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Igniting The ‘Fiire’ In Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Forum for Innovation, Incubation, Research and Entrepreneurship (FiiRE) is a technology business incubator based at the Don Bosco College of Engineering campus in Fatorda. It was established in 2018 with the support of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under a scheme known as NIDHI - National Initiative for Harnessing and Developing Innovation. It aims to provide support to emerging start-ups in Goa and across India and assist them in gaining a foothold in the world of business.
In a brief conversation with ItsGoa, Mr. DS Prashant, the CEO of FiiRE, shared more details about the incubator, the services it provides, start-ups it has successfully nurtured, and lots more…
Mr. D. S. Prashant - An Introduction: “I have done my post-graduation in agricultural sciences. After completing my studies, I started working at Glaxo India Limited. After a year, I returned to Goa and started working in entrepreneurship development. From 2000 to 2012, I helped promote 2500+ micro-enterprises in Goa. In 2012, I began promoting start-ups in the state after getting trained in a short program on Technology commercialisation at the University of Texas. I have promoted more than 100+ startups so far, and have helped in raising funds for 30+ start-ups in Goa. I am currently pursuing my PhD in management from Goa University.”
1.Incubation: This includes providing mentorship, professional advice from industry experts, assistance in registering a startup, and a structured incubation process to help aspiring entrepreneurs build and develop their start-ups.
2.Accelerator Programme in Tourism Tech: This programme helps startups to get connected with the tourism ecosystem in the state (tourism industry, government departments, and other stakeholders). It aims to take the start-up that has a viable product to a scalable position. The two focus areas of this programme are providing startups with access to the tourism market and product validation.
3.Facilitating Prototyping: We have an onsite prototyping centre which can be used by startups and innovators who want to build a product or a model. Our prototyping centre has facilities for electronic printed circuit boards for building electronic prototypes. It also has 3D printers and CNC machines to build and design different kinds of
4.Investment and funding:
“We offer the following funding schemes for startups:
a. A one-year fellowship for aspiring entrepreneurs who have just graduated in engineering under the NIDHI EIR program
b. Grants of up to Rs. 10 lakhs for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to build prototypes under the NIDHI PRAYAS program
c. Funding through the Startup India seed fund for the startups who want to scale up their product, go to the market, and establish their product.
We also organise investor meets where startups get a chance to interact with investors and seek funding for their startups.”
Few Eminent People Who are Mentors At FiiRE:
“We have many well-known entrepreneurs and business persons on our mentoring team at FiiRE. Two individuals on our Board of Mentors, who are actively involved in mentoring startups at FiiRE are Mr. Anil Joshi, founder of Unicorn India Ventures who was instrumental in setting up Mumbai Angels and Mr. Robert Lobo, who has served as President of The Raymond Group.”
The Advantages Of Running A Startup With The Help Of A Business Incubator:
“We observe that successful startups in India have taken off and have become unicorns without the support of an incubator. However, the advantage of running a startup with the assistance of an incubator is that while building on a business idea, from Day 1, you are challenged by people who have basic fundamental knowledge about business and domain about business and domain expertise. By receiving guidance from them, one can understand the potential of the idea thus reducing the chances of failure. Start-ups who avail of the services of a startup incubator will be able to develop their idea in a much shorter period too and will be able to pivot themselves into a viable business spending fewer resources. The first idea on which the entrepreneur starts his startup is not the one he will eventually end up with. Numerous changes occur along the way, which takes a lot of time if one runs their startup without the help of a supporting ecosystem. Incubators are in a position to help create the right ecosystem for the startup. Secondly, when operating the startup from an incubator, one gets easy access to the people who matter including experts, mentors, and investors who can help and guide in pivoting the startup in a much shorter period and reach the product market fit. Thirdly, when building a prototype, the initial funding and other kinds of support for the startup are usually provided by a business incubator. One can also get access to information regarding various benefits and incentives available for start-ups from an incubator. The ecosystem will be able to help by being part of an incubator.”
Costs Of The Various Incubation Packages Offered At FiiRE:
“The following packages are offered at FiiRE to individuals wishing to establish a startup:
We offer a free consultancy service for one month. Anyone, who has an idea for a startup, can discuss the idea with us and we provide the necessary guidance required to develop the idea into a startup.
“If they want to avail of the services of the incubator, there are two ways:
1.Virtual Incubation: This package costs Rs.1000 per month. Aspiring entrepreneurs opting for this package will be provided with mentoring and guidance and support for developing their startup via various processes established by FiiRE.
