Startups get deals of Rs 5 cr at NE Fund Fest partnered by TiE Guwahati & Natio Cultus

GUWAHATI: North East India Fund Fest held its finale at the Taj Vivanta Hotel in Guwahati on 28 February 2020.This is first ever dedicated fund fest for startups of the North East. The platform aims to give budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to get on to a path of accelerated funding. It is the first time a regional fund fest of this scale is being held. The event is being organized by Natio Cultus Consultancy Pvt Ltd- Hyderabad in partnership with TiE Guwahati.

At the finale the sixteen finalists pitched to a panel of eight investors. Ten of the finalists were offered spot deals with nine entrepreneurs accepting the deal. The total value of deals was over Rs 5 Crores. “The process of securing funding for the other companies will continue over the next three months as we match other investors in our database to these companies. We see this as a trend in all our fund fests where the spot deal value is exceeded substantiallyin the weeks following the finale, as other investors join the investment rounds. We expect that this event will end of creating deals worth INR 7-8 crores over the next few weeks,” commented Nalin Singh the co Deal Mater of the event.

This is a business funding program that has become hugely popular because of its distraction free format, as there is no carnival like atmosphere, no speeches of sponsors, no panel discussions, no stalls to sell products and services and no crowds of unrelated people and needless networking – only entrepreneurs and the matched investors. At the national event in the previous four editions, entrepreneurs from across India and 47 other countries registered and participated.

For the North East India Fund Fest 16 entrepreneurs have been selected through a rigorous filtering process out of 2,000 interested applicants. The selection of these startups was made by an eminent jury and through a proprietary ‘Investor Readiness Report’ process, ensuring the companies are thoroughly vetted. The entrepreneurs are from varied industries and come from nine different cities. These finalists will be pitching in front of 8 Master Investors to get deals needed to take their businesses to the next level.

The event was recorded to be telecast as a web TV series on the India Fund Fest Youtube channel.

Here’s what some had to say:

Hosts

Nalin Singh (Founder of Natio Cultus): This is one of the finest and most supportive startup ecosystems in the country today. This needs to be nurtured and the work being done at the grassroot level is commendable. It was an absolute pleasure partnering TiE Guwahati on this initiative.

Vijay Sambamurthi (Founder and Managing Partner of Lexygen; Co Founder and Secretary of TiE Guwahati): We worked very hard with the amazing Cultus team to co-host this pioneering funding event for the NE region, and I must say, I’m very proud at the quality of the finalist-startups and of the funding outcomes achieved! But this is just the beginning, and we will continue working hard to make increased positive impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in the NE!

Investors

Prashant Dua (Founding Partner at PitchWorks.vc): The quality of the startups, the grounded founders and the work done by Assam Startups has been pleasantly surprising.

Chinnu Senthil Kumar (Co Founder at Exfinity Venture Partners): The curation and the preparation of the startups before presenting them to matched investors is phenomenal. Very well organized event.

Entrepreneurs

Achitra Borgohain (Founder of BinBag): We have bagged a deal at the NEIFF. The platform gave us a unique opportunity to present in front of seven investors in one go. Something that would have taken us a few months. It is a great platform for entrepreneurs like me.

Bijit Sarma (Founder of Asah Tea): NEIFF gives us a big opportunity to connect directly with investors and get deals. Since staying in North East is very difficult to get the right investor. If we also get we are unable to make the deals. But here we are getting very nice investors who are totally interested in us. Also we are getting lots of motivation from the investor and the deal masters of the fund fest. This type of events will help entrepreneurs of the North East.

Harsha Deka (Founder of My 3 D Selfie): Delighted to get a deal. The whole platform is meticulously conducted and is a boon to entrepreneurs. This kind of matching and deal making is awesome.

Also Read: First-ever NE India Fund Fest to give budding entrepreneurs impetus to realize their goals

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