Woxsen Venture Fund: An initiative for student business ideas and improved management learning

Woxsen School of Business redefines management education by facilitating resources and mentorship for student ventures, acting as a mentorship program

Market dynamics of international businesses and economies are evolving everyday with variable consumer needs and integration of technology across various processes. This scenario has been a direct contributor to the establishment of a rich entrepreneurial community in the country. Fuelled by business innovation, opportunities are available in the market with a fair share of success rate, provided the leaders of today are able to create value by their product for the people of tomorrow. Thus, the education provided to business and management students also needs to evolve in a decentralized manner that offers some oblique skin in the game – where students understand the markets by observing and behaving in it.

On that note, Woxsen School of Business, a B-School based in Hyderabad, has started an initiative that looks to remodel management education while simultaneously giving a chance to incubate business ideas of student entrepreneurs.

Trade Tower  

The Woxsen Trade Tower rigorously processes the business idea of students to identify its potential and plays a key role in optimizing the idea to the extent of market deployment, provided that the product or service driven by the idea creates long-term value for customers.

The vision behind this initiative by Woxsen School of Business is centred on developing sustainable university-industry innovation clusters, which requires two major factors: Resources and Funding. Talking about the former, nearly 30 per cent of the businesses fail in their initial stage due to lack of business direction. This is where the trade tower comes into the picture as it enables students to reach out for coaching or intellectual guidance from program mentors, be it Woxsen faculty or external professionals.

Funding, on the other hand, has specific layers of processing in place that factors in the opinion of subject matter experts and Woxsen stakeholders. With an established financial entity in the form of Woxsen Fund, the officials ensure that ideas are refined and optimized to the level of feasible business opportunities that can make an impact in the market. Along with this, global venture capitalists and investors have been known in the past to invest in the ideas of budding entrepreneurs and helping them realize their dream.

That said, the Woxsen Trade Tower is accessible for Woxsen-ites as well as non-student entrepreneurs (small fee applicable), thereby opening the gates of start-up incubation for every creative idea in the country. In addition, it is interesting how the active presence of this initiative provides a creative blend to the managerial curriculum of the B-school students.

Role in student education

Promoting the essence of entrepreneurial thinking while keeping in mind the onset of an age of revolutionary start-ups, Woxsen School of Business helps the student practically implement the concepts of entrepreneurship.

Apart from resource allocation and an overall managerial experience, students are further exposed to market requisite communication skills, evaluations and assessments, negotiations, and other processes, with industry professionals that helps them gather an insight about the real-time struggles of an entrepreneurial venture. Right from the first step of developing an idea into business to dealing with investors and funding rounds, a holistic exposure of an entrepreneur’s journey is experienced by the students.

Initiatives such as the Woxsen Trade Tower showcase a large scope of opportunities for the students who wish to pursue the entrepreneurial path, be it as the founder of a startup or a new-gen business magnate. With appropriate guidance and the possibility of funding and support, more student ventures are speculated to surface in the Indian start-up market.