Companies from varied mix of business bag tata nen awards; 30 city firms fail to make it to the final list

After over six months of campaigning, the winners of the Tata National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) awards were announced on February 27 in Mumbai.

Although 30 companies from Pune were amongst the 600-odd short-listed initially, none of them could make it to the final list.

The Tata NEN Hottest Start-ups Awards is a people's choice awards for new start-ups announced in 2008. It attracted around 600 nominations covering a wide range of sectors and geographies with start-ups from over 40 cities covering nearly 20 industry segments, making it India's largest start-up contest.

For the first time, the public was invited along with over 250 experts, including entrepreneurs, investors and industry representatives, to help select the winners.

The contest drew around two lakh votes in the first year itself.

"It has been an exciting journey and we are thrilled to announce the winners of the Tata NEN Hottest Start-ups Awards," NEN director Laura Parkin said.

The contest was launched on August 27, 2008 with the goal to provide visibility for start-ups, engage the public and improve support for start-ups driving economic growth. The five hottest start-ups were chosen from 30 finalists, who in turn, were selected based on a combination of expert reviews and public voting.

"I congratulate the winners and urge them to continue striving towards innovation and enterprise. This requires drawing upon one's capability to be visionaries - a defining characteristic of an entrepreneur," Tata Sons director JJ Irani said during the ceremony.

The Award

TCS Small & Medium Business (SMB) Group: A three-year software service subscription to all five winners, free of cost for select business applications.

IIM-A's Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE): 1:1 consultation with leading faculty member associated with CIIE; identification of and input on support areas and introductions to various experts in the IIM-A network across industry and academia.

IIM-B's NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL): Free admission for two representatives per winning start-up to any one of the short-duration programs

Mentoring consultations: Exclusive business support sessions to enable winners to benefit from the best minds in industry and academia, featuring an open exchange of ideas and strategies in a confidential manner.

The Gateway Hotel, Taj Group: Special rates and free nights stay for the five winners at any Gateway property across India

The Winners

activecubes solutions, a technology consulting company based in Bangalore, founded in 2007, helps firms harness information to understand customers better and differentiates itself by using the power of analytics to find solutions for clients.

Lakshya Institute, located in Patiala, is an educational institute that focuses on test preparation. It was started by four IIT graduates to prepare class X and XII students for school and college entrance examination. It differentiates itself through the use of interactive digital content and working with schools to eliminate the need for external coaching.

The Loot is a branded apparel retail chain headquartered in Mumbai. The Loot sells branded clothing at discounted prices throughout the year across its 45 stores. The company makes profits through a differentiated business model that allows it to source inventory at far lower costs than original price stores, so it can sell them cheaper.

Star AgriWarehousing and Collateral Management is an agriculture warehousing located in Kota and Jaipur. It provides end-to-end solutions in procurement, warehousing and collateral management of agricultural commodities. A process driven management approach in an unorganised industry differentiates it from peers.

takeovercode.com based in New Delhi is providing legal, financial and management consultancy. The company provides solutions to different corporate through information technology, while helping demystify the regulatory environment. 

DNA Correspondent/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication