“The Cult of We”: The story of a venture funded start-up that nearly imploded

January 6, 2022January 6, 2022 admin1 Books By Faculty Opinion 0

By Professor G. Sabarinathan1 Ever since its first attempt at an Initial Public Offering (IPO) was dropped, news about the developments at the highly visible co-working space provider, WeWork, later on rechristened as The We Company started tumbling out in the form of numerous press stories. Books were written about its meteoric rise and the equally visible crises it descended into. This article is based on one such book, The Cult of We – WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell2. Both Brown…

From safe childhood to secure future… NSRCEL-incubated start-up Hapchi aims to build a safe childhood for every child by accompanying children along their transformational journey through all the years of pedagogy

December 22, 2021December 22, 2021 admin1 FEATURED Opinion 0

Hapchi is a body safety and skill development organization that aims to empower children from an early age. The firm’s age-appropriate, structured, step-by-step holistic program is designed for children aged between three and sixteen years, to help them develop skills such as assertiveness, resilience, persistence and emotional regulation. This in turn will help the children cope with and handle issues such as threats of abuse, bullying, cybercrime and mental health concerns, with the involvement of parents and schools. The Hapchi team works at the grassroots level with children as the…

Camouflage at its best on campus!

December 15, 2021December 15, 2021 admin1 Opinion 0

A pair of Indian scops owls on the IIMB campus, spotted and photographed by Darshan H N. admin1

Towards green jobs and cleaner air As COP26 is all set to start on Nov 1, Dr Deepti Ganapathy, faculty in the Management Communication area at IIMB, whose soon-to-be-published book on ‘Media and Climate Change’, talks to Vancouver-based Brent Perry, CEO, Sterling PlanB, who is spearheading SHIP Zero, on what is takes to chart a course to true zero emissions for trans-oceanic shipping

October 26, 2021July 15, 2025 admin1 FEATURED Opinion 0

Studies have shown that annual UN climate summits receive intense global media coverage. This coverage not only keeps the local public engaged and leads to an interesting exchange of knowledge about climate politics but also mobilizes people to combat Climate Change. In my soon-to-be published book on Media and Climate Change, I noted that this was evident at COP 19 held in Copenhagen, where nearly 130 heads of state from 191 countries and over 40,000 scientists, activists and industrialists registered for the convention. Alok Sharma, President for COP26 and Minister…

Striking the right note Aimed at inculcating a sense of joy in Indian classical music among children, ShrotaHouse is the brainchild of Madumita Bhaskar who quit a career in computers to pursue and nurture the arts

September 24, 2021 admin1 FEATURED Opinion 0

ShrotaHouse is a hub for preschoolers and primary school children to help them explore and enjoy Indian classical music. It has designed programmes to provide novel music learning experiences. Launched as a pilot in 2021 and incubated under the Women Startup Program at NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore, they have reached over 200 children till date. Madhumita Bhaskar, the founder, is a student of Hindustani classical music. A singer and composer, she has been a disciple of Prof. Milind Malshe of Mumbai, an exponent of Jaipur-Atrauli gharana of Hindustani khayal music,…

A learning revolution Incubated under the Women Start-up Program at NSRCEL, Tinkerama engages children in STEM subjects using hands-on projects

September 24, 2021September 24, 2021 admin1 FEATURED Opinion 0

Tinkerama is a venture to bring hands-on STEM (Science, Tech, Engg & Math) education to children aged between six and fifteen years. The children learn to build everything from circuits to model airplanes. A curated curriculum, kits and guidance impart skills like critical thinking. Founded by Smitha Pisupati who has a master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and eleven years of experience in the semiconductor industry, Tinkerama is inspired by the Maker Movement. Smita says she experienced, first-hand, through conducting maker-oriented workshops in the Bay Area in…

Healthy can be tasty… Founded by a nutritionist with a consideration for both health and taste, NSRCEL-incubated start-up, The Macros Bar, aims to make preservative-free nutritious snacks available to all

August 24, 2021August 24, 2021 admin1 FEATURED Opinion 0

Bangalore-based snack start-up, The Macros Bar, makes “clean and natural” snack items from 100% fruit pulp nuts and seeds, and organic oats. “Most importantly, our snacks are free from added sugars, added preservatives and supplements,” says the founder, Sonali Kulkarni. Sonali is a senior clinical nutritionist by profession. She has done her Master’s in Food & Nutrition and Fellowship in Oncology Nutrition from HCG. She has worked for over 12 years with hospitals like Columbia Asia and Cloud Nine. Her vision is to create 100% clean, nutritious and handmade snacks, catering to…

“Entrepreneurship is a journey and NSRCEL’s Women Start-up Programme has been a wonderful companion” The Build ED's founder Shobha Regunathan says being incubated under WSP offered them mentorship from some of the best in the field and widened their perspective

August 24, 2021August 24, 2021 admin1 FEATURED News and events Opinion 0

NSRCEL-incubated start-up The Build ED is a blended learning solution for architects, interior designers and engineers in the construction industry. The founder Shobha Regunathan says the courses offered by them enable students to better equip themselves with industry-relevant skills, giving them a deeper understanding of construction and of the profession at large. “Professionals can customize their learning journey by selecting a combination of short courses that are aligned to their growth. Our courses empower both students and experienced professionals alike with the allied business, management and technical knowledge required to…

Coping with COVID through creative techniques Leanne Pais created The Unopened Box as an Instagram page. Since then, with support from NSRCEL, they have grown to have over 2000 organic followers and run a four-employee revenue generating organisation

June 22, 2021July 8, 2021 admin FEATURED Opinion 1

The Unopened Box is a mental health organisation that helps people heal patterns of trauma through mental healing services provided by qualified professionals that include but are not limited to therapy, workshops, training, events and community-based initiatives. The Unopened Box offers coping mechanisms to as many people as possible through creative and innovative techniques. “Our intention is to help people own, heal and reclaim their story, by pushing boundaries on self-limiting beliefs in a non-judgmental supportive space,” says Leanne Pais, a psychological therapist (Marriage and Family Therapy) with extensive work…

Brewing a unique business model With the aim to build bridges between food and communities through innovation in existing food ecosystems, Honey launched Kombucha Brewers India and says the mentoring provided by NSRCEL at IIMB is helping her achieve business milestones

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 admin FEATURED Opinion 0

Kombucha Brewers India is a fermentation-based food startup based in Bangalore. They are on a mission to make gut-friendly and innovative foods and beverages by harnessing the power of microbes. They believe that building bridges between food and communities through innovation in existing food ecosystems can address issues like food-waste, malnutrition, hunger and gut-health – the epicenter of human wellbeing. Honey, the founder, is a self-taught kombucha brewer and fermentation educator who has four years of experience in the fermentation space. A self-confessed microbes-lover, her expertise lies in kombucha-based product…