New Delhi, 24 March 2020: TiE Delhi-NCR, one of the most vibrant chapters in the TiE Global network recently hosted its first exclusive online conference for startup founders in tandem with the India Internet Day team. Amid the nationwide lockdown on account of the COVID-19 outbreak, the conference, titled ‘Lockdown challenges for startups – navigating the COVID 19 crisis’, was aimed at helping startup founders seamlessly navigate through the unprecedented situation. TiE Delhi-NCR’s first such conference garnered a whopping 2000 registrations.
Held on 23rd March 2020, the online session was moderated by Lathika Pai (Country Head, Microsoft for Startups, SAARC & MENA) and witnessed several key industry leaders speaking on a diverse set of topics pertaining to startup success in the time of Coronavirus. Dev Khare (Partner, Lightspeed India) began the conference by setting the context; Mohit Bhatnagar (MD, Sequoia Capital) spoke on managing investor expectations and raising funds. Damien Zhang (CDH) shared experiences as a VC from China & Andy Chen (COO & Co-Founder, Whale) presented insightful inputs on how the Chinese startup ecosystem came around the COVID19 crisis.
Speaking on the conference, Geetika Dayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR, said, “The global Coronavirus pandemic has put startups in unfamiliar territory. While they are no strangers to stress and changing market dynamics, however, this is completely unprecedented and has had large scale impact. Founders have to make immediate decisions regarding business continuity while keeping in mind the health and safety of their employees. This online conference, aimed at helping startup founders plot a course that will see them through the situation, was held as a part of TiE Delhi-NCR’s commitment towards nurturing the start-up ecosystem. The massive response to our first such conference is testimony to the fact that the support and exchange of learnings and ideas are much needed, especially in turbulent times. We will continue to host such informative events until normalcy is restored.”
Apart from the business aspect, the conference was also aimed at supporting startups in guidance for ensuring the health and well-being of their teams that are now working remotely. Vani Kola (MD, Kalaari Capital) discussed the importance of mental health and meditation while the lockdown lasts. Arvind Jha (Co-Founder, Pariksha Labs) informed attendees about the best practices for working from home. TiE Delhi- NCR’s fully online enterprise garnered an astounding feedback from participants calling it a great initiative for startups in these tough times and the actionable insights they got from the sessions were highly motivating & would help them course correct!
