PANJIM: The 10th episode of the Founder’s Club, titled “Direct Asks to Enhance Performance,” organised by the Startup & IT Promotion Cell, Department of IT, Electronics and Communications (DoITE&C), Goa, focused on exploring strategies for business growth and innovation.
The panel discussion, moderated by Kishore Shah, featured prominent startup founders, including Abhishek Mawai, Founder of Neokul, Apoorv Bamba, co-founder of Neokul, and Ryan Prazeres, founder of One Board.
Opening the discussion, Shah emphasised the importance of four key elements for business success: strong cash flow, return on capital investment, growth, and customer satisfaction. He stated, “If these four elements are in place, your business will scale.”
Neokul, an ed-tech startup focused on innovative pedagogy, encountered some challenges, including motivating students to complete their programmes, attracting students to test their minimum viable product, targeting the right audience, effectively allocating their marketing budget, and securing projects for students to work on.
During a discussion, several suggestions were offered to address these issues. Experts advised communicating the value of the programs to students and utilising Instagram to increase engagement and build a community. They also suggested shifting the target audience from engineering students to Business Administration students and those who have dropped out and are looking to complete their matriculation.
OneBoard, founded by Prazeres, specialised in curating unique travel experiences in Goa that went beyond typical tourist activities.
Experts suggested initiating certification programmes for adventure activities such as scuba diving or rock climbing, as these programmes provide customers with a sense of achievement and skill mastery.
The meeting highlighted the importance of networking and collaboration within Goa’s startup community and set a new benchmark for resource sharing and community engagement, paving the way for continued growth and innovation in Goa's startup ecosystem.