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enStartup founders share journeys at Indo-Canadian Entrepreneurship Exchange event
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<span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Startup founders share journeys at Indo-Canadian Entrepreneurship Exchange event</span>
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<span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span>
<span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-10-27T12:02:13-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 27, 2021 - 12:02" class="datetime">Wed, 10/27/2021 - 12:02</time>
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<div class="field__item">Clockwise from top left: Saket Modi, CEO and co-founder Safe Security, Vishakha Singh, vice-president of WazirX, Manmeet Maggu, co-founder and CEO of Trexo Robotics and Ankit Mehta, CEO of ideaForge.</div>
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<div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div>
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<div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When <strong>Manmeet Maggu</strong>鈥檚 nephew Praneit was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, the then-engineering student set out to find a wearable robotics product that could help his nephew walk. After failing to find a solution on the market, he decided to build his own 鈥� <a href="/news/uoftgrad17-how-u-t-startup-helping-disabled-children-walk-iron-man">and so Trexo Robotics was born</a>.</p>
<p>鈥淲atching Praneit walk is definitely the proudest moment in my life. It allowed us to realize 鈥� for him 鈥� experiences that would not have been possible otherwise,鈥� said Maggu. 鈥淥ur goal with this technology is to give every child who wants to walk the opportunity to walk.鈥�</p>
<p>Maggu was one of four startup founders who discussed their entrepreneurial journeys at the ICEE Speaker Series last week. The event was organized by the <a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/for-entrepreneurs/indo-canadian-entrepreneurship-exchange/">Indo-Canadian Entrepreneurship Exchange (ICEE)</a>, a new program offered by 老司机直播 in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) and IIT Bombay鈥檚 Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) incubator.</p>
<p>Moderated by <strong>Jon French</strong>, director of 老司机直播 Entrepreneurship, the discussion also featured Ankit Mehta, CEO of India-based drone manufacturer ideaForge; Vishakha Singh, vice-president of non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace WazirX; and Saket Modi, co-founder and CEO of Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity and data science startup Safe Security.</p>
<p>ICEE will create opportunities for students, entrepreneurs and faculty in Toronto and Mumbai 鈥� and generate high-impact research and innovation to address a range of challenges, French said. He added plans include 鈥渁 two-week innovation bootcamp where entrepreneurs from both Toronto and Mumbai are able to immerse themselves, integrate and be a part of the local ecosystems in each of these two great cities.鈥�</p>
<p>Participants will be able to connect with 鈥渢he investor community, the non-profit and foundations in each of these two communities 鈥� and also gain exposure to other startups, have working space and be able to experience what it鈥檚 like in the two countries 鈥� and learn from each other as well,鈥� French said.</p>
<p>In his remarks, Maggu noted that 老司机直播鈥檚 entrepreneurship ecosystem played a key role in helping Trexo Robotics take its early steps.</p>
<p>After building and testing an early prototype of a robotic exoskeleton with Praneit, Maggu and friend <strong>Rahul Udasi</strong> co-founded Trexo Robotics in 2016 while Maggu was doing his MBA at the University of Toronto鈥檚 Rotman School of Management and Udasi was completing his master鈥檚 degree in engineering at the University of Toronto.</p>
<p>The company graduated from the Creative Destruction Lab accelerator at Rotman, and also received support from the Entrepreneurship Hatchery at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, the Health Innovation Hub (H2i) at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and the Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab (DCSIL). Trexo Robotics then went through the accelerator programs of U.S.-based Techstars and Y Combinator.</p>
<p>Today, the company鈥檚 exoskeletons are being used in homes and hospitals around the world.</p>
<p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/8.JPG" style="width: 750px; height: 421px;"></p>
<p><em>Manmeet Maggu鈥檚 nephew Praneit played a key role in the development of Trexo Robotics by testing early prototypes of the company鈥檚 child-sized robotic exoskeletons, which are now being used in homes and hospitals around the world.</em></p>
<p>Asked how startup founders should decide which accelerator programs to enrol in, Maggu said it鈥檚 difficult to go wrong with 老司机直播鈥檚 programs.</p>
