Travel Startup Knockdown – Fueling innovation in travel technology

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer”

Whatever maybe the reason, travelling is no more a luxury, it is become a part and parcel of life and with this also comes in the role of travel booking sites and platforms that allow passengers to book their seats through the ease of internet. With the travel industry growing tremendously in its scope and metrics, so is the number of startups coming up in this world of providing ease of travel bookings to customers.

Startup Knockdown+ is an initiative by TravHQ in association with Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) to highlight the emerging travel technologies across various cities in India. This new level of battle provides an opportunity to companies at various stages of development, be it an early stage venture or an emerging travel startup or an innovative product by a recognized enterprise. This knockdown event allows all of them into the field of travel tech a chance to showcase their big idea at India’s largest travel trade show.

TravHQ is one such firm that brings forth a platform that offers information, news, insights and reviews about the travel industry, focusing primarily on technology, digital marketing and startups. TravHQ tracks and analyses the changing travel-tech scenario in the APAC and South East Asian region.

This year marks the third edition for TravHQ’s startup Knockdown. This year, the event aims to be bigger and better than the first one. The first event was hosted at OTM, Mumbai and Fxkart was announced as the winner with Tramily coming second in the race.

This year, the event is all set to happen in 4 cities in July and September – Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. It begins on 8th July from Kolkata, comes to Hyderabad on the 15th, 16th and 17th and then goes ahead to the other two cities ending September 25th 2016.

As part of this event, all you need to have is an out of the box idea in the field of travel tech and the zeal to show it off to the world. You can be a part of the event either as an accelerator, a booster or an inductor–

Inductor

This is for those who find themselves stuck at the ideation stage. If you think you have the idea, but are not able to find the right platform to fine tune and execute it, then this is the solution to your problem. The top 3 startup ideas will be selected and provided the platform to share their idea and get valuable feedback & inputs from experts. This will also put them in light in front of a panel of investors, mentors and industry mavens who can further help build their concept into a brand in future. These participants will only get to present during the session and won’t be competing for the award.

Registration fees: Rs. 5000

Booster

You think your product has the potential to out beat others in the market? If you think you have a product that can bring in changes in the world of travel technology then Booster is the platform for you where in your pitch deck will be evaluated on various parameters and the best ones will be shortlisted to pitch at the ‘Travel and Tourism Fair’. During the event, the shortlisted startups will pitch in front of the judges and audience to win the Startup Knockdown.

Registration fees: Rs. 12, 000

Accelerator

This for those who have already evolved in the market, but need a gear to accelerate further. As an accelerator you will get a chance to exhibit at the ‘Travel and Tourism Fair’. As an accelerator, you will be eligible for –

1. Showcase Booth: Get an exhibiting space at India’s largest B2B travel trade event and foster business networking opportunities
2. Startup Grooming Session: With such a session get a chance to brush your knowledge while our experts talk about and share guidance on how you could launch, how to pitch, how to market your services, how to build your team, and how to invest.

• Investors’ Session:  There’s a vast difference between a “cool product“ and an “investable company“. Investors could have you for breakfast if you aren’t ready with your answers on fingertips. Our investor session will involve 3-4 investors sharing their insights on how to deal with the aforesaid snags. They would be talking about market analysis, funding sector’s dos and don’ts etc.

Registration fees: Rs. 40, 000

Based on your startup and interests you can register here for any of the above packages.

Panel of judges –

• Saumyajit Guha – COO, Calcutta Angels Network
• Ravi Ranjan – Head, Startup Warehouse Kolkata
• Vikaram Duggal – Advisor, Mentor and Consultant, Unitus Seed Fund
• Shivam Shah – Partner, Augment Ventures
• Bart Bellers – Senior Advisor, Corporate Strategy, Amadeus Asia Pacific
• Subhrangshu Sanyal – CEO, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park
• Hari Balasubramanian – Advisor, IvyCap Ventures
• Sanjiv Agarwal – Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd, Publisher & Editor, Travel News Digest

So, if you think you have an edge over others and can bring in disruptive ideas for the travel technology world, then this is “THAT’ right platform for you to showcase your talents, put across your ideas and meet mentors, investors and eminent people of the same industry. So, quickly get yourself registered and be there at the event to show, learn and network

Event Details –

When: 15th – 17th July 2016

Where: Hitex exhibition Center, Kothaguda, Hyderabad

Registration: You can register for booster/ accelerator/ inductor here

NOTE: THE EVENT DETAILS ARE SPECIFIC TO HYDERABAD. However, for other cities you can log on the official website of the event.

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