31st July was a big day for the nine startups of Spark10 Accelerator, Hyderabad. After 13 weeks of intense acceleration process, Spark10's startups presented their businesses to a host of investors and influencers in the startup ecosystem. The event was attended by members or representatives of Hyderabad Angels, Chennai Angels, Parampara Capital, 50K Ventures, Venture East and Sri Capital amongst many network and individual investors.
Held at the prestigious Radisson Hotel, Hi-tec City, the event was attended by 50+ investors, dignitaries and industrialists. The event was kicked off by Ravi Warrier, COO of Spark10 and was conducted by Paul Smith, Founder of Ignite, UK, who charmed the audience with his witty introductions to the presenters from each of the nine teams.
OhLook, Paysack, Fliona, DaddysPocket, FeltSo, BeHungry, Carzip, Ornativa and Brisky's founders presented the problem they are solving alongwith some strong numbers that show good traction within the short span of 3 months since joining Spark10's program in April. The event was appreciated by many of the attendees, including members of various angel networks, individual investors and members from the Government, added Rajesh Gummadapu, CFO at Spark10.
Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secretary of Telangana, mentioned that the pitches were of high quality and the teams were very matured and stated that the value that Spark10 brings to the city is undeniable.
Mr. Ramu Kallepalli, Founder of TravelSpice, impressed upon the value that Spark10 brought to the startups and the ecosystem in general.
Srinivas Modukuri, a success investor in Silicon Valley, said, "The quality of this accelerator is at par with those in the US. All the startups looked exciting enough to invest in."
Mr. Balram of Chennai Angels praised the event and also stated that it was a very professional and high-quality affair and has already shown interest in some of the teams of Spark10.
Of the five non-Hyderabad startups, four of them have decided to move or start their operations to the city. This is great news for Hyderabad and its startup ecosystem as it means that Spark10 has managed to showcase the attractiveness of the infrastructure and entrepreneurial support in the city. In an announcement later during the event, Atal Malviya, CEO of Spark10, stated that Spark10 wants to create an environment that would attract 500 startups every year to the city.
Spark10 will continue its promise of life-time mentoring support to these graduating startups and is now gearing up for multiple ventures to help the entrepreneurs in the country. Detailed plans were not given, but LN Parimi, CSO of Spark10 stated that the near future will be an exciting time for all.
