fourth) Round of the Business Plan Competition 2021-22 held on 3rd February, 2022. Twelve teams presented their business plans and prototypes. Dr. Priam Pillai, Founder of Valectus Pvt. Ltd. and Ms. Munawaira Kotyad, Founder of Wronderwheel Store were the other jury members. The objective of the round was to select the finalists for the business plan competition. This was the last round before the external jury would declare the finalists. The jury gave inputs on improvement and guidance for making better presentations in the finals.

Fifth Round: 7 teams progressed to the grand finale for a prize of Rs. 1 lakh where the teams were judged for the prototype, viability of the business, progress in setting up the proposed business among others (27th April, 2022)

The Grand Finale of the Business Plan Competition 2021-22 was held on 27th April, 2022. The jury members were Mr. Sijo Varghese, Manager – MSInS, Ms. Mansi Thakkar – Founder Mansi Thakkar Training Systems LLP, and Mr. Sagar Chandni, Head- Growth, Partnerships and Customer Success, CIBA.

The joint winners were students of PHCET, Rasayani – Mr. Abhishek Rajpurohit and Shivani Gotavade of Team ProtectHer and PCACS, Mr. Krishna Ashok Bhanushali of Team Rocking Rose. ProtectHer is a safety device to raise an alert to aid women during unsafe situations. Rocking Rose has devised a unique gifting solution by using natural flowers and plants. The prize for the winning teams was a cash prize of Rs. 60,000 per team, a trophy, and certificates.

The second prize of Rs. 10,000 was won by the students of PCE, New Panvel – Mr. Vaishakh Sajeevan, Mr. Siddharth H. Shah, and Mr. Sujith S. Kurup of Team Creto. The team aims to create a freelancing platform in the digital space. The special Prize was won by PHCET students, Ms. Sanskruti Damodar Shelke and Mr. Shubham Thakur of Team High Voltage. The team came up with a unique interior lighting solution to save energy costs.

The other finalists were Team AirWall, a start-up focusing on developing a functional partition wall, Team Acadknit- a platform to bring people together in an academic space for their non-academic activities, and Team Freshaii, an online and offline fresh product supply chain startup.

Summary of Event