New Delhi: Asia’s largest student-run startup accelerator Conquest is all set for Demo Day Sunday, where a cohort of groundbreaking startups will engage in competitive pitching in front of a board of jury.
Every year, Conquest selects an exclusive cohort of over 25 startups from thousands of applications, offering them comprehensive support that includes mentorship, networking opportunities, branding, publicity, workshops and funding. Of the 27 startups shortlisted this year from more than 3,000 registrations, 19 are in the sector-agnostic pan-India track and 8 in the sustainability-focussed track.
On Sunday, Conquest’s top 14 startups will pitch to a jury of angel investors, partners from top VC firms and seasoned mentors. The day will conclude with the announcement of Conquest’s equity-free grants worth over Rs 30 lakh awarded to the startups with the best pitches as decided by the jury panel.
Conquest’s accelerator programme involves six weeks of online mentorship followed by an offline week in Bangalore. The online phase began on 23 June and ended on 4 August. The offline week ends Sunday with Demo Day.
Conquest 2024 introduced a number of new initiatives in the online phase, such as Showcase — facilitating the cohort’s connections with investment partners like Blume Ventures, Kalaari Capital and Chiratae Ventures, among others.
The Conquest team also hosted online fireside chats and knowledge sessions with Phalgun Kompalli (Co-Founder, UpGrad), Adarsh Nair (former CPO at Airtel) and Priyanka Gill (Kalaari Capital), among others. The sessions covered topics ranging from marketing and product validation to legal mechanics and pitch decks.
Apart from Showcase and knowledge sessions, one-to-one sessions were arranged with more than 120 distinguished industry experts, and “online pods” (groups of startups divided by the sectors they were based in) were formed.
The offline phase, which started 5 August, involves founders staying in co-living and co-working spaces. Together, they attend a series of workshops, networking sessions and panel discussions.
In this phase, pitching workshops were taken by senior leaders of top investment firms such as Accel and WestBridge Capital, and helped the founders navigate the complexities of fundraising.
Drawing a footfall of over 300 high-profile attendees, Demo Day is Conquest’s flagship offline event. Last year, Demo Day saw participation from more than 15 unicorn founders, over 10 media house representatives and more than 30 VC partners.
Conquest is run by a dedicated team of 25 students from BITS Pilani, Rajasthan, and was started 20 years ago.
Conquest 2024 is being organised by BITS Pilani. ThePrint is its Digital Outreach Partner.
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