On 23rd August 2024, a group of eight students from JIMS Rohini embarked on an insightful visit to the Incubation Center at Saheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS). The visit was organized under the SSCBS Innovation and Incubation Foundation (SIIF), an initiative aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and innovation among students. The visit provided a unique opportunity to interact with founders of startups that had been nurtured by the SIIF and to gain a deeper understanding of the incubation and pre-incubation processes.
Key Learnings & Takeaways:
Our visit to the SSCBS Incubation Center was packed with valuable learnings and takeaways:
- Pre-Incubation Phase: One of the key concepts we explored was the pre-incubation phase. This phase is critical as it involves transforming a raw idea into a working prototype. The insights shared by the founders, especially Akshdeep Singh of Chronical Sports, highlighted how SIIF played a pivotal role in this transformation by providing the necessary support, mentorship, and resources.
Infrastructure and Resources: We were introduced to the various facilities that make up a full-fledged incubation center. These included the main SIIF office, a meeting room for collaborative discussions, an innovation lab equipped with tools for prototyping, a training room for workshops and skill development, and a dedicated workspace for startups. Understanding the infrastructure required for such a center was particularly enlightening.
Startup Interactions: We had the opportunity to interact with several startups incubated at SIIF. Our first meeting was with Akshdeep Singh, the founder of Chronical Sports, a sports event management company. He shared insights into how his company grew with the help of SIIF, particularly in navigating the early challenges of startup life. We also met with the founder of Raw Cult – Mukul Sir, his company dedicated to creating a robust digital supply chain framework for small retailers in the fast fashion industry. These interactions provided us with real-world examples of how the incubation process supports startups from ideation to execution.
Entrepreneurial Discussions: Beyond learning about the incubation process, we also engaged in discussions about our own entrepreneurial aspirations. We explored how each of us could contribute to and benefit from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The discussions also centered around potential ideas for our own startups, and how the knowledge gained from this visit could be applied to develop these ideas further.
Conclusion:
The visit to the SSCBS Incubation Center was an invaluable experience that broadened our understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It provided us with a clear understanding of how an incubation center functions, from the initial idea stage to the creation of a successful startup. The insights gained from our interactions with the SIIF team and the startup founders were instrumental in shaping our vision for the Entrepreneurship Cell at JIMS Rohini. We left the visit inspired and equipped with the knowledge needed to potentially start or revive our own E-Cell, with a focus on creating a supportive environment for future entrepreneurs at our college.