A "Wish List": GU Entrepreneurs Discuss Their Challenges & Wishes Regarding GUSEC With The Vice-Chancellor

AHMEDABAD – July 16, 2015 – Over twenty-five entrepreneurs of Gujarat University who met the Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat University, Dr. MN Patel, today shared the following points, regarding the challenges faced by student entrepreneurs while studying in institutes of higher learning.
The Vice-Chancellor through the GUSEC team will consider and implement policies and reforms to fulfill the following “wish list”.

1. Much of the startup policies and terminologies in India are biased towards the Engineering and Management students, and there should be a platform where startups and entrepreneurs from even the non-technical fields can be nurtured.

2. Student entrepreneurs should be given an option to sit in deferred placements, where in they can pursue their entrepreneurial adventures during college and after graduation, but go back to the institute’s or department’s placement pool in case their venture does not succeed.

3. A policy should be in place where startups could get their staff salaries subsidised.

4. There is dire need of mentoring from the revenue model point of view, because students who are willing to take up their idea are passionate and are not introduced to the real world challenges and business problems, such mentoring from the existing entrepreneurs would help them establish a proper business and eventually, earn more, and succeed.

5. The university should create a network of students who are interested in internships. University’s startups can then have access to a wide range of talent pool through these student interns.

6. The existing GUSEC website, which is quite inclusive, should be made open for ideas and a regular magazine/newsletter from the website should be put on place. Taking such simultaneous steps the ecosystem could be promoted easily.

7. Academics is not much entrepreneur friendly and hence, a proper academic support is needed from the university which would bond the students who are experts from the respective fields which in turn would help achieve a complete solution to a problem.

8. There is a need of an institution that goes on without dependencies on any factors, and GU itself has got vast startup pool of students dating back 60 years. Including GU startups from all walks of life would make the network stronger.

9. GUSEC must have a mentoring team comprising of the HR, Finance, Technical and Legal teams which can help transform an idea into startup. It should be clubbed with a screening system to filter out the ideas.

10. Any startup is not purely based on technical and non-technical aspects but it’s an idea. Creation of a platform where students could bring up an idea and provided with support will be ideal.

11. The University must provide a way to handle governmental paperwork, like setting up a company, filing taxes or registering for patents. A one-stop solution from the university for all governmental paperwork and permission must be set up.

12. One thing observed in silicon alley is free flow of innovation and talent. Anybody can have idea but the real challenge is the closed doors of the institutions. A student having an idea must be allowed free flow of information and innovation from the different institutions across the state and beyond.