The third annual TiE-ISB Connect event got underway on Wednesday at the ISB Campus in Hyderabad. The opening day of the event was highlighted by the “Jumpstart Your Venture – Workshop” created to help participants know how to effectively exploit an opportunity and prepare for the exciting entrepreneurial journey ahead followed by a special address on “Leading through Innovation” by Dr. Tom Campbell, Dean, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley addressing the importance of cooperative teamwork, entrepreneurship, a global point of view, and an emphasis on new ideas and fresh perspectives in academics. TiE-ISB Connect 2007 is jointly organized by TiE Hyderabad and Wadhwani Center for Entrepreneurship Development at ISB. Shri. K R Suresh Reddy
Hon'ble Speaker, Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly graced the occasion.

Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Reserve Bank of India, Dr. Anji Reddy, Chairman, Dr. Reddy’s labs, N Prasad, Mylan Labs, Verne Harnish, Gazelles Inc, will address the plenary session. More than 40 top-tier venture capitalists and business leaders will discuss various challenges and opportunities in the panel discussions that cover six new tracks. 36 new ideas will be the star feature at the Start Connects and Growth Connect showcase event. The round table session “Taking India Forward” will figure Dr. Parakala Prabhakar, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Lok Satta, Vikram Akula, SKS Microfinance, Dr. Madhav Chavan, Pratham, Rajeev Gowda, IIM-B, Srini Raju, Peepul Capital and Akhila Srinivasan, Sriram Group.

"It's important for entreprenuers to continue to learn both by networking and by hearing what established business leaders and potential investors have to say," President of TiE, Hyderabad Chapter, J A Chowdary in his welcome address said. "We are pleased to state that TiE-ISB Connect is developing as a good networking platform by helping young entreprenuers actualize their ideas and grow their businesses."

"Today, India offers tremendous business opportunities as we march towards becoming a global economic powerhouse. Young aspiring entrprenuers are eager to tap this opportunity and consistently seek answers and guidence on how to to create and establish an enterprise today," says Professor Chandrasekhar, Executive Director of WCED, ISB. "Each year, TiE-ISB Connect provides these aspirants with a good opportunity to showcase their ideas and find comprehensive guidance on business trends, business strategy, and investments opportunities by inviting experienced pool of globally aclaimed business and investment thought leaders.”

TiE-ISB Connect has lined up a series of interesting keynote and panel discussion sessions over the next two days. In the Internet and Mobile session the discussion will focus on "The One Billion Opportunity” highlighting the increasing penetration of smart phones that is becoming far larger than that of PC in the telecommunication market. The keynote speech at Life Sciences and Health Care will emphasize on the big opportunities emerging in Biogenetics and drug discovery process globally and in India. At the Emerging Technologies session the theme of the track is the ‘need’ for new products and services that enhance the way we interact with other humans or that further improve our individual productivity.

The fast track Retail industry session will feature new growth opportunities in rural and urban markets. "Benefits of the Boom”, will be the discussion topic at the Infrastructure and Real Estate track. The Media and Entertainment track will feature new trends and opportunities in the Gaming and Animation Market.

Some of the well known and leading VC’s feature in the list of 40 firms attending this years event like the NEA IndoUS Ventures, Sandalwood Partners, DFJ Ventures, Google, Yahoo, Greylock Partners, Cannon Partners, Sequoia Capital, Light Speed Ventures, Seed Fund and many others. These venture capitalists and investors, bring over USD 5 billion for India-centric investments through the entire entrepreneurial lifecycle – angel investment, early and growth stages.

Over the last two years, VC groups had interacted with the thirty five entrepreneurs seeking funding (both early-stage and growth-stage). Eight of the business plan showcase participants received business leads and support in refining business strategies. Three of them signed strategic partnerships and four of them attracted angel investments and are in advanced stage of discussion. This year the event attracted close to 400 entries for the Business Plan Showcase event.

TiE-ISB Connect is organized by the TiE, Hyderabad Chapter and the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED), ISB. TiE–ISB Connect provides a unique networking opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs, early-stage ventures, and growth-stage ventures with potential investors, successful entrepreneurs and mentors. The event sponsors are NEA-IndoUS Ventures, GMR, Satyam, Peepul, Indu Projects, iLabs, AppLabs, Venture East, Sierra Atlantic, Firepro, Pressmart and 24x7guru.com.

For know more about the TiE-ISB Connect Conference and to register, kindly visit www.tie-isbconnect.com.

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