Startups are founded on passion to solve problems and they have a lot of challenges that they are up against from day one of their inception. The whole journey starts when the core team gets set up and they set out to execute their plan in alignment with the vision.
At every stage in their journey they are hurdles, challenges and risks. While the public image of a startup is that of an energetic space with people who are wired to keep stretching and performing with very aggressive schedules, in reality they are a group of people who need a lot of guidance and handholding at every stage in their path to get to solutions. Sometimes they look inward for the help and sometimes they consult with mentors and other collectives to actually help them when they hit challenges that are formidable.
On the other end of the spectrum are the institutions that form veritable pillars of our way of life. Banks are the building blocks of anything financial in our lives and give us the tools and support we need to grow personally and professionally. Given the fact that startups need handholding, and by definition banks are givers of stability. When one reaches out to the other, it creates a positive synergy that results in a lot of progress. With this in mind, Axis Bank has embarked on a new initiative to help startups.
Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank is launching an exclusive networking property, Axis Start-up Social, at a ‘one-of-its-kind’ event aimed at supporting the country’s startup ecosystem. ‘Axis Start -Up Social’ went live on December 15th, 2017 at a gathering of the country’s leading startup players in Bengaluru.
The objective of this platform is to provide an opportunity for startups to network and share knowledge. Significantly, this initiative firmly underlines the Bank’s unflinching commitment towards providing multiple opportunities for startups in India to thrive and scale to the next-level-of-growth. The unveiling of ‘Axis Start-up Social’ comes close on the heels of the launch of the bank’s innovation lab, Thought Factory, which looks to aid startups to expand, besides opening up avenues with potential investors and companies. The Bank also launched its Axis Startup Banking product earlier this year, which is bundled with all key technology enabled products and caters comprehensively to banking needs of startups. Over 100 leading names among the start-up community are expected to converge at the launch.
Given the buzzing startup scene in India and the interest of even large ticket global funding agencies, this is a development that augurs very well for startups.
Speaking about the initiative, Sidharth Rath, Group Executive, Corporate & Transaction Banking, Axis Bank said, “We are excited to launch Axis Start-up Social, a platform through which we hope to provide the much required, ‘extra edge’ to the start-up community by handholding them, sharing knowledge and providing the required financial solutions. Today, the Indian ecosystem is flooded with innovative ideas but what is missing is the presence of the right channel and guidance in terms of acceleration, scaling up and funding. Through Axis Start-up Social, we endeavour to create an ecosystem to encourage innovation and the next-level-of-growth opportunities to start-ups that are ready to take that leap.”
We attended the first Axis Startup Social Gathering that was held at Wework Galaxy in Bangalore. The whole networking session was high energy and had a wealth of relevant information that exchanged between the key flagbearers and stake holders in the ecosystem. Even the question and answer sessions were so focused and informative that it felt like it was a conclave of minds of the highest order. The momentum that has been built looks promising and we are sure that the coming editions will be even more engaging and useful. This is indeed a useful and great initiative from Axis Bank.