<p>鈥淔or programs that are part of a university 鈥� like CDL, the Hatchery, H2i and DCSIL 鈥� there鈥檚 generally a lot of upside and very little downside to participating in these programs,鈥� Maggu said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e really opened up to an amazing network of not just other founders, but mentors and advisers, as well as future investors.鈥�</p>
<p>Among the questions Maggu said he had to confront early in Trexo Robotics鈥檚 journey was how to balance having a social impact with running a scalable, revenue-generating business.</p>
<p>鈥淚 like to think of it as: what is the way that maximizes the impact of your idea?鈥� said Maggu. 鈥淐ould we open-source all of our code and designs and put it on the web? Will that maximize impact? We soon realized that鈥檚 just not going to do anything at all.</p>
<p>鈥淚f you want to really maximize the reach of your product, you have to build a very successful business. You need to have IP; you need to able to raise capital from the best venture capitalists in the world; you need to scale it up; you need to have really good margins 鈥� so that you can grow the business and expand its reach all over the world.鈥�</p>
<p>Mehta鈥檚 company ideaForge was incubated in IIT Bombay鈥檚 SINE program. He said his experience spearheading hardware projects on modest budgets while studying engineering set him up for a career in entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>鈥淭he first prototype that I built was from 1,500 rupees [around $25 CAD] that I borrowed from a project that my professor was running. From that point to then spending close to $10,000 of my institute鈥檚 money on my ideas 鈥� I felt that I was really privileged,鈥� he said.</p>
<p>鈥淚 thought I should build on this privilege even though I knew that doing hardware in India was going to be extremely challenging. I felt that if not us 鈥� then who else?鈥�</p>
<p>Today, ideaForge is India鈥檚 largest manufacturer of drones for defence, homeland security and industrial applications. It鈥檚 also the first home-grown company to develop Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) drones in India.</p>
<p>Modi, whose cybersecurity firm Safe Security was also incubated in SINE, discussed how being backed by a world-renowned, higher education brand like IIT Bombay helped him secure the time and attention of potential clients and investors early in the company鈥檚 development.</p>
<p>Today, Safe Security counts the likes of Google, Facebook, British Telecom, Munich Re and KFC among its clients.</p>
<p>鈥淭here is a transfer of trust as a new startup because nobody knows about your brand, nobody knows who you are, nobody knows about what you鈥檙e trying to do,鈥� Modi said. 鈥淏ut the moment you say 鈥業鈥檓 incubated at IIT Bombay鈥� 鈥� it just means you鈥檒l probably get that first meeting, which a lot of people are trying to get.鈥�</p>
<p>That鈥檚 an advantage 老司机直播 entrepreneurs can relate to, French noted. 鈥淵ou still need to have the business and be able to walk the talk, but [you can] leverage the brand of our respective institutions.鈥�</p>
<p>For Singh, who acted in and produced several films in India, the move to entrepreneurship was a journey of self-discovery.</p>
<p>鈥淥ver the last few years, I鈥檝e realized that I have a huge appetite for risk,鈥� said the vice-president of WazirX NFT Marketplace, a Bengaluru-based NFT platform for digital artists and creators.</p>
<p>Singh said entrepreneurship, much like show business, is about the hard work behind the scenes rather than the glamour on the surface.</p>
<p>鈥淏eing an entrepreneur is not about glamour, it鈥檚 not about being 鈥榗ool鈥欌€� it鈥檚 a thankless job until you make it. And when you make it, people generally tend to forget about the hard work that you鈥檝e put in.鈥�</p>
<p>As a young entrepreneur, Singh said she hopes to contribute to the evolution of startup workplace culture. 鈥淓arlier, startup culture was all about working 24-7, success at all costs, becoming a unicorn,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he pandemic has proved that none of it matters if we鈥檙e not healthy, if we鈥檙e not taking care of our mental health and if we鈥檙e not spending time with family.</p>
<p>鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time for founders like us to change startup culture and focus on ensuring a healthy work-life balance not just for ourselves, but for our team members as well.鈥�</p>
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Wed, 27 Oct 2021 16:02:13 +0000rahul.kalvapalle170970 at Syncing light to music: 老司机直播 startup Nanoleaf hosts programming hackathon for students
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<span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Syncing light to music: 老司机直播 startup Nanoleaf hosts programming hackathon for students</span>
<div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-07-26-hack-the-light_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=ddgtv5Do 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-07-26-hack-the-light_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=ofrp3arf 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-07-26-hack-the-light_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=fiizHQ9r 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-07-26-hack-the-light_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&itok=ddgtv5Do" alt>
