"Earn & Sell: Your Hustle, Your Marketplace"

On January 31, 2025, the Entrepreneurship Development Cell (E-Cell) at Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (VIT) Pune hosted the "Earn and Sell" event, a dynamic platform designed to emulate real-world business scenarios and foster entrepreneurial skills among students.

Event Overview

"Earn and Sell" is structured to provide participants with hands-on experience in conceptualizing, pitching, and executing business ideas within the college environment. The event has two main stages. The first is the pitching round, where competitors pitch their ideas to secure investments from the E-Cell. The investments can then be used by the qualifying teams to start an actual business on the college campus for a day.

Event Highlights

• Workshop: Before these competition rounds, a workshop, that is free for all, was conducted on January 24 to teach interested students about pitching ideas and receive guidance on effectively presenting their ideas in front of investors. This session offered valuable insights into crafting compelling business plans and effective pitching strategies.

• Investor Pitching Round: Round 1 took place on January 27 and 28, where teams delivered presentations of their business ideas, with the most promising concepts receiving funding from E-Cell VIT Pune.

• Business Execution Day: Funded teams set up stalls on campus on January 31, bringing their business ideas to life and engaging with the student community.

Prizes and Recognition

The final round had a prize pool of ₹14,000, with the following breakdown:

• Overall Winner: Awarded ₹5,000
• Best Execution: Awarded ₹3,000
• Best Idea: Awarded ₹3,000
• People’s Choice: Awarded ₹3,000

Rules and Regulations

Participants adhered to specific guidelines to ensure fair play and effective learning:

• Pitch Duration: Each team was allocated 10 minutes for their pitch, followed by a Q&A session with the judges.

• Funding Agreement: Teams advancing to the execution phase received an investment from E-Cell VIT Pune, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the terms and conditions.

• Business Operations: Teams operated their businesses on campus from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, maintaining records of transactions and customer interactions.

Conclusion

Thus, this event provides students with a platform to showcase their entrepreneurial skills and learn from various mentors and peers. The "Earn and Sell" event exemplifies E-Cell VIT Pune's commitment to nurturing entrepreneurial talent by providing students with practical experience in business development. By simulating real-world challenges, the event equips participants with the skills and confidence necessary to thrive in the entrepreneurial landscape.