Dialogue with industry, innovation with societal and market needs are the key for startups

Dialogue with the industry, aligning innovation with societal and market needs, and overcoming India’s risk-averse mindset was highlighted as among the challenges faced by startups during the second day of the Startup Conclave organised by three CSIR labs of IICT, CCMB and NGRI in Hyderabad on Wednesday (April 23, 2025).

A panel discussion on “Challenges and Opportunities in Startup Ecosystems”, moderated by Atal Incubation Centre-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) chief operating officer Ramjee Pallela was the highlight of the day.

The panelists included founder and COO of HyCON Labs Sreehari Babu; managing director and CEO of Sravathi AI Technology Private Limited Kishan Gurram; CEO and Founder Director of Huwel Lifesciences Rachana Tripathi; IIIT Hyderabad’s Kavita Vemuri and AIC-T-Hub CEO Rajesh Kumar Adla explored the key challenges and stressed the importance of customer validation, the need to build strong products with user input, and the role of perseverance in sustaining a startup journey.

Discussions also focused on entering deep science and pharmaceutical sectors, the change in entrepreneurial mindset over recent years, and how incubators and government initiatives are supporting the startup ecosystem through fellowships and funding.

Managing director of Kaashyap Envergy Infrastructures Kiran K; Phyx44 scientific head Vanita Uppada; COO and co-founder of Caliche Anand Mathew and founder of Lightening Lives Chandak, shared the startup success stories and insights about their respective journeys.

BJP MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy was the chief guest of the day and appreciated the exhibits. He advised startups to focus on research and approach ideas with an open mind. An exhibition pavilion highlighting technologies of the host institutions and startups that were incubated at these labs or were spin-offs from the technologies of these labs were also exhibited, as per a press release.