World Auto Forum has recently conducted the WAF I2N – Innovators & Investors Network and WAF Whale Tank in partnership with We Founder Circle, India’s No 1 Angel Investors Platform.
The event was also powered by WAF First Angels – A curated community by World Auto Forum of angel investors comprising Top CXOs, Entrepreneurs and professionals.
Anuj Guglani, Founder & CEO, World Auto Forum said, “A thriving startups ecosystem is the barometer of innovation and growth for any nation. India has been a country of investors, startups and entrepreneurs even before these terms were coined. WAF is committed to contributing to these communities meaningfully.”
The WAF I2N first panel discussion included angel investors and startup founders as speakers. It was on an extremely pertinent topic: Important Things That Make a Startup Successful. It initially saw the investors and founders lock horns on valuations, viability and value creation. This spiced up the discussion, reminiscent of their quarterly review meetings back at their offices! Gradually the discussion led to the discovery of common ground for win-win! They realised they need each other for the ecosystem to be alive. Hence collaboration is inevitable!
The second WAF I2N panel discussion saw MDs & CEOs of large corporations, angel investors and startup founders explore synergies to work with each other. The age old adage that the next Google might not come from Google and so forth was put to trial by the learned top thought leaders. The large corporation leaders acknowledged how at times their bureaucracy and layers of protocols can impede fast decision making and innovation. The startups rose to the occasion, ready to partner with their fresh thinking, passion and agility.
There was an interesting Angel Investing Masterclass by Vikas Aggarwal, Co-founder, We Founder Circle which demystified Angel investing and brought back the focus on the basics of process, tech and research for sustained success in angel investing.
WAF organised the first ever Whale Tank where 3 startups pitched their business ideas and stories of their growth and traction to a hall full of Angel investors – The WAF First Angels.
The first startup was Qik Meeting, a unified business communication app that provides the world’s fastest online meeting rooms and the world’s first ever in-person meeting experience. Their AI-powered automatic MoMs, meeting rooms with files, notes for life, fire up enterprise productivity. They have filed several US patent applications as well for their innovations.
Next to present was AutoNXT Automation, a technology company developing an electric autonomous tractor with their high torque electric powertrain and off-road automation technologies. More than 70% of a tractor’s acquisition cost is spent on it’s fuel as running cost by a farmer during its entire ownership tenure. This e-tractor comes with an onboard charger and can substantially reduce the comprehensive cost of ownership.
The third startup was Motozite, an exclusive one-stop platform for luxury cars lovers to buy a pre-owned or a new luxury car or sell/trade-in their luxury car, and avail ownership solutions such as finance, insurance and warranty, all under one roof! Currently an aggregator, they plan to enter the buying, refurbishment and selling model.
Then it was time for the awards ceremony for the 10th WAF Awards – an award which is known for its quick elimination rounds rather than the slow and research-based selection ones! The WAF Award is that rare award that rewards and recognizes the best people behind the best products and companies based on thorough research.