PayPal today announced that it will host the upcoming Startup Weekend from July 11 to July 13, 2014, at its Development Center in Chennai. The 54-hour long event is a creativity-fueled workshop that provides a platform for participants to meet like-minded enthusiasts, build their network, get face time with thought leaders and learn new skills. Startup Weekend is a global movement to promote entrepreneurship, which takes place in more than 550 cities.
This is the first time that a Startup Weekend event will be hosted in Chennai, paving the way to building a sustainable startup ecosystem in the city. Ranga Kanapathy, Director & India Head, PayPal Data Technology, and Arun Athiappan, CEO & Founder, Ticketgoose.com, will be among the keynote speakers for the event that is expected to bring together about 100 startup enthusiasts, well-established CEOs, and a network of angel investors.
Anupam Pahuja, General Manager, PayPal Development Centers, India, said, “We are delighted to host Chennai’s first Startup Weekend in line with our broader goal of strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem in India. PayPal believes in fostering the entrepreneurial spirit as innovation is the key to a better world.”
“With its origins as a startup, PayPal has grown to become a global leader in the payments industry today, and we are proud to help the new wave of aspiring entrepreneurs take their first steps towards a successful venture,” he said.
Leaders in business and academia will also attend Startup Weekend Chennai to guide the participants with their proposals. The applicants at Startup Weekend Chennai will brainstorm their ideas, form groups based on their interests, meet mentors and discuss varied topics such as code designing as well as market validation before presenting their final plans at the end of the weekend. Each team at Startup Weekend Chennai gets $100 of free AWS Credit, $500 of Google Cloud Platform credits to build mobile and web apps, and a free .co domain.
The Startup Weekend sessions organized in India have so far witnessed the launch of seven startups, including SocialShout, Ridingo and Gaze Metrix, two of which have received angel funding. Interested applicants can register for Startup Weekend Chennai at http://em.explara.com/event/swchennai.
In Chennai, PayPal supports the local entrepreneurship ecosystem through Start Tank that provides early stage startups a world-class incubation space and access to global mentors, angel investors, and venture capitalists. The Start Tank runs globally across PayPal offices in Boston, London, and Chennai. PayPal formally launched its Chennai startup incubator in association with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Chennai in November 2013 and currently hosts four startups.
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