Mentoring startups to sustain

Realising that, proficient startup advisory is very expensive and there was a clear lack of access for smaller, non-funded startups, Pooja began a legal consultancy firm in 2015 to provide affordable, proficient and quick legal advisory along with business consultancy.

She believed that not every lawyer took interest in startups and only advised on the legal aspects. PTA is not only limited to legal advisory, but an end to end startup advisory and consultancy firm. They are a team of lawyers, CAs, CSs, business advisors, mentors, IP attorneys, CFO's and fund advisors.

Pooja said, "Pooja Terwad & Associates (PTA) is a startup focused law firm and business advisory. I love conversing with entrepreneurs, startup founders and innovators. I engage with innovative minds through events, workshops and keynote speeches. After coming back from the US, in 2015, and understanding the dynamic startup ecosystem there, I was inspired to build a consultancy firm in India for upcoming startups."

However, this year started with new hopes, set milestones and a tragedy in the form of Corona hitting the world. They decided to fight back and continue from their homes. The growth has reduced, but, determination and passion for entrepreneurship has not ceased a bit.

"I have travelled and seen the brilliant innovators in India, particularly in smaller cities. However, these innovators lack access and the knack to monetize their product. They are not a part of the glamorous ecosystem which is focused in the metro cities. We have reached and worked with such innovators. I aim to set up a virtual incubation for 10 brilliant innovators, every year, from every nook and corner of the country and give them the access to venture funding and other essentials. We are currently in process to filter and shortlist these startups," adds Pooja.

Women are as good as men

When it comes to return on investment (ROI) ), women can be as good as men or maybe even outperform them big time. Women with extreme potential, too, do not come out and take the leap of faith. This issue is so prevalent that it stands in the way of their achievements.

Pooja believes that women in India are very capable, they just have to stop whining about all the fear and potential risks of entrepreneurship.

Social responsibility arm

She says, "We need to build points of contact and help centers for entrepreneurs, whereby finding a solution to their problem would be easier. A simple and accessible system, where entrepreneurs can ask for help and the entire community does whatever it can to resolve the problem. We have built one such community, whereby most of our startup clients have volunteered to mentor budding entrepreneurs."

Pro-bono consultation booth

They provide colleges with the support system to build an active Entrepreneurship Cell. They screen students from time to time and map their skills and development. Students with a scalable idea are provided support to convert their idea into a business. They have a team which consistently works towards content building for workshops we conduct for entrepreneurs.

"We have so far mentored (pro bono) over 4000+ innovators & founders in the last 5 years, since our inception, " concludes Pooja.