August 17, 2026 10:53 am (IST)

Make this your homepage

All Finance

After SC rebuke, BCI chief apologises to NALSAR students over enrolment freeze row | Independence Day: PM Modi’s big youth pitch— AI training, free coaching amid exam row and job concerns | ‘Shakti Ki Saptadhara’: Modi reveals 7 pillars to power India’s next leap in his I-Day speech from Red Fort | West Bengal STF arrests 3 more suspected Pakistani spies in Cooch Behar | Bengal man arrested in Bengaluru over terror links, Afghanistan travel plan | Ajit Doval breaks silence on Operation Sindoor in Discovery’s explosive new docuseries | Rahul Gandhi's 'mock hug' taunt sparks row; Centre stresses 'mutual respect' with Italy | Delhi on high alert: Bomb threat to High Court, airport and multiple locations ahead of I-Day | ‘Who are they to interfere?’: CJI Surya Kant slams Bar Council of India over NALSAR students’ enrolment row | 'Shows how low Congress has sunk': BJP slams Rahul Gandhi over Modi foreign policy jibe

Kolkata start-up aspirants get a leg up from mentors

India Blooms News Service | | Jul 15, 2016, at 09:47 pm

Kolkata, July 15 (IBNS): The newly formed Kolkata Ventures and the US Department of Commerce organised a programme called Be UR Own Boss: Starting With ZERO Money, recently in Kolkata, where entrepreneurs from diverse fields -- software to journalism -- shared their journeys of braving all odds to be on their own.

It was a dream meet for those in the audience who want to be their own boss but may not have the wherewithal to begin a venture.

It is often seen that funding is the main problem faced by most start-up entrepreneurs.

"You don't need money to start. All you need is a problem that many people care about to pay to solve," pointed out Chicago-based Avelo Roy, the architect of Kolkata Ventures, who covered a wide range of topics that often flummoxes most start-up venture aspirants.

Kolkata Ventures has been formed by Roy, who hails from the city, to promote entrepreneurship in Eastern India

According to Roy, Co-founder and CEO of Kiuqi, LLC (Chicago) and a Guest Lecturer at his alma mater Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago) , a start-up entrepreneur must first create a solution by translating the market demand to product design.

"Leverage your solution to find the resources you are looking for," said Roy. "Build a Minimum Viable Product using Lean Startup Methodology."

He also said that aspirants must be able to distinguish between product business and service business.

Roy, who has been featured in some of the top US media, also emphasized that getting a mentor often helps aspirants to save time and resources.

Despite the best of efforts, it may happen that a start-up venture fails to take off. According to Roy, "It's okay to fail, grit is the key ingredient for success. So get up, learn and keep going."

Several city entrepreneurs ranging from diverse fields shared their experiences of building their business from scratch, driven by the passion to follow heart and be one's own boss.

#Kolkata Ventures # Start-ups # Avelo Roy # American Center

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.

India
International

Related Images

In Images: Amit Shah performs 'Bhoomi Pujan' of Amul's curd manufacturing plant in Kolkata Jul 19, 2026, at 10:57 pm

Nirmala Sitharaman presents Budget 2025 Feb 01, 2025, at 03:41 pm

Veedol signs former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly as brand ambassador Jun 29, 2024, at 06:38 am