According to an IBM and Oxford study, 90 per cent of Indian startups fail and shut down in the first five years. India is the home of several successful startups like Flipkart, Zomato, Oyo, Ola Cabs, and Nykaa. These startups have not only contributed to the Indian economy but have also generated thousands of jobs. However, startups like PepperTap, TinyOwl, Local Banya, Taskbob, Stayzilla, Shopo, BabyBerry, and many more failed to impress the consumers.
India is a developing country, and it needs more successful startups to support its economy. A vast number of Venture Capitalists in India wish to invest in startups, but most entrepreneurs fail to secure funding due to a lack of guidance and exposure. The Indian government offers numerous benefits to startups like an easy process, application to tenders, access to funds, R&D facilities, tax execution for a long term, and easy exit. India needs more entrepreneurs to increase the number of new booming businesses. Nexford University, a next-generation online university based in Washington DC, will be hosting a webinar on April 8 with Tom Eisenmann to build future entrepreneurs. The free webinar will give entrepreneurs a chance to ask questions and gain valuable insights.
In October 2020, Nexford University hosted a webinar focused on bringing together entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs from across the world. Over a thousand attendees gained actionable insights from Pierre Fauvet, Director at Creadev, and Caitlin Fiordirosa, Partner at Drive Capital. Pierre and Caitlin are among the world's most experienced investors, and they answered questions like what are the hottest sectors VCs are looking at and what a VC is really looking for when investing. They also discussed the mistakes founders make when pitching and understanding how VCs work. This year, Nexford University brings Tom Eisenmann to guide aspiring entrepreneurs.
Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at the Howard Business School and author of the new book 'Why Startups Fail.' Tom Eisenmann has worked on a multi-year research project on startup failures. He has interviewed the founders of 470 startups. His research revealed six distinguished patterns that explain the vast majority of startup failures. Tom Eisenmann is the winner of the 2015 Case Centre Award in the Entrepreneurship category for Dropbox: It Just Works.
Aspiring entrepreneurs can learn about the recurring patterns that can be anticipated and avoided. They can learn to keep their reputations, relationships, and integrity intact if they fail. Young entrepreneurs will get the guidance to learn from the failure, heal, and decide whether to pursue another startup. Most importantly, aspiring entrepreneurs will learn how to pull the plug and avoid failure. The attendees will get a few chapters of the book ‘Why Startups Fail’ for free. Nexford University strives to provide entrepreneurs with the skills they need to move forward in life. It focuses on equipping the founders with the practical skills to build a business plan, launch a venture, and grow a team. In 2019, Nexford launched the Entrepreneurship Scholarship and Rs 1.4 Crore funding opportunity for its graduates.
Entrepreneurs are a valuable asset to any country, and entrepreneurship should be cultivated and nurtured. A college degree is not mandatory for entrepreneurship, but it can be constructive, as it teaches you essential skills. Some aspiring entrepreneurs might think that most famous founders like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs are college dropouts, but they managed to thrive with a brilliant idea. However, people like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are exceptions. Every career path requires proper training, and graduating from a strategically designed school will equip you with finance & accounting, business law, HR management, and many more skills.
Most universities don't offer programs that equip students with the kind of skills they need. Nexford University surveyed Fortune 500 CEOs and studied successful startup founders to develop specialized programs. It offers Building a Tech Startup program that teaches to apply entrepreneurial tools and approaches to create a business plan for a new venture. The dynamic tech world is proliferating, and such programs are the need of the hour. Nexford University is among the very few universities in the world that offer a specialization program like Building a Tech Startup.