PROTO…showcasing the best Indian tech startups

If you are a tech startup, a venture capitalist, a wannbe tech entrepreneur or just somebody who thinks that there is more to Indian technology than BPOs & call centers, you must book your date with Proto. Proto is a first of its kind event, that will showcase the best of Indian startups under one roof. It is being held in Chennai on 21st/22nd Jan,07. The idea for Proto is inspired by Demo, the annual bash in Silicon Valley, that is fast becoming the Mecca for launching emerging technological innovations.

Proto’s tagline is ‘Create..Collaborate..Contribute’. This is derived from the three distinct dimensions that characterize any technology ecosystem, viz. the Creators (entrepreneurs), the Collaborators (VCs) and the Contributors (technologists/professionals). Thus the event is likely to be a meeting ground for people from these communities.

So how is it going to work? Proto is planned as a day long event where 30 chosen companies will get 10 mins each to show their product to a select panel comprising VCs and technologists. Off course, the emphasis is less on a marketing style presentation and more on demonstrating live, the product they have built or are building. The companies that want to showcase their products will have to undergo a rigorous selection procedure, before they are allowed in the select lot. Priority will be given to those companies that are actually seeking funding from VCs, angel investors etc., as this is a terrific opportunity to make a good impression before such an audience. Its likely that both the participating startups as well as the VCs will be charged a (nominal) entry fees to ensure greater involvement. I think this decision is in the right direction. And the startups could be from any area- web based services, consumer hardware, mobile, Web2.0, ecommerce, IT enabled services etc. (I have used the collage for the Indian startups’ logos from Dina Mehta’s blog post on Indian Web2.0 companies).

Off late, I have been interacting with a few VCs/equity investors myself. My sense is that VCs (in general) are not too happy with the available investment climate in India (specially amongst the smaller startups). Its almost as if, there is ‘just too much VC money,chasing too few good investment opportunities‘. And if there is even an iota of truth in the above assertion, then this is a VERY GOOD occassion for the VCs to come face to face with the best Indian startups. Its not just a one-time encounter; this could be a precursor for many similar or related events in the future. This also imposes responsibilities on Indian startup entrepreneurs to create products, that are promising enough to be looked at seriously by the equity partners.

Proto is being organized by the same bunch of guys who organized Barcamp Chennai and BlogCamp. That group is being spearheaded by Vijay Anand, who is himself a tech entrepreneur and works for the TeNET-IIT Madras program.

Here’s hoping that Proto acts as a catalyst in spurring innovation led entrepreneurship in this country. I’ll surely be there, irrespective of whether the product my startup is building, makes it to the privileged 30 list or not.