CHENNAI: The Entrepreneurial Skill Development Workshop organised by TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE), TiE Global’s international youth programme for high school children came to an end on Friday. The workshop covered two sides of the entrepreneurial/innovation process – the hard side of converting the idea into reality involving business plans, raising funds, staffing, implementing the project and growing it; and the soft side that involves the passion with which the project is implemented, the emotions involved at various stages of the project, the accidental happenings, the coincidences that seem strange, the ups and downs, the loneliness that the entrepreneur experiences and the culture that develops.Over the course of one week, the 46 participants were divided into six groups. Each group chose a company idea and they were taken through the process of forming and developing their company from value proposition of the idea, defining customers, marketing tactics, costing analysis to profit share.Some of the companies were Fun & Frolic – an event management company; Rock & Remake – a second hand business; Sprint – student services; Extra mile – a travel agency; Paw Print – pet care services; and a medical tourism company.A panel of reputed entrepreneurs adjudged the medical tourism company the winner and the pet care services runners up.The students said that the experience was enriching and opened their eyes to new possibilities in their careers. “This TYE workshop has taught me the 4 Cs – communicate, connect, contextualise and create content. Failing is not the same as failure. It’s just a step closer to achievement,” said Shashwat, a participant at the workshop.Meenakshi, another participant, said, “At the end of this workshop I can definitely say that a business mind is no less competent than an IIT graduate.”Speaking at the valedictory D Sabitha, secretary, School Education Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, “Entrepreneurship should be a part of us every day. As an IAS officer, I am an entrepreneur because I have to constantly think differently and every day is a learning process. When a high budget is given, my challenge lies in spending it for the right purpose.”R Balakrishnan IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Entrepreneurship Development Institute, said, “What an entrepreneur needs is a bright idea. Lateral thinking is central to the starting of any enterprise.”President of TiE Chennai and Vice Chairman, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Lakshmi Narayanan urged the parents at the valedictory not to stifle their child’s creativity. “Let them do as much as they can.All we should do is provide them with the right platform, identify their passion and encourage them,” he said.
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