Coalescence 2024: BITS Pilani All Set To Host Annual Summit To Connect Students With Startup Founders, Investors

BITS Pilani’s KK Birla Goa campus is all set to hold the 12th edition of its annual entrepreneurship summit, ‘Coalescence 2024: Pioneering Limitless Possibilities’, from September 13-15. 

The flagship annual event is organised by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL), a student-run organisation fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among students.

This year’s edition of Coalescence will feature a stellar lineup of speakers and events, providing opportunities to aspiring entrepreneurs to network and showcase their ideas. Ankur Warikoo, an entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker, will be the chief guest for the summit. 

The summit will also feature Dr. Vijendra Chauhan, a distinguished Hindi literature professor at Delhi University and a celebrity influencer among UPSC aspirants. Zoozle founder Rajesh R Dembla, Habuild cofounder Saurabh Bothra, Stratzy cofounder Mohit Bhandari among others as speakers, who will share their experiences about building successful ventures. 

The previous editions of the summit featured Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath, Snapdeal founder Rohit Bansal, Justdial cofounder V. Krishnan, CRED founder Kunal Shah, Bollywood actor Tapsee Pannu and Postman founder Abhinav Asthana. 

Last year, over 5,000 persons attended Coalescence and 110+ colleges took part in the entrepreneurial summit where about INR 5 lakh prize money was given to winners and more than 25 events took place. 

This year, CEL aims to make the summit even bigger and better. As part of the event, the student group organises a ‘Shark Tank’ panel which brings together founders of startups that feature on the popular business reality TV show ‘Shark Tank India’. This year, the panel will consist of founders from a diverse range of industries, from healthy snacks to luxury travel. 

Rize Bar’s Dhruv Verma and Sahil Manral, Uncle Peter’s Pancakes’ Sundeep Singh and Akashdeep Dan, WhySoBlue’s Shweta Shivkumar and Nasher Miles’ Abhishek Daga will be on the panel this year. 

Coalescence 2024 will also host workshops and events to offer students hands-on experience in various aspects of entrepreneurship. The Startup Treasure Hunt, How To Create A Personal Brand, The Stock Edition, Business Quiz, Case Study Competition, among others, will be the theme of the workshops this year. 

The events and workshops will be followed by ‘Networking Night’, during which founders and business leaders will interact over some fun exercises, providing students insights into their lives and learnings. More than 30 founders and speakers from across the country, over 25 business leaders from Goa, and about 10 BITS alumni will attend the night. 

Coalescence 2024 will conclude with ‘Startup Showcase’, which will see participation from investors and venture capitalists. It will provide a platform for students to find internship opportunities or kick-start their entrepreneurial journeys.