TATA and NEN launch Hottest Startups Awards

This is first-of-its-kind peoples choice awards that invite the Indian public to nominate and vote for the best young startups in the country. The Awards aim to attract visibility for over 800 entrepreneurs & their ventures in India, and engage over 5,00,000 people.

Hottest Startup is an online contest where people can nominate companies & vote for them both on internet & through SMS. The structure of the competition ensures both engagement and credibility. After the first round a shortlist of 30 companies will be selected based on the most number of public votes, combined with the highest expert ratings. Finally top 5 winners will be chosen from these 30 companies. The expert judges will be a pool of over 200 people including investors, entrepreneurs, academicians, professionals and representatives across industries.

Winners of TATA NEN Hottest Startups will receive a potent combination of publicity and business support, designed to spur their growth to the next level. Prizes in the TATA NEN Startup Awards include: Business training, mentoring and incubation support of upto Rs. 50 lakhs by IIM-A and CIIE; Incubation opportunity to a befitting venture by IIM-B and NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL); Admission to Microsofts StartUp Accelerator Program for at least one winner; and shortlisted startups will receive direct admission to pitch to Angels courtesy Indian Angel Network and Mumbai Angels and admission to TiEs nurturing program

In addition, all nominated companies stand a chance to be invited forthe TATA NEN Hottest Startup Funding Challenge 2008. The funding will be providedby Seedfund and the winner could receive 2 to 3 crores of investment capitalsubject to evaluation, from them.

The Awards will showcase a wide range of high potential startups from multiple sectors, ranging from healthcare, retail, mobile technologies, biotech, hospitality, lifestyle, IT and service providers.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Romit Chaterji, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Tata Services Limited, said, The Tata Group has been at the forefront of encouraging youth and providing them opportunities to innovate and develop leadership. It is both passion and goal of the Tata Group to kindle the entrepreneurship spirit in India. The group is delighted to partner with NEN in this exciting nationwide contest that aims to provide visibility, growth and resources to high potential start-ups. In future, some of these startups will create Value not only for themselves but for the society at large.

Laura Parkin, Executive Director, NEN says We are very excited to be launching the TATA NEN Hottest Startups Awards. We are honoured and delighted to be working with TATA on this highly innovative program to support young entrepreneurs in India. The time is right for these Awards: in the past three years we have experienced a large increase in the number of high-potential companies being founded. These companies need visibility and support to succeed. And the best way to provide the support is to engage as many people as possible in recognizing the value of these startups,

Lending support in the cause are Helion Ventures, Seedfund and Wadhwani Foundation. In addition, all the established entrepreneurial, academic and corporate communities including, Microsoft, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Ahmedabad, Open Coffee Club chapters, Mumbai Angels, Indian Angel Network, Venture Woods, Proto.in, Kickstart and TiE are partnering in the initiative.

Voting for the TATA NEN Startups Awards opens August 27. Last date for sending nominations is October 22, 2008. In phase I, public votes and expert reviews will decide the 30 shortlisted companies, which will be announced on November 6. Phase II will comprise on-ground and online campaigning by the 30 shortlisted startups and culminate into a major voting drive where the public will vote for the Top 5 Winners who will be declared on December 23, 2008. Already 52 startups are nominated on www.hotteststartups.in. Over 800 startups are expected to vie for the best position.

There are three requirements for participating startups. The company must be: 5 or fewer years old; headquartered in India; and a stand-alone not a subsidiary or division of a larger company. In addition, the company should be highly innovative, growing rapidly, and have the potential of changing their industry.

A not-for-profit initiative of the Wadhwani Foundation, National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) works to inspire, educate and support the younger generation of entrepreneurs in India. Currently NEN is working with more than 376 top-tier academic institutes reaching over 3 lakh young people across 30 cities of India. The NEN community alone has 55,000 entrepreneurship cell members.

Indias leading management portal MBAUniverse.com is the Official Management Portal of TATA NEN Hottest Startup contest. Stay tuned for more updates.