The latest edition of the Open Innovator Meet was held in Mumbai. The event provided young entrepreneurs with access to influential investors, mentors, and new markets in an effort to aid firms in scaling and growing.

Investors and thought leaders highlighted prospects for development and offered suggestions for how to further improve the startup environment via in-depth conversations and riveting keynotes. The gathering facilitated the development of strong bonds among attendees and the young founders were given the opportunity to network with seasoned experts in the industry.

Open Innovator Meet brought the various stakeholders of the startup ecosystem at one place and allowed the participants to network, and exchange information and ideas, fostering dialogue and business. 

The event also saw an impressive display of products and solutions from various innovators. The eminent speakers from industry and investors highlighted the latest trend forecasts, developments, and challenges in the respective sectors through presentations, case studies, and best practice examples.

With the goal of assisting startups in scaling and expanding, Open Innovator Meet provided young entrepreneurs with exclusive access to global clients, influential investors, and new markets. The young founders had the chance to network with seasoned professionals in the field while making sense of the world and their place in it. The event helped guests form strong ties that benefited their goals for both their professional and personal lives.

The meeting provided the perfect setting for young innovators to present their solutions. The young founders had the opportunity to network with more seasoned business personnel and impart their unique viewpoints. Startups from a range of industries pitched their ideas to investors and business leaders in search of their next round of funding.

Furthermore, there were in-depth discussions and captivating keynotes delivered by investors and thought leaders who highlighted opportunities for growth and suggested ways to further enhance the startup ecosystem.

Debashish Roy, Director – Digital Excellence & Strategic Initiatives, Pfizer, at Open Innovator Meet, underlined the importance of meaningful value creation through partnerships as the key to – scale, sustain, and stay ahead of the curve.

_{Debashish Roy, Director – Digital Excellence & Strategic Initiatives, Pfizer.}

“Today when everyone is talking about connected ecosystems open innovation can provide opportunities to reduce research costs, offer ways to differentiate your product or service offerings in the market, and create new revenue streams, ” he said at the event. “It’s the new way to achieve bigger and greater success for business and stay relevant,” he added.

Prakash Jaiswal, Managing Director, India Head of Business Banking (MSME, Startups) at HSBC, pressed on the need for the financial services sector to innovate and transform its technology and processes to enhance customer experience by reducing friction and to innovate new customer propositions using data. This would need to be done in collaboration with technology partners & platforms.

He said “HSBC has been a pioneer in this space with numerous cases across the globe. Our extensive global network coupled with our banking and financial capabilities has proved our ability to take on the role of a ‘partner in growth’.”

“HSBC wants to become a lifecycle bank for small & medium businesses and early-stage startup/tech companies. We aim to solve banking problems and focus on offering customer-centric unique solutions,” said Prakash at Open Innovator Meet.

Anjali Sharma, Head – Enterprise Architecture, Strategy and Innovation, General Mills India Centre, at Open Innovator Meet, talked about assessing an innovative idea whether it is sustainable innovation or a disruptive one.

“An innovative idea has a structure to it, having patterns. Whenever an idea is pitched it needs to be assessed if it is sustainable innovation or disruptive innovation. Sustainable innovations primarily benefit the industry and organizations but disruptive innovations benefit the consumers at large” she said addressing the young entrepreneurs. 

“Disruptive innovation serves the latent unmet need of an overserved consumer market, through a product with limited features today, lower profit margins, and a limited consumer base. But as it continues to add features, it disrupts the incumbent players” she added.

She suggested Clayton Christensen’s Disruptive Innovation framework as one such tool that can help innovators, startups, and investors assess their ideas, products, and solutions.

The Open Innovators’ Meet is organized every month in a different city so as to bring entrepreneurs and investors together to promote emerging innovations and technologies that are transforming our future. Reach out to us at open-innovator@quotients.com to know more about corporate open innovation updates, events, programs, and for collaboration opportunities.