TiE Mumbai Partners with eBay Foundation and GriffinWorx

To bring StartUp Cup to India for the first time

• Aims to move beyond outdated business plan competitions and is a locally driven business model competition open to any business idea
• Winners to get prizes worth USD 17,500
• Panel of judges to include investors, technology gurus, successful entrepreneurs, and business experts among others

The Mumbai chapter of TiE (TiE Mumbai) has partnered with eBay Foundation and GriffinWorx the organization powering the eBay StartUp Cup Challenge being held in Mumbai, Berlin, Washington DC and Brooklyn. The StartUp Cup acceleration program has run over 208 times across 72 countries since 2012 and will be held for the first time in India under the aegis of TiE Mumbai, eBay Foundation and GriffinWorx.It is a 7-month long program involving hands on mentoring to be provided by the global network of TiE and the TiE Mumbai Charter Members to the participating start-ups. 

The startups will be individually matched with mentors based on their requirements or in what they are lacking to build a sustainable business. The winners of the program will be awarded a cash prize of USD 10,000 while those in the second and third place will be awarded a cash prize of USD 5,000 and USD 2,500 respectively.

The eBay.StartUpCup.com is open to anyone, from any background and any education level. While TiE Mumbai aims to target a majority of the start-ups within the city of Mumbai, it is particularly keen to ensure the participation of the largely underserved population to enter and submit their Big Idea into the eBay StartUp Cup. Applications for the program are open at ebay.startupcup.com and will be accepted offline by reaching out to TiE Mumbai at the contact details mentioned below. The last date for making applications is 8^th May 2017.

The eBay StartUp Cup aims to move beyond outdated business plan competitions and is a locally driven business model competition open to any business idea. Through eBay StartUp Cup, business builders are expected to learn how to create a viable business model and pitch their idea through aseven-month judging, coaching and mentoring process. Business leaders and community members are provided the tools to drive this competition and create a culture of start-ups within their local community.

The actual event will kick off with the Extreme Build-A-Business Weekend (EBABW) to be held on 27th and 28th May 2017 at 91Springboard Andheri (East). The EBABW will select the Top 25 businesses from the businesses invited to participate and will the continue to compete in the acceleration program.

The second round of pitching will be held on 28^th and 29^th June 2017 to a panel of judges which will include investors, technology gurus, successful startup entrepreneurs, and business experts among others. The judges will select the Top 12 from among the 25 who will then enter the Top 7 finals of the StartUp cup. The finals will be held on 22^nd September 2017 to select 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winning busineses in Mumbai, who will be announced in an award ceremony on the 29^th of September 2017.

Announcing the program launch, Anand Desai, President TiE Mumbai and Founder of DSK Legal said “the end idea is to create sustainable businesses which will result in job creation.” There is a need to mentor entrepreneurs in the right direction to ensure that good businesses come out of the start-up ecosystem. “The StartUp Cup is an excellent opportunity for start-ups to go through the grind and prove their capabilities across various paramters” said Naveen Raju, Executive Director TiE Mumbai commenting on the program.