Conquest

Is this the right programme

• It suits early-stage founders who have a working product or MVP and want to scale.
• It is open to any industry, so sector is not a bar.
• You need to be able to take part online for six weeks and in person for the final week in Bangalore.

How applications work

• The programme's timeline puts early outreach in March and formal registration in May, with the Bootcamp in June.
• The site asks founders to register for Conquest ’26 using the apply button on the website. Check the site for the current cycle's dates before you apply, because the pages reviewed do not give a closing date.
• Questions can go to contact@conquestbits.org.

How selection works

• Startups are assessed by evaluation partners made up of VCs and angel investors.
• The site asks for startups that are technically strong and early, but ambitious.

What reviewers look for

• Evidence that the startup is actively building, not still at idea stage.
• Readiness to use structured mentorship and investor access over six weeks.

Conquest is a student-led accelerator run by the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at BITS Pilani. It takes early-stage, MVP-ready startups through a 6+1 week programme that mixes online mentoring with one in-person week, and it ends with a Demo Day pitch to investors. The programme takes no equity and charges founders nothing.

How the programme works

The programme opens with a Bootcamp phase in June. For six weeks, cohort founders join online learning sessions and have one-on-one calls with mentors. Small pod sessions bring founders together for peer discussion, and online workshops build practical skills.

The final week is an offline phase in Bangalore. It brings founders together for networking events, in-person workshops led by investors, operators and industry experts, and knowledge sessions on problems that early startups commonly face. Coworking space is provided during this week.

The programme closes with Demo Day. The top startups of the cohort pitch on stage to a jury made up of venture capital and angel investors.

Who can apply

Conquest is built for early-stage startups that are actively building and preparing to scale. It is sector-agnostic, so founders from any industry can apply. The programme describes itself as nationwide. Startups are assessed by evaluation partners who are VCs and angel investors.

What founders get

The programme is equity-free, so founders keep full ownership of their startups during and after the programme. It says it has disbursed non-dilutive grants to startups over the last three years, and it says some selected founders receive grant support. Its network includes over 150 mentors, 50+ investors and operators across domains, by its own count. Founders also get access to resource credits from partners including AWS, Notion and Freshworks.

Who runs it

The programme is run by students at BITS Pilani, with the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership as its parent. Alumni named on the site include Atlan, formerly SocialCops, which the site describes as a global data collaboration platform; Sarla Aviation, which works on electric air mobility; and Thinkerbell Labs, which builds learning devices for visually impaired students.

Dates and history

The site gives two founding markers that do not match. Its home page says Conquest was founded in 2004. Its about page says the programme began in 2002 as a B-Plan competition in BITS Pilani classrooms and grew from there. Both are the programme's own statements.

Where it runs

The Bootcamp runs online. The in-person week is in Bangalore. The programme's timeline also names a launch event held in Gurugram, which marks the start of the accelerator.