IIT-BHU concludes Traction 2026 with hands-on venture-building programme for aspiring founders

The programme was designed for students, faculty members, aspiring founders, innovators, researchers and early-stage startups. It focused on helping participants move from ideas to practical venture creation, customer validation, product development and understanding the startup ecosystem.

The Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIT (BHU), Varanasi, in association with Ideation Innovation & Incubation (I-3) Foundation (I3F), Joint Incubation Centre (JIC) and E-Cell, IIT (BHU), successfully concluded "Traction 2026", a three-day entrepreneurship programme held from October 2 to 4 at IIT (BHU), Varanasi. The programme was designed for students, faculty members, aspiring founders, innovators, researchers and early-stage startups. It focused on helping participants move from ideas to practical venture creation, customer validation, product development and understanding the startup ecosystem.

The programme followed an intensive, interactive format, with sessions with experts and participants working progressively through the key stages of venture building, including problem identification and validation, customer discovery, defining a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), product building, business and go-to-market strategy, and fundraising preparedness. Traction 2026 featured interactive sessions, workshops, founder interactions, mentor clinics, practical exercises and dedicated build sprints. Participants worked through key stages of venture building, including identifying and validating problems, customer discovery, defining a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), product building, business and go-to-market strategy and fundraising preparedness.

A key highlight of the programme was the participation of IIT (BHU) alumni working as founders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capital professionals and industry experts. They shared their entrepreneurial journeys, industry experience and practical guidance with participants. The programme featured interactions with Rajeev Gupta, Serial Entrepreneur; Amitava Saha, Founder, Firstcry & Xpressbees; Dr Anand Jaiswal, TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS); Dhiraj Daga, CTO, Indra Astra; Saurabh Yadav, Director, Rocksensor India; Akasmat Pradhan, CEO, Magna Hire; Prakhar and Pranav Yadav, CEOs, Specker.ai; Sridhar Parthasarathy, Partner, BlueHill; Rohan Paliwal, Senior Associate, Stakeboat; Sudhanshu Srivastava, Investor, VC Funds; and Saurabh Singh, Partner, Trifecta Capital.

The programme concluded with participants reviewing their progress, refining their MVPs and presenting the outcomes of their venture-building journey. The experience encouraged them to move beyond theoretical learning and take a practical approach to building, testing and validating ventures. (ANI)