Surat has hosted a mega startup summit last week. The event was hosted by Ivy Growth Associates, an incubation and startup ecosystem network in collaboration with Sapio Analytics, an AI solutions firm. The name 21 By 72, was inspired by the latitude and longitude of Surat City in Gujarat.
The 3-day summit, held at Avadh Utopia, saw participation from more than 200 entrepreneurs and 8,000 global attendees. Startups and investors received ample opportunities to interact and network with each other around various opportunities the summit had arranged.
Talking about the event, Rachit Poddar, the Co-founder of Ivy Growth, said, 21 By 72 was our first-ever summit in Surat with the mission to establish the city as a thriving startup hub of India. We planned our summit around multiple activities like panel discussions, networking dinners, and startup pitches to offer investors and entrepreneurs plenty of opportunities to interact and network with each other.”
Shri Harsh Sanghavi, the honorable Home Minister of Gujarat State, inaugurated the summit, followed by addresses from IVY Growth Associates, Sapio Analytics, and speeches from Prafull Billore; Founder of MBA Chaiwala Parthank Ahuja, and Mahavir Sharma. Panel discussions included TiE Surat, founders like Shivi Singh, Anuj Parekh, Deepanshu Manchanda, and Prakash Sharma.
The exhibition was a massive success for participants. One of the participants, Deciwoods, an Indian brand selling eco-friendly Bluetooth speakers ranging from 999 to 5k INR, saw more than 1 lakh INR sales. Another firm, named Salttech Design Labs that builds sustainable materials for infrastructure also received considerable response from real estate developers attending the event.
“One of the investors was already using the product of one of the exhibitors, a D2C firm, and they discussed a joint venture. Similarly, Sapio Analytics was also working with one of the angel investors on a business model, and they received an investment pledge from him. There are similar transactions in the pipeline from the event,” said Sharad Todi, Co-founder and Director of IVY Growth.
“We had also executed a Startup Pitch Event on the second day of the event. There was a lot of enthusiasm around it from both startups and investors,” said Todi.
Startups featured in the Shark Tank India (First Season) show like Proxgy India, Hair Originals, and The State Plate had also joined the event for further funding. Besides Sapio Analytics, other startups that have received funding pledges include Gorilla Link, a space-tech startup based in Israel, CarDekho, and Swytchd, among others. Their UAE partners, Khaleefa Alqubaisi and Hilmi Ghosesh were the major investors, pledging more than 10 crore INR, along with participation from SeedVC, Eaglewings Ventures, and Asset Positive, to name a few.
“We are overwhelmed by the positive responses we received,” said Poddar, “with some even hailing it as the city’s most prestigious startup event ever held. Above all, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Bhagwat Karad, and Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, had noticed and praised our efforts. And it has given a massive boost to our team’s spirit.”
The same is also reflected in the testimonials of the attendees. “21 By 72 was an excellent and well-orchestrated event. Kudos to the team’s effort to give recognition to Surat in the global startup landscape. I wish the Ivy team many more successes in the future,” said Anuj Parekh, Co-founder and CEO of HealthySure.
“We are thankful to all stakeholders and over 8000 attendees from pan India and across the globe for becoming part of our first-ever startup summit at Surat and supporting our mission to transform the city into a global startup hub. Their presence over the three days has empowered us to create bigger events in the future,” said Poddar.
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