GDC, IIT Madras

The program aims to enable lab-to-market transformation and change the culture of innovation at academic/research institutions. A team comprises a Faculty Lead and at least 3 Entrepreneur Leads, supported by a Business Mentor. Around 10 teams form a cohort. Teams undertake a customer discovery exercise over 8 weeks, meeting 100+ customers and stakeholders to arrive at a problem-solution fit. Learning dimensions include Business Tools and Techniques (Value Proposition, Business Model Canvas, Industry Analysis, Build-Measure-Learn Loop) and Entrepreneurial Skills (Dealing with Ambiguity, Creative / Non-Linear Thinking, Overcome Fear of Failure, Teamwork, Getting Things Done, Interviewing and Communication Skills, Clarity of Thought, Validating Assumptions, Connecting to People, Analysing Inputs from Customers, Presentation Skills).

This program assists participant teams in exploring entrepreneurship more intensively or transitioning to alternative career paths, by helping them understand the demands and rigors of entrepreneurship.

The program addresses a critical gap in the university startup ecosystem by helping students and researchers evaluate their readiness to become founders and gain a deeper understanding of the market before launching a startup based on academic research or ideas.

The program is aimed at founders of science-based startups at the pre-revenue stage, where the startup lacks full visibility of customer or revenue potential, and the founders are uncertain if the early success of customer wins is repeatable and sustainable.

Aimed at founders of science-based, pre-revenue startups with limited visibility into customer or revenue potential, the 4–6-week boot camp focuses on scaling the startup and addressing concerns about the sustainability of early success.