Turbostart

Early-stage startups can apply for the Turbostart programme and get funding of up to Rs 2 crore

Thursday October 24, 2019 , 3 min Read

Indian entrepreneurs face many challenges in today’s ultra-competitive business world - from starting up, hiring, delegating tasks, and marketing strategies to cash flow management and scaling up. Fortunately, they are now blessed with more resources and programmes to identify their potential, help them navigate through market complexities, and make their lives easy.

One such is Turbostart, a national programme launched this year by visionary industry veterans for early-stage startups. Its vision is to be an agile and transformative force for entrepreneurs with disruptive ideas, creating value for all. The aim is to consolidate India’s startup ecosystem to create synergies and put the country’s best entrepreneurs under the spotlight.

Bringing the ecosystem to the founder

The sector-agnostic, pan-India programme is conducted twice a year - in January and June. The objective is to identify the top 10 most promising startups in the country, through a comprehensive startup-industry-academia framework and help them accelerate their business. Founders can focus on building on their ideas while Turbostart works as an extension of their team.

Industry veterans who have been founders and businessmen are a part of the Turbostart team - they know what it means to be a startup and what it takes to scale up. Turbostart will unify all stakeholders of the startup ecosystem to help founders overcome business and market complexities.

Who can apply?

Early-stage startups can apply to the Turbostart programme if they:

Have been incorporated for a period of less than 10 years
Have a minimum viable product or proof of concept
Work towards innovation and development or improvement of products or services
Have a scalable business model

The top 10 startups are selected based on the following criteria - innovative products and solutions, team strength, their business model, market depth, viable unit economics, traction, and impact. The Turbostart team will closely monitor growth and scalability opportunities for startups in every cohort.

What’s in it for startups?

The country's best entrepreneurs, i.e. the winners of the Turbostart programme, will enjoy a multitude of services pro-bono for 12 months or until their next round of funding, whichever is earlier. These services will take away the stress of starting up and will help the founders take their innovations to the next level.

Funding – Turbostart will invest up to Rs 2 crore in exchange for 10 to 14 percent stake in the startup. This process will be executed within 30 days from the Grand Finale, subject to certain conditions.
Strategy – A host of services - including product and market validation, organisation structure, brand and digital strategy, financial and business modelling, marketing and sales planning, human resource management, expansion, and access to markets/ customers.
Sundry Services – Access to legal and regulatory services, tax planning, accounting and financial reporting, compliance services, internal controls, and pricing strategies.

Timeline of events

The call for applications opened on October 15, 2019, and will close on November 30, 2019. The applications will go through screening in December 2019, post which the selected startups will have to present their final pitches in January 2020. In the same month, the grand finale will be held in Bengaluru, where the winners will be announced.