TiE-ISB Connect 2009 gets off to a great start
 Focus on Entrepreneurship challenges in Difficult times

Hyderabad|India|October'2009: -ISB Connect, www.tie-isbconnect.com the annual networking event for entreprenuers and VC’s got off to a great start at Hyderabad. Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri K. Rosaiah, inaugurated the 2 day (October 22-23, 2009) at Hotel Marriott, Hyderabad. The theme for this years event is ‘The Crisis will pass…will you?.

TiE-ISB Connect organisers expressed confidence that participants at the end of this year’s 2 day event entrepreneurs will be able to discover the information, advice, support and ideas to take their entrepreneurship to the next level during difficult times. Over 40 Venture Capitalist Firms, 500 entreprenuers converged at the Hotel Marriott to engage in a series of interactive information dialogue at TiE-ISB Connect. This year’s TiE-ISB Connect features Keynote by Asit Pal, Executive Director of Corporation Bank, Kishore Biyani, Managing Director of Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Future Group and �Dr. Varaprasad Reddy, Managing Director of Shantha Biotechnics.

The President of TiE, Hyderabad Chapter, Dr. Ramesh Babu in his comments said If there is a way out of the economic downturn, it is the ‘Entreprenuers’ creativity, flexibility and capacity to find solutions. New generation entreprenuers are the true drivers of growth and job creation. Our role is to create the best possible eco-system to foster entrepreneurship and provide our participants an opportunity to expand skills, make valuable contacts, and gather practical ideas for aspiring entreprenuers.

Economic downturns are never desirable, but they are inevitable. Using the right mix of business strategy during tough times is the best way for your venture to survive. The event began today morning with ‘Jumpstart Your Venture’ Workshop where a panel of experts discussed the potential pitfalls and key requisites to enhance success rate of first-time entreprenuers. The workshop was packed and attracted 150 attendees. Thereafter participants visited the ‘Company Showcase’ inaugurated by the Chief Minister.

According to TiE Global, Member Trustees of Board, JA Chowdary, and the Mentor of TiE-ISB Connect said TiE-ISB Over the last 4 years our event has been able to create a favorable Eco system to inspire entrepreneurship. Particularly for start ups as there were no networking opportunity 4 to 5 years back. He said the event has directly or indirectly helped many entreprenuers to either strike partnerships or attract investment in their venture. TiE-ISB Connect also hopes to create a network of angle investors in Hyderabad going forward.

Later in the evening the track on ‘Funding & Operational Challenges during Seed Stage’ was held. The Panel here probed into ‘valuation’, ‘investible business’, ‘differentiation’, ‘defensibility’, ‘non-linearity’, and ‘scalability’ and other details for closing the seed funding. The Panel also dwelled upon potential alternatives to seed fund.

The Event is noted for its ‘Taking India Forward’ panel discussion featuring face-to-face interaction with a diverse set emerging leaders, eminent industrialists and investors. This year the panel discussed the reality of ‘India Poised/ Incredible India’ as opposed to ‘India Paused/ Incredible Problems of India’ and explores the opportunities to leverage the ‘demographic dividend’ for inclusive economic growth.

On day 2 “Catalyzing Inclusive Growth while Solving Real Problems” will be in spotlight at the Next 800 million opportunity track chaired by S. Sivakumar of ITC Agro. The next track during the day will talk about Funding & Operational Challenges during Series A/B (Follow-On) Stage chaired by Ananth Rao of Angel Investor. Critical elements like entry valuations for the investor and potential exit valuations, timelines, products, markets, etc. will be explored extensively by the panel at this session.

The venture community attending the TiE-ISB Connect expressed their interest in broadening the dialogue with entreprenuers.� They said investments at all levels of entrepreneurship from seeding early stage companies, to later-stage funding continues to pose significant challenge for Venture Firms and the investing community. Brand new ideas and stories with growth potential will be at the top of their table. TiE-ISB connect has garnered considerable attention from leaders in the venture capital investment world to connect with the entrepreneurs, startups and emerging growth companies that are actively searching for partners and funding. This year the resonance at the event was to send out the message ��‘Get Tough and don’t give up During These Challenging Times’.

In the afternoon Rajesh Raju of Peepul Capital chairs ‘Funding & Operational Challenges during Growth Stage’ track. The focus at this track is to explore Exit options and economic landscape. The panel will have a mix of Panel of Private Equity, Investment Bankers and Entrepreneurs will explore growth companies, growth capital, valuations, and operational challenges with accelerating growth.

Later in the evening the ‘VC Connect’ track brings together 6 experienced investors will exchange knowledge on what investors across the board are thinking about their respective investing approaches, what they believe needs to be done to enhance value-creation and what they’re looking for. This session is designed for maximum audience participation. Get your doubts clarified and questions answered about the investing landscape in India today from this incredibly diverse set of top quality investors. The session will be moderated by Sanjay Anandaram, Managing Director JumpStartUp Fund Advisors.

The title sponsor for the event is Corporation Bank. Other sponsors for the event include BSCPL Infrastructure and NSL. Hotel Marriott is the host partner for the event.