BIGShift Pitch Is Here: Inc42 And DigitalOcean Present A Launchpad For Startups In Indian Tier 2 Cities

While metros such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru have led the way in championing India’s startup ecosystem, the startup revolution is no longer restricted to the big cities. Cities like Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi are also emerging as startup hubs at a rapid pace, with innovative startups that solve real problems. This growth has come as a result of the push the government has given to MSMEs and startups through various policies and initiatives that have given startups great impetus through much-needed infrastructure, improved tax regime and access to funding and incubation.

And in our endeavour to constantly bring the most innovative and best startups to the fore, we turned to the startup ecosystem in smaller cities of India through BIGShift. Earlier this month, Inc42 and DigitalOcean announced the launch of the second edition of BIGShift after terrific response to the earlier editions. This time around, Inc42 has tied up with DigitalOcean to bring BIGShift to six emerging startup hubs in Tier 2 cities to engage, empower and enable the local startup ecosystem.

The BIGShift Pitch is an integral part of each of the six legs of the BIGShift series and will act as a launchpad for five early stage startups in each host city by providing them with a platform to showcase their products, solutions or services to industry stakeholders and investors.

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The BIGShift Pitch

BIGShift Pitch is a platform for startups to showcase their business proposition as well as products or services in front of the stalwarts from the startup community from each location. Any early stage startup based in any of the BIGShift host cities can apply to showcase their business proposition at the event. Inc42 will be shortlisting applications based on the following parameters.

Who Can Apply

• The startup has to have been operational for at least a year, but less than 5 years
• The startup has to have raised less than $1 Mn in funding
• The startup must be registered in India or founded in India, with operations here

The Process

• You will be shortlisted after a rigorous evaluation on various parameters such as proof of concept, traction, funding, etc
• Once selected, you will be notified via email with further instructions
• On the day of the pitch, you will be provided five minutes to showcase your product/idea, followed by a Q&A session

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Why Should You Apply?

If you still have doubts about applying and are wondering what benefits you will actually reap, here are a few:

• The opportunity to showcase your startup and products or services to those who matter
• Get discovered by the local startup ecosystem to build your network and expand customer base
• The five startups selected for the BIGShift Pitch will land a direct entry into DigitalOcean’s Hatch Program which offers infrastructure credits, priority support, training and access to the startup community
• The top six startups throughout the BIGShift series will be featured on Inc42
• 3 startups will get free access to Inc42’s flagship conference — The Ecosystem Summit in November’19.

Opportunity Of A Lifetime

The BIGShift event series has seen participation from over 400 startup ecosystem stakeholders over the years, and has enabled 40 Indian startups to showcase their products and present their ideas to investors, other entrepreneurs, influencers and more.

Over 12 startups from different tier 2 cities were discovered through BIGShift, including DronaMaps from Visakhapatnam, O2ONOW from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh among others. This year the expectations are high as BIGShift travels the length and breadth of the country to bring the best and most innovative startups to the spotlight. The aim is to cover more startups and more cities, while bringing more people from the ecosystem together to provide startups in Tier 2 cities the platform they deserve, but don’t usually get.

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The BIGShift editions for Chandigarh, Indore and Ahmedabad are being supported by Dineout. BIGShift Vizag is being supported by Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS).