TiE Pune organised sixth edition of TiECON PUNE 2018 with the aim of Enriching the Eco-system in Pune. The largest entrepreneurship conference in the city provided an immersive experience to over 500 entrepreneurs. This TiECON was special for its focus on fundamentals of entrepreneurship and the quality of content delivered by esteem speakers and panellist. The conference hosted speakers like Padmashree Alyque Padamsee, Swapnil Shinde of Mezi.com and Dr Sheetal Amte. Ad Guru Alyque Padamsee spoke about “Brandversting” and shared his experiences during the making of signature campaigns like Fair & Handsome, Liril, Kamasutra and many more which were designed and handled by him. He insisted on the importance of ideation in the world of advertising.

The highlight of the event was the interactive keynote session by Padmabhushan F C Kohli, Founder and former CEO, TCS and Mr. Ishaat Hussain, former CFO of Tata Sons. Mr. F C Kohli, now 94 years old and known as the father of Indian software industry, emphasized the need of reforming the education system in India and especially in the engineering discipline. He has dedicated past 15 years for the cause of education in India. Mr. Ishaat Hussain, a Tata Group veteran, spoke about TCS IPO and how it has become the most valuable company in the country. He spoke about values that underlie the Tata group philosophy.

Kiran Deshpande, Founder and CEO, Mojo Networks and President, TiE Pune said, “Most people are unaware that only 3% of the start-ups actually succeed. So, TiE Pune has curated this year’s TiECON Pune with a focus on ‘Enriching the eco-system’, an action-packed programme of learning, interaction and networking for its attendees. Deep-dive sessions on topics like Business Validation, Social Selling, Sales to Scale, Design Thinking and Funding were held for entrepreneurs to get to the root of their challenges. It was a must attend event for start-up founders, new-age companies, growth stage and the established businesses.”

The conference had a pavilion for TiE Pune’s signature program for mentoring called “Nuture”. Applications were invited for 7th edition of nurture mentoring program. Through the last 6 years of nurture programme Tie has nurtured over 60 companies.

TiE Pune Angels, provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to leverage a large funding base, from various TiE Pune Charter Members and Investors around the world. Start-ups & entrepreneurs can tap into the TiE Pune Network as a strong investment group with a history of successful investments. Several Start-ups have received Mentoring, Funding and Investment from TiE Pune Angels.

The winners of the first annual TiE Pune Whizible Awards 2018 for entrepreneurship were announced and conferred at the hands of Padmashree Alyque Padamsee. The Exemplary Entrepreneur Award was given to Dr. Anand Deshpande, Founder & CEO, Persistent and Women Champion Award was given to Ashwini Deshpande, Founder and CEO of Elephant Design.

The two-day event was designed to inspire and be a one stop destination for all aspiring entrepreneurs and a platform for fostering entrepreneurship.