The Next Startup

The Next Startup is Sharda Launchpad's entry point for people who have an idea and nothing built yet. Ideas are grouped into four fields — science, business, social and creative — and selected innovators get three months of pre-incubation support at no registration fee. Shared workspace can be added if it is available, charged monthly.

What you get

• Three months of pre-incubation support with no registration fee.
• A platform to pitch the idea, and mentoring from in-house faculty and outside experts.
• Shared workspace subject to need and availability, on a monthly payment basis.
• Part-reimbursement of company incorporation costs for physically incubated startups.

Who can apply

• Innovators at idea stage, in science, business, social or creative fields.
• You must incorporate a company meeting DPIIT's criteria within three months of joining.
• Founders who are serving government employees need a no-objection certificate from their employer.

How selection works: your idea goes to a review committee that weighs technology content, novelty, timing, market potential, the core team, intellectual property potential, financial viability with three-year projections, funding needs, time to market, break-even, demand in India and scalability. If that is positive you present to an evaluation committee, video conference included, and hear the outcome within fifteen days.

How to apply: use the register-to-incubate form on the Sharda Launchpad website, or write to incubation.launchpad@sharda.ac.in.