When Kisshann P.S.V. set up his start-up in 2008 while doing B.Tech, he had no one to guide him about how to take it to the next level. “Now, there is everything, and all you need is an idea,” he said, standing outside the newly inaugurated T-Hub building on Thursday evening.
Like him, other start-ups from the city too shared the same problems of finding space, mentors and investors. “The best part about the T-Hub is that it’s like a family. To set up an office outside, I would need to spend about Rs.15,000 a month on rent. Here, I can just get a desk for Rs. 4,000,” pointed out Kisshann, who is the founder and CEO of Innovators of India, a company that provides college students technological support for their ideas.
Agreeing with him was M. Ram Manohar Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Visiram Solutions, an IT development firm. “Mentoring is very important for start-ups, especially guidance from experts. The T-Hub will help people like us get into a supportive eco-system,” he said. He too had a hard time finding space when he started his company a few years ago. “We could not find space in Hi-Tech City,” he recalled. Another co-founder of a start-up was Prashanth Vishwanatha, who started Hackmania Technology Pvt. Ltd, that finds solutions to IT-based problems. “I started my company with a laptop and T-Hub is one place in India for such companies to come together,” opined Prashanth, who passed out of CMR College of Engineering four months ago.
Prashanth too felt that many start-ups do not have any support, and was happy that the T-Hub will now provide the mentoring aspect that was missing. “Now these companies will have some light on them as well,” he mentioned, adding that his company was mentored by a retired major, who is also an investor. About 140-odd companies will be setting up shop in the T-Hub, and the building can house up to 800 of them, said Kisshann. Both he and Prashanth have taken up space in the newly set-up incubation centre.
The best part about the T-Hub is it’s like a family. To set up an office outside, I will have to spend about Rs.15,000 a month on rent. Here, I can just get a desk for Rs. 4,000
Kisshann
Founder and CEO, Innovators of India