The programme.

Registration

Welcome Address

Global Startup Battles

Participating startups: Indieworks Technologies Private Limited; Advaidha Pratyaya. Host: Ajita.

GSC News & Network Launch (Brand Launch 1)

Brand Launch 2

Pricing the Promise: Valuation, Ownership and Investment Terms

Explore how founders and investors approach valuation when business potential and current performance tell different stories. The discussion examines dilution, deal terms and the trade-offs involved in building an investment agreement that supports future growth.

Moderator: Selva Kugan

Back the Same Founder Again? Making the Follow-On Investment Decision

An existing investment creates knowledge, obligations and emotional attachment. Should the next cheque support that company or a stronger new opportunity? Investors compare reserve policies, bridge requests, ownership targets and evidence of changed prospects. A worked allocation dilemma helps founders understand why past support does not automatically justify fresh capital.

Moderator: Nithish Bharath

When Your Customer Wants Equity: Should Investors Welcome the Deal?

A major customer offers capital alongside orders, distribution or technical access. The cheque can also bring exclusivity, information rights and dependence. Investors, founders and corporate buyers debate when the relationship strengthens the company and when it limits future customers or investors. The output is a practical set of negotiating priorities.

Moderator: Selva Kumaran

Lunch break and networking

JUST YOU Launch (brand launch 3)

Brand Launch 4

Order Won, Payment Pending: Getting the Buyer to Accept Your Invoice

An MSME can deliver the work and still wait for payment because acceptance, documentation or internal buyer ownership is unclear. Suppliers and procurement leaders trace one order from purchase order to accepted invoice. They identify the preventable disputes, handoffs and evidence gaps that founders should resolve before production begins.

Moderator: Rohit C.

Own the Recipe, Own the Factory? Choosing How Your Brand Manufactures

A consumer brand can own its formulation without owning a factory. Founders compare contract production, shared facilities and in-house manufacturing through one product decision. The debate concentrates on process control, batch consistency, minimum orders, confidential know-how and switching suppliers, producing a practical basis for choosing what the brand must control itself.

Moderator: Harsh Sharma

Who Can Overrule the AI? Designing Human Control Into Business Workflows

An AI system that drafts a suggestion presents a different operating problem from one that changes a record or commits money. Product and operations leaders map permissions, review points, failure signals and recovery paths for a single workflow. The focus is deciding when automation may act and when a person must intervene.

Moderator: Ajita D.

From Founder-Led Sales to a Scalable Business: What Must Change First?

Most startups begin with the founder winning customers personally. This panel explores when that approach stops working and how founders build a repeatable sales process, hire the right people and maintain customer trust as the business grows.

Build, Buy or Integrate AI: Which Choice Makes Sense for Startups?

Should a startup develop its own AI capability, use an existing model or integrate a specialist product? This panel explores the trade-offs in cost, speed, product differentiation and long-term dependence on technology partners.

Awards

Open networking

Topic to be announced

Use AI to Save Time, Not to Create More Work

AI can assist with content, lead handling and routine tasks, but founders still need a process their team can run. Sandeep and Vivek will discuss how to choose one useful workflow, test it and measure whether it saves time or improves response.

Topic to be announced

Before You Launch: The IP Decisions That Protect Your Product and Brand

Founders invest in names, designs, content and technology before they know what they own or need to protect. This session explains how to identify key IP assets and decide what to check before a public launch.

Topic to be announced

Before the Ad Goes Live: Can You Prove Your Marketing Claims?

Founders will examine product promises, testimonials and disclaimers through the lens of both conversion and misleading-advertising rules. The session will show how to build a campaign review process that checks the evidence behind each claim before publication.

AI in Hiring: What Should Be Automated and What Needs a Human?

HR tools can help teams manage applications and identify potential matches. This session explores where automation saves time and where founders should review the evidence and make the decision themselves.

Build, Buy or Outsource: Choosing the Right Tech Approach

Startups do not need to develop every part of their technology themselves. This session helps founders weigh cost, speed, control and ongoing maintenance when choosing between an internal team, a partner or an existing product.