World Startup Convention: Inside The Fyre Festival Of The Indian Startup Ecosystem

World Startup Convention: Inside The Fyre Festival Of The Indian Startup Ecosystem

SUMMARY

At the World Startup Convention’s opening day, we saw angry crowds, organisers being shielded by police and plenty of discontent among sponsors

Bengaluru-based D2C startup Bambrew spent over INR 50 Lakh to become a sponsor for the World Startup Convention and is mulling legal action

Inc42 has seen a private video of police escorting WSC cofounder Luke Talwar away from the venue, but it’s not clear if any official complaint has been lodged

Update: After our story was published, Ankur Warikoo sent a statement to Inc42 explaining his involvement with the World Startup Convention.This is a story of the consequences of the misleading marketing by the World Startup Convention, unverified claims by startup influencers and how they have dented the trust in startup events and caused pain to the young students and founders aspiring to be part of this ecosystem.“As soon as I arrived at the venue it was clear that this was nothing like what was promised to us. I am going to take legal action and I am naming everyone involved from Luke Talwar and Arjun Chaudhary (founders of World Startup Convention) to influencers such as Ankur Warikoo and others who posted about the event,” Anant told Inc42.“This is a tough year so you can imagine how much of a blow this is for us. We will do whatever it takes to get back some of the amount we have spent,” he added.“Plus, you have to fight twenty other people to get five minutes in front of the investor. There was no planning or organisation in terms of the pitching time,” he said.About the influencers, Anant was scathing, “You have some influence and credibility. People look up to you. You should have been careful. You are an idol for young founders.”“They [World Startup Convention] have ruined a lot of the good work that Indian startups have done. Now people will have less trust in startup events and founders,” Bambrew’s Anant added.

The full statement from Warikoo has been added below.

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