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<span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span>
<span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-07-26T12:04:27-04:00" title="Wednesday, July 26, 2017 - 12:04" class="datetime">Wed, 07/26/2017 - 12:04</time>
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<div class="field__item">Students work with Nanoleaf's multicoloured Aurora panels to develop programs aimed at changing the hue to the music </div>
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<div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/nina-haikara" hreflang="en">Nina Haikara</a></div>
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<div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a href="http://nanoleaf.me/">Nanoleaf</a>, the startup co-founded by University of Toronto alumni <strong>Gimmy Chu</strong>, <strong>Tom Rodinger</strong>, and <strong>Christian Yan</strong>, brought its latest lighting product, Aurora, to 老司机直播 this weekend for a hackathon. </p>
<p>The startup was hosting Hack the Light in collaboration with the Computer Science Student Union (CSSU) and the Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab (DCSIL), with students developing programs to sync Nanoleaf's new Aurora bulb panels to change colours and patterns to music. </p>
<p>With the Aurora Rhythm, a small microphone add-on that the company has yet to bring to market, developers could create software plug-ins to make the multicolour, interlocking light panels react in different ways.</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eADfwFfV8pc" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>鈥淓very time the bass hits, it will flash the panels,鈥� said Chu, Nanoleaf co-founder and CEO. 鈥淥r you could have another one where, depending on the frequency of sound it hears, it will pop the light in a different way, so you can feel the music.鈥�</p>
<p>For students, it was a chance for coding and technology skills to meet creative design and musical expression. </p>
<p>鈥淔or these students to really understand the whole technology platform and to be able to create something unique and creative in just two days was amazing,鈥� said Chu. </p>
<p>Nanoleaf got its start at 老司机直播, and so hosting the hackathon here was important for Chu.</p>
<p>鈥淚 owe a lot of my own personal success to the education I got at 老司机直播, the friends I made here, to some of the relationships 鈥� like 老司机直播 President Meric Gertler introducing us to some of our investors,鈥� Chu said. 鈥淚 owe a lot to 老司机直播, so part of it is just giving back.鈥�</p>
<p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__5363 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2017-07-26-hack-the-light2.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br>
<em>Participants of Hack the Light with DCSIL staff and Nanoleaf's Gimmy Chu (second from left) at the event this weekend </em></p>
<p>Chu, Rodinger and Yan met while they were members of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering鈥檚 Blue Sky Solar Racing team. The friends reconnected in 2009 to create a solar product but then designed what became known as <a href="/news/fiat-lux-alumni-launch-nanolight">the world鈥檚 most energy-efficient lightbulb</a> and raised nearly $200,000 through a Kickstarter campaign. </p>
<p>鈥淭hree years later, we have a team of 30 people, and our products are being sold in 40 different countries. It鈥檚 been a ride for us.鈥� </p>
<h3><a href="/news/asia-richest-philanthropist-major-silicon-valley-firm-invest-alumni-nanoleaf-light-bulb">Read more about Nanoleaf</a></h3>
<p><strong>Helen Kontozopoulos</strong>, co-founder and co-director of DCSIL, said the event was a great example of how the lab can work with startups in the future. </p>
<p>鈥淟et's de-risk a product before it goes out, and maybe even fine-tune it, with the best developers,鈥� she said.</p>
<p><strong>Arseniy Ivanov</strong>, president of the computer science student union, said the hackathon was an opportunity to bring students together and hack for fun.</p>
<p>鈥淎t night, people turned off the lights and turned on their visualizations, and it was mesmerizing to see what people did,鈥� he said. </p>
<p>The weekend鈥檚 grand prize winners <strong>Xin Li</strong>, <strong>Yang Li</strong> and <strong>Xian Zhou</strong>, from 老司机直播's electrical & computer engineering program, set their visualization to the Oscar-winning <em>City of Stars</em>, from the film, <em>La La Land</em>. </p>
<p>Li said the team took its inspiration from a shooting star.</p>
<p>鈥淚t's more than who had the most complicated code, or who had the most efficient algorithm,鈥� said Chu. 鈥淚t was really about who was able to use technology to create an emotion.鈥�</p>
<p>Read more about <a href="/news/u-t-engineering-students-light-low-income-mexico-city-community">老司机直播 initiatives</a> and <a href="/news/bright-ideas-researchers-entrepreneurs-industry-leaders-u-t-conference-exploring-future-light">startups</a> using light.</p>
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Wed, 26 Jul 2017 16:04:27 +0000ullahnor110808 at