A startup incubation centre is an entity which assists startups with converting their early-stage companies into highly scalable, commercially viable businesses. In addition to providing office space and facilities, incubation centres support startups by providing industry tie-ups, mentorship, connection to funders and management training.

To be eligible to apply for admission into Inspire!, the following criteria must be met:

1. The startup should be a registered private limited company under the Companies Act, 2013 - we understand that early stage startups are often not registered. In such cases, an application may be made in the names of all promoters/ founders. However, the promoters/ founders must register the company within three months from the date of admission into the incubation centre. 1Crowd will facilitate the registration of the startups by connecting them to appropriate legal and accounting service providers.
2. The promoter/founders should be working full time with the company and should not be employees of other organizations within 3 months of formation of the company - we believe dedicated focus is key to building successful enterprises.
3. The startup should be working on a product/idea related to one or more fields of engineering or technology - we prefer startups with an element of innovation

The incubation program has been designed to thrive on the community, networking and hands-on support offered. We thus expect the team to primarily operate out of the Incubation Centre for the duration of the program.

The incubation program at Inspire! has been designed for 12 months, with opportunities for extension. It is interspersed with workshops, speaker series and networking events right from concept validation to fundraising stage.

Inspire! is focused on startups related to the fields of engineering or technology. We prefer startups with an experienced team who are in the pre-seed or seed stage of development. The incubation program has been designed to support startups with taking their idea from the concept stage to a full-blown product/service launch. Our goal is to help startups build sustainable businesses that are ready to raise external funding by the end of the incubation program to scale up their businesses.

Inspire! calls for applications from time to time. You are required to fill in the application form which can be found on the Apply Page. If we find your application in line with our requirements, we will contact you for further application rounds which will include presentations and face to face interactions.

We take a small equity position in your startup in exchange for the incubation services offered. The exact equity amount varies based on the stage of the venture. Our stake in your business makes sure that we are motivated and our interests are aligned so that we win when you win.

We do not take any special or controlling interests in your company as part of the incubation program. We will not seek a board seat or any exceptional shareholder rights for the incubation services.

Startups would be required to pay nominal subsidized fees of INR 1000/month per seat (inclusive of all taxes)for the physical infrastructure and facilities provided to them.

Accepted startups will be considered for seed funding from 1Crowd on a case-by-case basis. Seed funding will range between INR 10 lacs – INR 25 lacs and will be offered anytime between 3-9 months into the program. Request for seed funding will be evaluated as a separate arrangement between 1Crowd and the startup. Equity stake taken by 1Crowd as consideration for seed funding will be arrived at in consultation with the incubatee company.

The working hours for the Incubation Centre will be from 7am to 8pm seven days a week. Any request to work at the incubation centre outside of working hours will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Incubatee companies will have access to departmental laboratories and other resources and equipment of Christ University for their product development purposes. Permission to access such resources will be accessible through a pre-defined process.

Christ University has 37 well-equipped engineering labs with state-of-the-art hardware equipment and software including but not limited to 3D printers, CNC machines, a robotic arm, embedded system and VLSI kits (eg. arm9 boards, spartan-6 boards) with associated peripheral devices, FESTO pneumatic and hydraulic equipment for PLC systems and solar and wind energy simulators. If you are interested in any specific type of equipment or software, please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to confirm availability and provide further information.

Inspire! has tie-ups with service partners in Legal, Finance, HR, cloud credits, payments and outbound marketing, among others fields. We are continuously expanding the list to ensure startups have access to the right tools and services to grow their businesses. Click here to see the full list of our ecosystem tie-ups.