Physical Incubation: This package costs Rs. 4000 per month. Start-up founders opting for this package are provided with facilities like physical office space, highspeed internet, air-conditioned rooms, access to meeting rooms, access to prototyping labs etc., along with mentoring and guidance from industry experts.”
Applying For The Services Provided At FiiRE And The Eligibility Criteria:
“There are no fixed eligibility criteria for those who wish to avail of the services offered at FiiRE. Anyone who has an idea and wants to pursue a career in entrepreneurship and establish a startup can apply. They can apply for our services, either online via our website or can connect with a member of the team at FiiRE over a phone call who will be happy to assist.”
FiiRE goes to schools and colleges to make students aware of the various services provided: “FiiRE is doing this in a small way but it is the Goa State Innovation Council, which is part of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Goa, that goes to every school and college in Goa to make students aware of the various opportunities and facilities available at various start-up incubators in the state. We rely on them to explain to students about the assistance and support which FiiRE can offer to those who aspire to establish a startup.”
“Normally parents discourage their children from venturing into entrepreneurship due to fears that the startup may fail and their child may have to incur losses” - Mr. D. S. Prashant comments: “When someone starts an enterprise, he becomes more responsible. He begins to understand the way the business world functions. He gets exposure at a very early age regarding how to manage things and can exhibit his leadership qualities. If a parent thinks that their child should work in a 9-5 job, it is fine, because entrepreneurship is not meant for everyone. However, if a parent thinks ‘why not my child start a small business, wherein the losses are not so huge,’ then there are a lot of methods today where one can try to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and ideas with minimal financial losses. The worst outcome would be that the company will fold up, and it will not work.”
“Once you fold up a failed startup company and go to apply for a job, you are more appreciated by your employers because of your experience as a start-up founder, which they find invaluable. We, at FiiRE, get a lot of inquiries from companies, saying that if you know anyone who has failed in their attempt at building a startup, kindly refer them to us so that we can hire them. This is because founders who have failed in their entrepreneurial journey have more knowledge and experience regarding running a company and implementing ideas as compared to a person who has never experienced it. If parents want their children to explore the maximum talent they have, they should also allow them to explore entrepreneurship or at least taste it at some point in time in their career.``
According to Mr. Prashant, the major reasons many startups fail are:
“Running a startup is not an easy journey. Startups are bound to fail because they operate on very
innovative models and technologies which try to disrupt certain existing methodologies in the business ecosystem. Sometimes, high-end technologies or disruptive technologies may not work, either because it is way ahead of their time, consumers may not need the product, or the startup founders may not be able to build a commercially viable product which satisfies the needs of the consumer. There may be multiple reasons for a startup to fail.”
“However, the underlying factor here is that once an entrepreneur builds a startup and fails, the next time he tries to build his startup, he will have all the knowledge and insight regarding how to go about building the startup. The learning experience that he gains after failing in his first attempt helps him in building a more successful company in the future.”
“If you look at the Goan startup ecosystem, we have a dearth of innovative ideas. This is because innovators haven't been exposed to the startup ecosystem at an early age and haven't failed multiple times.”
“There are no shortcuts to building a successful startup. They are bound to fail. And we want them to fail fast and without incurring much loss so that in their second attempt, they are in a position to build a
a startup which is more powerful, robust and scalable.”
A Few Successful Startups Nurtured By FiiRE:
“A few successful startups which have been nurtured at FiiRE include Custom Elements, an e-commerce platform dealing in bike riding gears and accessories, La Fabrica, a biodegradable packaging and consultancy firm, CogniCue, a data analytics firm, and FunMinds Learning, an ed-tech start-up that uses gamified learning to teach the ability of coding to students aged from 10 to 16 years.” “We also have a startup named Awayddings, which assists people in arranging a wedding venue at ideal destinations in India. This startup has made it to the next round of Shark Tank India.”
Mr. Prashant’s thoughts on what the Government of Goa is doing to promote Goa as a startup hub:
“Government has come out with a clear roadmap. The startup policy has spelt out the support offered and the vision to make Goa into a startup destination. Focusing on creating infrastructure to enable startup activities with schemes like Fibre-to-Home which aims to provide highspeed internet access to every household in the state is an enabler. Creating the right talent pool to cater to the requirements of specialised IT startups and companies is another important focus area. The government is also looking at availing the services of start-ups to provide
