Parul University

Choosing the right programme

• Idea stage: start with the two-week pre-incubation training that opens the Startup Incubation Program.
• Product ready or early revenue, and raising from angels or VCs: the GrowthPad Program.
• A working MVP and a ready pitch for investors: Startup Nivesh.
• A healthcare product with a working prototype: the HealthTech Accelerator.

How applications work

• Incubation: submit your idea through the Startup Support tab on pierc.org. Applications go through expert review and pitch presentations in two rounds.
• GrowthPad: evaluation runs in two phases, first an internal committee and then a final selection committee.
• Check the programme page for the current status before you apply. The HealthTech Accelerator page says its applications are under review.

What reviewers look for

• GrowthPad and Startup Nivesh both ask for a Private Limited company with DPIIT recognition, so have your incorporation and recognition papers ready.
• Startup Nivesh caps each cohort at 30 startups, so apply early and be specific about your traction.

PIERC, the Parul Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre, is the startup incubator of Parul University in Vadodara, Gujarat. It is a Section 8 company, and it takes founders from an idea through to a growing business with incubation, a six-month accelerator and an investor readiness programme.

How the programmes work

PIERC runs programmes for startups at different points. The Startup Incubation Program opens with a two-week pre-incubation training on design thinking, market research and business planning, then moves startups through the idea, prototype and growth stages over about two and a half years. GrowthPad is a six-month accelerator for startups that already have a product or early revenue and want to raise money from angel investors and venture capital firms. Startup Nivesh is an eight-week investor readiness and fundraising programme that ends in a demo day in front of investors. The HealthTech Accelerator, run with the university's hospital, takes healthcare startups through a six-month programme with clinical testbeds, and its applications are currently under review.

Who can apply

PIERC's pages say that applications are open to Parul University students and to external founders across India. The GrowthPad page advises a Private Limited company with DPIIT recognition, and it accepts unregistered founders who agree to register as a Private Limited company within three months. Startup Nivesh takes startups from any Indian state and any sector, provided they are Private Limited with active DPIIT recognition, and each cohort is capped at 30 startups. The HealthTech Accelerator takes a small cohort of healthcare startups that have a working prototype and some early validation.

Facilities

PIERC's centre sits in the BBA Building on the Parul University campus at Limda, near Vadodara. Its facilities include co-working space with work desks, meeting lounges and seminar halls, a Fab Lab for hands-on prototyping, and prototyping support for innovators who are building real products. Startup studios operate in Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot.

Support on offer

Beyond its programmes, PIERC offers startup counselling that helps students match an idea to real market needs. It assists founders with government schemes such as SSIP and the Startup India Seed Fund, supports IP and patent filing, provides legal compliance support, and helps startups reach markets through exhibitions and startup expos. It also runs the Vadodara Startup Festival and a women's startup festival. Founders can register for the Startup Bootcamp listed on the pierc.org site, and experienced people can register as mentors through the same site. Its startup events include pitch sessions, expos and demo days that bring founders in front of investors, mentors and government officials.

Who runs it

PIERC was registered in 2015 and grew out of Parul University's Entrepreneurship Development Cell. Its team includes a chief executive officer, incubation managers, and centre heads for its startup studios.

Scale

PIERC reports that it has incubated more than 210 startups, that those startups have created more than 1,200 jobs, and that they have filed more than 100 intellectual property applications. These figures are PIERC's own, carry no date, and have not been independently verified. One counter on the Startup Nivesh page renders as zero, so it is not used here.

Locations

The main centre is on the Parul University campus at P.O. Limda, Taluka Waghodia, in the Vadodara district. PIERC also runs startup studios in Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot, and the GrowthPad orientation is held at the Vadodara studio, with a separate contact address for each studio on the programme page.

Who to contact

The general enquiry address for the centre is pierc@paruluniversity.ac.in, and the programme pages list separate addresses for Startup Nivesh and the HealthTech Accelerator.