ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
For a startup to participate in TechSparks 2012, it MUST:
- Be an India-based registered entity (it must registered in India)
- Be in existence for at least 6 months (it must have been up and running for at least 6 months before the event)
- Be a technology company with a clear-cut product offering that is defensible (Eg. If a company has created an interface/platform to send out SMS blasts, it’s eligible. If the company just sends mass SMSes through someone else’s interface, it will not be eligible)
For a startup to participate in TechSparks, it MUST NOT:
- Have launched its product more than 5 years ago (the product entered for the TechSparks contest must not be more than 5 years old)
- Offer only services (TechSparks will not be open to companies which do only website development, ringtone sales, etc.)
- Operated alone by an individual (the startup must be made up of at least two people)
EVALUATION PARAMETERS
The startups registering for TechSparks will be evaluated by a select panel consisting of experts from yourStory.in, top VCs, technology experts and senior members of the academia with years of domain expertise and in-depth understanding of the startup ecosystem. The top 20 startups to be showcased during the grand finale of TechSparks 2012 will be determined on the basis of:
- Strength of product idea
- Extent of innovation
- Scalability of the business model
- Execution capabilities of the entrepreneur/s and the team