 "MIT launches accelerator programme for design-led startups")
The first batch of the programme, which is part of MIT's Institute of Design, will have four start-ups which have a clear focus of design as part of their business.
The program will give startups an exposure to latest design methods, co-working space, access to prototyping facilities, IPR consulting and facilitation, business development support, business and design mentorship, vendor network, public relations and processes that will enable them to unlock business opportunities. A set of experienced design mentors and a dedicated design team will work together with the startups on various stages from design strategy to operations.
"Globally design is gaining recognition as an important driver of innovation and business growth. DesignGild acknowledges this and aims to create an ecosystem where high quality design mentorship and resources are made available to startups. DesignGild will offer a 6-month intensive design focused accelerator program for startups and enable them to build design-led business at scale. The accelerator program will help startups to convert their ideas into market ready product and service offerings and create value at the intersection of design, technology and business," said Harshit Desai, COO, DesignGild.
Some of the mentors who have committed to DesignGild include Snehal Vasani, MD, Kitchen Grace (Part of Asian Paints); Sachin Tagra, Associate VP, Brand Capital; Ashish Despande, Co founder, Elephant Design, VP, Association of Designers of India; Apurva Chamaria, VP & head, corporate marketing, HCL Technologies; Abhimanyu Kulkarni, design head, Philips; Jay Dutta, design partner at Saif Partners. DesignGild also has a strategic partnership with The Institute of Healthcare Design Thinking, USA.
DesignGild will take around 4-5 per cent stake in these start-ups. "The institute will not exceed this limit in terms of stake in these start-ups. We are more interested in creating an eco-system for design startups in India than making money out of these startups. We have already seen two-three startups from our Design institute successfully launching products in India," added Anant Chakradeo, dean, MIT ID.
Chakradeo also stated that design thinking is becoming crucial for companies and research data has been indicating that startups with a design focus can not only attract VC but are also target of acquisitions.
According to Design in Tech Report by John Medea of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, there are a few trends related to design firms-acquisition of design firms is increasing, designer co-founded companies manage to get funded and designers are also entering the VC segment.
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"About 42 design firms were acquired since 2004, almost 50 per cent of which have been acquired in the last one year. Of the top 25 funded startups 36 per cent were co-founded by designers, which is up from 20 per cent in 2015," said the report.
To make DesignGild a success and to make it an integral part of the ecosystem, MIT will leverage its collaboration with 15 global universities, and work closely with the enterprise. It has signed a MoU with Tata Elxsi, and is in talks with Philips Healthcare.
This is the second accelerator programme from the MIT institute. The institute has ed tech accelerator called Edugild that focus on education-based startups. In September this year Edugild announced its second batch of startups which also had companies from the US and UK.