Business ideas must be rooted in life experience, say academics at GITAM University's SmartIDEAthon

Hyderabad: A business idea born out of lived experience, grounded firmly in domain knowledge, and informed by extensive research has every chance to take birth and grow, averred the professors gathered here at the GITAM University on Friday for an event.

What makes a difference is asking the right questions and knowing where to look for answers, they said.

Such ideas and more floated at the annual SmartIDEAthon 2023 event, where students pitched startup ideas to investors.

The event was organised by the GITAM University, Hyderabad, sponsored by Startup India, a part of the government's initiative to foster a start-up ecosystem in India.

"The market will decide at the end of the day whether your idea is good or not," said D Sambasiva Rao, the Pro Vice Chancellor of the university while addressing students at the event's inauguration.

Professor Greg Collier of Northeastern University, US, advised students to ground their experiments in their experience.

"A student's world exposure is a very unique exposure for problem and problem-solving," said Collier, the Director of International Programs, NUCEE, Northeastern University, US, which is also a collaborator for the event, while talking to the media.

"Students coming out with such exposure have domain understanding. They understand the issues in a real way and experience them in a real way at home. They see these problems and they want to fix them," he said.

Collier also suggested students use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to speed up their research.

"AI is speeding up the research process so that we ask better, deeper and more insightful questions that can help us solve bigger problems," he said.

"It's a support tool, like Google Search but a little smarter, and it has democratised the access to data," he added.

The event, the third such, is a student-run affair and is being held by the Venture Development Center (VDC) of the varsity in collaboration with Northeastern University.

The VDC acts as a venture pre-incubator and epicentre for all startups activities at GITAM University.

As part of the event, students will pitch their business ideas and vie for a Rs 2 lakh startup capital and a sponsored trip to Boston for mentorship and business coaching.