Gear up for Startup

City-based Startup Leadership Program (SLP) hostedthe alumni meet, ‘SLP Connect’ on Monday. In this regard, speakers comprising of former Union Minister for HRD, Pallam Raju, Dr Srikanth Sunderarajan, General Partner, Venture East and Kiran Chandra Kalluri, Field touch operations, Google Maps & State Executive Member, Telangana and AP, BJP, took part in a panel discussion and shared valuable insight on topics of relevance to Start-up ecosystem like ‘IT Layoffs in India’ and its impact on Startups; Collaboration between Academia and Startups and Government's Startup policy in India – present and future outlook.

Speaking about the buzz on layoffs,Dr Sundararajan said the response of companies to this latest challenge is varied and quite a few are confronting the issue through pay cuts across the board and thereby refraining from layoffs. On those being laid off, he said 10 per cent especially the ones with an entrepreneurial streak may start ventures of their own; 20 per cent will explore for avenues in start-ups and get absorbed; but the majority will struggle to find new opportunities in the Start-ups.

According to Chandra, those from the laid-off lot with domain expertise and experience may be attractive for Startups and will be lapped up by it. “The emphasis is on job creators rather than churning out job seekers,” he said. Raju talked about the important role academia can play in building a culture of innovation and how Startups could immensely benefit through collaborations with educational institutions.

He strongly felt the need for industry experts having a stint in academia to foster research temperament in the universities, there is a need to bring in faculty with real world experience as we expand key educational institutions like IIMs, IITs. He concluded by saying, the key is to be proactive rather than reactive.