Bangalore, June 24, 2011: Microsoft India, today announced the winners of the
BizSpark
Startup Challenge 2011. At the event that witnessed top
15 startups battling it
out for the coveted prize, Freshdesk and Reach 360 emerged winners of the challenge.
The two winners were rewarded with a grant of USD 40,000 and the runner-up teams;
Zevenseas and Live Inbox got a grant of USD 10,000 each.
Microsoft BizSpark Challenge is a unique contest for start-ups in the field of product
software to showcase their innovative business plans, receive feedback, and mentorship
from top investors and Microsoft. The challenge was open to startups that currently
have product/IP and are leveraging Microsoft technologies. The participants were
assessed on three key parameters; innovation, market potential of the business and
a compelling story behind the idea. The challenge was launched in April 2011 and
within six weeks of the launch, over 400 product start-ups enrolled for the challenge
and
15 startups were shortlisted for the finals.
|
Congratulating the winners, Moorthy Uppaluri, General Manager, Developer and Platform
Evangelism, Microsoft India, said, "We believe the entrepreneurial spirit will play
a key role in driving the growth of the Indian economy - and it is essential that
it is fostered. At Microsoft, it is our attempt to nurture the startup community
in the country.
He further added, "There is undoubtedly a great opportunity in the mobile space
for innovation, and the Cloud is where the future of IT is as both of them offer
ample scope for startups to come up with new solutions or business models and take
them to the market"
Freshdesk is on-demand customer support software that combines a robust back-end
help desk with a community management platform and knowledge base. Currently, Freshdesk
is the only product in the category that offers multi-product support capability
and has a separate dedicated knowledge base and community forums.
|
Reach 360 has developed a stack of interlocking technologies that delivers the maximum
value to digital ad spends. Their innovative approach effectively addresses all
forms of digital advertising - branding, performance and social media. Reach 360
is the first company to enable conversion of Static Banner Ads to Rich Media Ads
and a homegrown technology of global standard that deliver ads up to 3 times faster.
Thrilled on winning the challenge, Girish Mathrubootham, Freshdesk, said, "This
challenge has given us the opportunity to showcase our innovative business models
as well as receive constructive feedback from our peers and Microsoft. The initiative
has provided us some of the most important resources required by the startups to
operate in this evolving business landscape. Our business plan focuses on the on-demand
customer support software that combines a robust back-end helpdesk with a community
management platform and knowledge base. We are confident that the guidance and mentorship
that we have received will go a long way in transforming our start-up into a robust
business entity."
|
Adding to this, Rajesh Agarwal, Reach 360, said, "The Bizspark Startup challenge
was extremely competitive and a thrilling experience. Our business is centered on
developing a stack of interlocking technologies that deliver the maximum value to
digital ad spends and this grant will certainly help us grow our business and take
it to the next level. We thank Microsoft for providing us this opportunity to build
connections and share ideas with the member startups and network partners in the
BizSpark community."
The Bizspark Startup challenge was introduced in line with Microsoft's commitment
to promote innovation and entrepreneurship and foster the growth of the local software
ecosystem. Over the years through its 'Spark Series', Microsoft has consistently
impacted several aspiring entrepreneurs at crucial stages of their lives starting
right from their education to the moment they begin their own ventures.
|
About Microsoft India
Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation,
USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in 13 cities
- Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur,
Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.
|
For press information, please contact:
|