Centre for Research on Start-Ups and Risk Financing (CREST)

An Institute of Eminence-Research Centre at Indian Institute of Technology Madras

ICCSI 2023

First International Confluence Conference on Startups and Innovation December 13 - 15, 2023

CREST hosted the International Confluence Conference on Startups and Innovation from December 13th to 15th, 2023. The first two days of the conference featured technical presentations, plenary talks, and a networking dinner. On the third day, the focus shifted to panel discussions, keynote talks, and fireside chats with speaker-scholars representing academia, government, investors, ecosystem enablers, and startup founders.
Conference Inauguration
The confluence conference was inaugurated by Shri. Sivasubramanian Ramann, CMD, SIDBI, followed by the presidential address by Prof. Kamakoti, Director IIT Madras, Shri. Gopal Srinivasan, TVS Capital and Prof. Thenmozhi, Head, Department of Management Studies.
Research Track

The research presentations were meticulously organized across various focused tracks, each addressing critical areas of entrepreneurship and innovation.

The Entrepreneurship as Practice track provided a platform for researchers to explore entrepreneurial actions, decision-making, and real-world applications of entrepreneurship theories.

The Business Incubators, Accelerators, and Innovation Ecosystems track highlighted the role of these entities in fostering innovation and supporting startups.

Environmental and Social Governance (ESG), Climate Technology/Public Health, and Entrepreneurship track focused on the intersection of sustainability and entrepreneurship.

Across all tracks, participants actively engaged in discussions, exchanging ideas, and debating future research directions. These tracks not only facilitated the dissemination of cutting-edge research but also encouraged cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Distinguished speakers from various industries, academic institutions and the banking sector led the plenary sessions during the conference. These eminent speakers brought their expertise and insights to the conference, contributing to the rich exchange of ideas and knowledge during the plenary sessions

Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan

Director, Professor Strategy, Ram Charan Chair Professor in Innovation and Leadership, IIM Bangalore

Prof. Saras D. Sarasvathi

Professor of Business Administration, Darden Business School, University of Virginia (Virtual)

Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala

President, IIT Madras Research Park

Prof. Rajan Varadarajan

Mays Business School, Texas A&M University.

Shri. Sushant Shetty

Vice President, DBS Bank

Shri. Raju Goteti

Vice President, Co-Innovation Network, Tata Consultancy Services

Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao

Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani

Prof. Sujatha Srinivasan

IIT Madras

Prof. Satya R Chakravarthy

IIT Madras

Mr. Sandeep Varma

Chief Executive Officer, CGTMSE

Dr. Maheshkumar P. Joshi

Director – Associate Professor, Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, School of Business, George Mason University

Mr. Avnish Sabharwal

Managing Director, Accenture Ventures & Open Innovation

Dr. Archana Hingorani

MD, Siana Capital

Shri. Narayan Ramachandran

Chairman of TeamLease Services Limited

Master Sessions during the conference were led by esteemed faculty members from renowned academic institutions

Prof. Rupashree Baral

IIT Madras

Prof. Srivardhini K. Jha

IIM Bangalore

Prof. Ruchi Sharma

Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Indore

Prof. Jon Thomas

Director, EFCIE, Associate Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, School of Business, University of Fraser Valley, Canada

Prof. Subash S

IIT Madras

Prof. Sonali Gupta

Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, M. S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences

Prof. Dr. Ambuj Gupta

Area Chair Finance, Dean of National Relations and Tie-ups, Kirloskar Institute of Management Pune

The conference featured enriching Professional Development Workshops (PDWs) covering a range of topics, facilitated by experts in the respective fields

PDW on Qualitative Research

Prof. Jon Thomas
Director of EFCIE, Associate Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, School of Business, University of Fraser Valley, Canada

PDW on Generative AI and Large Language Models

Prof. V. N. Rajesh
Data Science & Information Systems, IFMR-Krea Graduate School of Business, Krea University

PDW on Publishing in Top Journals

Dr. Raj Krishnan Shankar
Associate Professor and Program Director, PGDM, Great Lakes Institute of Management

PDW on Entrepreneurship as Practice

Prof. Rohan Chinchwadkar
Assistant Professor, IIT Bombay

PDW on Entrepreneurship as Practice

Prof. Sankalp Pratap
Associate Professor, IIT Bombay

Effectuating an Incubator in an Impossible Geography

Dr. Puran Singh
Associate Professor [Finance & Entrepreneurship], School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi

How does Accelerators Impact Start-ups?

Prasanth Varanasi
Xynteo

Sparking a Lab to Market Revolution

M. Subramaniam
GDC, IITM

Exploring Open Innovation Between Early-Stage Startups and Global Corporations

Lakshmi Murali
Principal Consultant, Tata Consultancy Services, IITM RP, Chennai

Why do Startups Need Incubators? A ‘Deep-Tech’ Perspective

Jaya Umadikar
Director, IIT Madras Incubation Cell

Capital Raising for Start-ups

Arun Thathachari
Anicut Capital

Can India’s Defence and Space Sector Act as an Aggregator to Boost Innovation Potential?

Swati Joshi
Senior Research Associate, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research (CTIER)

Start-ups and the Case for Internationalization

Satyajit Mohanan
Project and Business Development Coordinator, Cambridge Cleantech London

Challenges and Opportunities in Indian Start-up

Sonali Jha
Cunomial Technologies

Startups for Public Health

Prof. Denny John
MS Ramaiah University

Moderator

Prof. Ramnath Narayanaswamy
Distinguished Professor, FLAME University, IIM Bangalore (retired Professor)

Annamalai K

Former IPS Officer and Tamil Nadu State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Anurag Kundu

Member, Punjab Development Commission

Ghanshyam Tiwari

National Spokesperson, Samajwadi Party

C.K. Kumaravel

Entrepreneur and Head, Congress Professionals Chennai Chapter

Moderator

Sruthi Kannan
Head of Cisco for Startups

Mr. Mallesh TM

CEO and Founder of Cultyvate

Sharath Loganathan

Co-founder of Ninjacart

S Shriram

Director of Fluxgen Technologies

DinnerPlenary
Dinner Plenary

The conference dinner took place at Hotel Taj Wellington Mews on December 13th, 2023, featuring a dinner plenary session titled “Will Ideas follow the money trail or the other way around?” led by Shri. Narayan Ramachandran, Chairman of TeamLease Services Limited.

Best Paper Awards

Three papers were honoured with Best Paper Awards, each receiving sponsorship of Rs. 10,000 from the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship, IIT Bombay

Two papers were selected for Best Paper Awards, with each being granted Rs. 1,00,000 sponsorship by Societe Generale Global Solution Centre Pvt. Ltd.

Cultural Event

Bhajay Panduranga- A Thematic Production Based On The Bhakthi Saints Of Maharashtra was performed by Kalaimamani Smt. Roja Kannan’s “Bharatha Natyalaya” on December 14, 2023 at CLT IIT Madras

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Partner Institutions

We are honoured to have partnered with esteemed institutions for the conference, each bringing unique perspectives and expertise to enrich the event’s offerings.

Sponsors

The conference was graciously supported by a range of esteemed sponsoring organizations, each contributing to the event’s success in their unique capacity. Together, these sponsors played a crucial role in enriching the conference experience, embodying a shared vision of progress, innovation, and collaboration across diverse sectors and industries. Among the notable sponsors who lent their support to the conference were:

Valedictory

Dr. PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, the Honourable Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services of Tamil Nadu, served as the culmination of the conference.