TiE to help four start-ups to become billion-dollar firms

The Indus Entrepreneurs (or TiE), a not-for-profit organisation that has its origins in California and has some senior industry veterans as its members, will choose four start-ups from Tamil Nadu, that have been founded in the last five years, and will hand-hold them, arrange finance and create an entire eco-system so that each can grow into a billion-dollar company.

"We are committed to creating, supporting, nurturing and mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu through a broad spectrum of initiatives," said Lakshmi Narayanan, president of TiE Chennai and Member, Board of Trustees, TiE Global, and vice chairman of information technology firm Cognizant Technologies.

These companies will be selected after a stringent process by a panel and will be showcased at the upcoming TiECON, the flagship conference of TiE Chennai. "We will also make available the entire eco-system for these companies so that they can grow to billion dollars," said R Gopal, managing director, Chemplast Sanmar Ltd, and a TiE member.

"We will also ensure that funding is not an issue for these companies," he said.

A committee of TiECON Chennai will scan start-ups that were founded in the last five years or so, identify four of those that have the potential to become 'billion dollar babies', and showcase them at TiECON Chennai 2014, said Gopal.

This programme will serve as a platform for encouragement and recognition, and instil the 'I Can Do It' culture and mindset among all aspiring entrepreneurs, he added.

TiECON Chennai 2014 will be held on October 31-November 1.

The entrepreneurship summit, convened with the theme, 'I Can Do it', will host over 1,500 delegates comprising business leaders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, regulators, bankers, academicians and students - all of whom will get an opportunity to learn from and be inspired by the four 'billion-dollar babies' in the making.

R Narayanan, Chairman, Programme Committee, TiECON Chennai 2014, said, "this is perhaps the first time globally that such an audacious forecast is being made. Most importantly, in the true tradition of Tamil Nadu, modesty and humility seem to be the overriding virtues in many of the companies. The fact that some of these companies' success and impact are not very widely known makes our search even sweeter. We at TiE strongly believe that showcasing these 'Billion Dollar Babies' will provide a fresh impetus to young entrepreneurs to dream BIG and pursue their dream and journey with unrelenting passion."