Three day convention took place in Delhi as the world’s largest funding festival
- ByStartupStory | April 11, 2023
Hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs descended on Noida, a suburb of India’s capital Delhi, in March to attend a three-day convention billed as the “world’s largest funding festival.”
Eager start-up founders anticipated meeting business leaders at the World Startup Convention (WSC), hoping that their 15-minute pitches would result in funding.
In 2021 and much of 2022, India’s start-up ecosystem was flush with funds as companies raised record amounts, giving birth to unicorns and making several entrepreneurs overnight millionaires. However, global headwinds had made investors more cautious, causing liquidity to dry up.
As a result, the WSC had high expectations. But, within hours of the event’s start on March 24, things devolved into chaos. Many participants and some sponsors claim they were duped and cheated; the organisers deny this, accusing some of the entrepreneurs of disrupting the convention.
Sachin Chauhan and his team arrived at the event ready to go on Day 1. Mr Chauhan, an entrepreneur from the northern state of Haryana, purchased event tickets after seeing WSC advertisements on social media in February.
Top Indian politicians, including federal transport minister Nitin Gadkari and health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, were among the chief guests, according to the WSC website. State chief ministers were among the other guests.
Popular influencers such as Ankur Warikoo, Prafull Billore, Raj Shamani, and best-selling author Chetan Bhagat were featured in short promotional videos. According to the promotional materials, 1,500 venture capitalists, 9,000 angel investors, and 75,000 start-ups were expected to attend. It was promoted as a venue for meeting potential customers, networking, and pitching directly to investors.
Mr Chauhan, co-founder of Apna Mechanic, a bike servicing and repair app, spent 20,000 rupees ($244.4, £196.3) on tickets for himself and four colleagues.
They came bearing a presentation for prospective investors. Their joy, however, was short-lived.
“We barely saw any investors for hours,” he told the BBC.
Bherav Jain, the founder of the start-up Reproc, had travelled thousands of kilometres from Tamil Nadu in southern India.
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