NEW DELHI : A unique business plan competition drew to a close with the crowning of the Champions of the inaugural Young Tycoons Business Challenge (YTBC) on 1 August 2021. At the Grand Finale of YTBC 2021, Top 8 teams (selected after sifting through 7000+ applications) pitched their business ideas to an esteemed panel of judges.
The YTBC is a non-profit competition organized by students for students. It opened registrations in January 2021 and was free for all eligible students of Grades 9-12. The YTBC team reached out to 1.4 million students and 2400+ schools in 80+ countries, backed by the networks of Learn with Leaders, Harvard Student Agencies, O.P. Jindal Global University, Bennett University, Shiv Nadar University, Westcliff University, Wadhwani Foundation, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and TiE Silicon Valley, among others.
Over 20,000 students showed interest in participating in the competition. The first round, conducted in June 2021, led to the Top 500 teams getting shortlisted. The selected teams then went through another three rounds, with the Top 28 teams competing in the Grand Finale held on 31 July and 1 August 2021.
“The idea of YTBC emerged from my personal experience and the sheer inadequacy of such opportunities for high school students. As a high schooler, I was keen on developing my entrepreneurial mindset and apply it through a platform or a competition. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the right medium. Therefore, when I thought of YTBC, our team immediately jumped into action, and so began the competition,” said Naman Tekriwal, Chief Launch Officer, YTBC.
YTBC promoted the pitch-learn-pitch format, making it the first-of-its-kind competition. Participants received assistance through boot camps, workshops, webinars, etc. They acquired a learning curve at each round by incorporating the lessons learnt into their plans and developing new tactics.
“We presented YTBC to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among students and provide them with a platform where they could showcase their talent and polish their minds by learning from experts. Besides, we offered them their very own Shark Tank-like experience, as they pitched their business plans in every round of the competition in front of our judges. We are glad to have teamed up with like-minded institutes and judges who were keen on cultivating next-generation leaders,” said Gunjan Agarwal, Co-founder, Learn with Leaders.
Team Disolv, from the USA, became YTBC’s first-ever Champion, winning US$ 4000 along with mentorship and virtual incubation at partner incubators. Team PL-WAN and Dycon came in Runner-up and Second Runner-up, respectively. Other category awards including Best Innovation Award, Best Presentation Award, Best Social Impact, and Best All-Girls Team Award were also handed out.
The panel of judges included Dewi Dallaway, Head of Market Gravity, Deloitte Digital APAC; Annurag Batra, Chairman & Editor in Chief BW Businessworld; Nelson Mckey, Head of Digital Strategy & Innovation, Sun Life, APAC; and George Benaroya, Vice President – Finance, P&G | Tetra Pak | Nivea; Rahul Chadha, Chief Investment Officer, Mirae Asset Global Investments, APAC; Dr. Rajeev Chib, Pan Asia – COO Investor, Sales and Client Development, Citi Bank; and Vipul Roongta, CEO, HDFC Capital.
YTBC 2021 has stimulated young minds across the globe and given them a stage to breathe life into their business ideas. Preparations for YTBC 2022 have already begun and it promises to go even further to inspire next-generation entrepreneurs.
