Vadodara, April 30, 2025
The School of Business and Law at Navrachana University Vadodara (NUV), in collaboration with the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP), Government of Gujarat, and the Navrachana Innovation Foundation, successfully hosted the 7th edition of its flagship Entrepreneurship Summit on April 22 to April 25, 2025.
The summit brought together a vibrant mix of young innovators, startup founders, industry leaders, and students from across the country. It served as a dynamic platform for learning, networking, and collaboration.
The summit began with an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Manish Jain, Director of the Creativity Lab at IIT Gandhinagar, who spoke on The Role of Education in Driving Entrepreneurship. He highlighted the importance of experiential learning in fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and urged students to explore production-based business models over conventional app-based aggregators.
A series of engaging speaker sessions followed, featuring key industry voices. Mr. Karan Tanna (Blinkit) discussed the growth of dark stores and the evolution of quick commerce. Dr. Deep Lodhari (BeChef) reflected on the powerful lessons learned from entrepreneurial failures. Ms. Akansha Gandhi (Vadilal) spoke about the unique challenges of sustaining legacy brands in a rapidly changing market. Mr. Naitik Chotai, founder of Fundoolabs, provided an honest account of the lesser-known struggles of startup life, sharing insights from his Shark Tank journey.
In a focused technical session, Mr. Apoorva Vora, CEO of Finolutions, demystified how investors evaluate startups and outlined common red flags to avoid. Participants also benefited from hands-on workshops on Design Thinking by Mr. David P. Isaac (Co-founder, IRIS Training & Consulting, Mumbai) and Performance Marketing by Ms. Pranali Buch (COO, Bestow), gaining practical tools to enhance innovation and brand strategy.
A major highlight of the summit was the Business Plan Competition, which attracted 95 participants across 40 teams from premier institutions such as IIT Hyderabad, Symbiosis, and Christ University, and School students also confidently showcased a range of creative and innovative ideas.
Judged by a panel of startup mentors, venture capitalists, and academic experts, the competition offered valuable feedback and real-world perspectives to budding entrepreneurs. The price of 1 lakh rupees is distributed among the winning teams to take their ideas further.
Some standout ideas included a hyper-local event discovery app, a pet-on-rent service, an anti-dandruff cap, agricultural robots, herbal bandages, self-lacing shoes, a safe pesticide spraying device (Dripsafe), vaccine transport solutions, and a smart financial analysis platform.
Prof. Sandeep Vasant, Registrar, Navrachana University Vadodara, expressed, “The 7th Entrepreneurship Summit reflects our commitment to fostering creativity and innovation. It provided a dynamic platform for students to engage with industry leaders, exchange ideas, and gain real-world insights. Through collaborations with SSIP and the Navrachana Innovation Foundation (Incubation Centre), we continue to empower students to scale their entrepreneurial ventures.”
Dr. Hitesh Bhatia, Dean, School of Business and Law, remarked, “The 7th Entrepreneurship Summit reaffirmed our dedication to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship. The summit’s interactive format, practical insights, and real-world mentorship left participants inspired and better equipped to make a meaningful impact.”
