Rajkot Startup Studio

Choosing the right programme

• Idea stage: apply to the Incubation Program, a 6-day offline certificate programme in Rajkot.
• Product stage or early revenue, and looking for angel or VC money: the Growthpad Program is the better fit. It is a six month programme run by PIERC, and it is paid.
• Co-working only: book a seat through the form on the studio website.

How applications work

• Incubation Program: complete the application form on the studio website. It asks for your stage, your idea and whether you can attend the full 6-day programme in person.
• Growthpad: complete the online application on pierc.org and choose Rajkot Startup Studio as the place to apply.
• Co-working: the booking form asks for your incorporation type, startup stage, number of seats and duration.

How selection works

• Growthpad has two evaluation phases: an internal committee round, then a presentation to a final selection committee. Documents and onboarding follow.
• The Incubation Program page does not describe a selection step.

What reviewers look for

• For Growthpad, a Private Limited Company with a DPIIT certificate is advised. A startup that is not yet registered should be ready to register a Private Limited Company within 3 months.
• Have your startup stage and a short summary of your idea ready for both forms.

Rajkot Startup Studio is a city studio run by Parul Innovation & Entrepreneurship Research Center (PIERC), the incubator that Parul University registered as a Section 8 company in 2015. The studio is in Mavdi, Rajkot, and offers idea-stage training, co-working cabins and desks, and access to the PIERC Growthpad programme for startups that have a product.

How the programmes work

The Incubation Program is for beginners at the idea stage. The studio's support page describes it as help to turn an idea into a successful venture. Its application page describes the same offer as a 6-day certificate programme in entrepreneurship, held offline in Rajkot. Applicants need to be able to attend the full programme in person.

The Growthpad Program is a six month programme for startups in the product stage or at early revenue. PIERC runs it and describes it on its own website. The programme covers orientation, one-to-one mentoring, workshops on sales, HR, accounting, compliance and IPR, then fundraising, the legal aspects of investment and pitch preparation. Startups present to investors and mentors in the final months, and support continues for up to one year after the programme. Rajkot is one of the places an applicant can choose when applying.

The studio's support page also names a need-based route for startups already in the market. No programme page or form was found for it, so it is not described here.

Who can apply

The Incubation Program application asks whether the applicant is a student, a working professional, an entrepreneur or something else, so the idea-stage programme is not limited to one group. It asks whether the applicant already has a startup idea and at what stage they are, from the idea stage to revenue.

Growthpad is for product stage or early revenue startups looking for fundraising from angel investors and venture capital firms. PIERC advises registering as a Private Limited Company with a DPIIT certificate. A startup that is not yet registered can still apply if it agrees to register a Private Limited Company within 3 months.

Facilities

The studio offers private cabins and dedicated desks. The cabins are fully furnished and air-conditioned, with lockers, high-speed Wi-Fi, LAN ports and an attached restroom. Dedicated desks come in air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned versions, each with a personal workspace and dedicated lockers. Both have a waiting area and visitor meeting space. Co-working seats are booked through a form on the studio website, which asks for the type of incorporation, the startup stage, the number of seats and the duration.

Scale

The studio's home page shows impact counters, but no studio-specific figure appears in the pages read, so no count is given here. PIERC's network-wide figures on its own website cover all its centres and are not counted for this studio. The studio lists featured startups on its site, but the descriptions are not consistent enough to name them here.

Who runs it

PIERC grew out of the Entrepreneurship Development Cell that Parul University set up in 2013 to support students and aspiring entrepreneurs. In 2015 the university registered PIERC as a Section 8 company and incubator, to extend its support from the idea stage to the growth stage. The studio's footer describes it as a studio of PIERC. PIERC also runs studios in Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Surat.

Location

The studio is at 409, The Millenium, Circle, 150 Feet Ring Rd, near Nana Mava Circle, Mavdi, Rajkot, Gujarat 360005.