''Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work,'' were the wise words of American Scientist Thomas Alva Edison.
Participants of B-gyaan Inter-collegiate Business Plan Competition made sure they didn’t miss the chance to present their business ideas at the event held in the city recently.
Students from as far as Dharwad took part in the event held organised by Onyx, the Entrepreneurship Development Cell (E-Cell) of National Institute of Engineering (NIE).
Speaking to City Herald, Onyx Student President Ajay said that nine teams presented business plans on opening ventures in event management, publishing news letters, research and development, website for online training for placements, gaming and tourism.
The teams were kept on their toes as the judges Rakesh Babu, Anil Kumar A S and Harish Machaiah meticulously tested the plans put forth by the candidates. Apart from market viability, the judges also discussed the financial models presented by the students.
Winning the first place and receiving a cash prize of Rs 10,000 were NIE’s Nishanth and Azharuddin, who captured the attention of the judges by presenting an idea termed as the ‘Colosseum’. Their aim was to provide the experience of virtual reality in gaming that they believe is still untapped in the country.
Expressing his experience at the event, Azharuddin said, “It was a first time experience for us and the judges were dishing out specific questions.” However he said that it turned to be a great experience for them.
The runners-up were from SDM CET MBA, Dharwad led by Prasanna Kumar from SDM CET MBA, Dharwad, who won a cash prize of Rs 5,000. Their idea was to setting-up a ready-to-eat food production unit at Kakati by the name of Sathvik Food Products. However, they were caught off guard when the judges questioned them about the logistics involved in the programme.
Campus ventures
Apart from the contest, the event witnessed the launching of four campus ventures named as ‘Chocolate Matters’, ‘Slam Book’, ‘Click-o-pic’ and ‘Triple W’. E-Cell Co-ordinator Dr M V Achutha said that the venture aims to provide students with an opportunity of knowing how a company works.
However, even though the companies promote entrepreneurship, he said that the next step should be towards opening technological ventures so that students get the idea of a tech company works.
