Businesses post COVID will be altered by dozens of new tweaks and adjustments. Many businesses will rapidly adapt to these changes while some businesses will be take time. As per Mckinsey, June 2020 Innovation survey reveals that 90% of Leaders expect the fallout from COVID 19 to fundamentally change the way they do business over the next five years.  Traditionally, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Power Industries have seen a slower pace of #Innovation compared to Healthcare, Tech or Biotech industries. However, COVID-19 has charged the ecosystem including many such traditional businesses. In one of my recent conversation, #CIO of a Mid Size manufacturing company mentioned, "Sparks of innovation have turned into flares of #transformation during these trying times. Business unit heads are open to new ideas and technologies. #Digital and #Automation is no longer a jargon". A recent Forbes article sums it up well. Due To Covid-19, Manufacturing Will Experience Five Years Of Innovation In The Next 18 Months. Perhaps not surprising prediction, looking at other sectors like Education and Healthcare, which have leapt through a decade of worth of transformation in past few months.  At Venture Handle, We're bringing together many such leading Innovators to look at emerging technologies, startups and ideas from Manufacturing, Logistics, Oil & Gas, Power industries. A collective cohort of executives from business and technology will come together, Pushing the boundaries of knowledge and collaborating through series of workshops to develop a curated Innovation #Playbook. We are accepting nominations for Innovation Trek. Nominations for Innovation Trek Check out here. Change is essential, it’s often much harder to restart an innovation program than it is to keep an established one ongoing while we weather a storm. These Innovation Program "On Life Support" during crisis often become game changer.  Those of us who can keep the innovation pipeline moving, and focus on big, stable long-term goals, while still attending to pressing, immediate short-term needs will emerge as winner in innovation race in the long-term.  Closing this note with lines that resonates quiet well in these times "Great leaders know that how they fight a war often decides whether they will win the peace".

The Dec 2019 Cohort successfully completed the Bootcamp with demo day. The Dec cohort saw a stronger participation from 8 investors and deal request from another 11 investors. These include venture funds, angel networks, HNIs and CXOs networks. As founders prepare for follow up and deep dive here are few key take-ways from the bootcamp: Establish the Problem: A 5 min pitch needs a very well crafted script and slideware. One of the key aspects is to explain the problem in such a manner that the investor should be able to relate to it else the rest of the narrative falls apart. Be yourself: While delivering the pitch, at times founders put up a different self on stage in a bid to differentiate. While it is important to stand out, founders should also be comfortable in bringing out their real self ( for example speaking with extra loud or put on accent). Investors hear a lot of pitches and can easily spot. Key Numbers: A pile of stats in the slide is very hard to retain in a short pitch. Busy slide are a distraction. Keep the slides simple with 1 or 2 key numbers such market size or growth rates. What's your story?: A series of slides will seldom hold interest unless there is a strong story coming out of the pack. Outline a story, sprinkle real life examples, customer quotes, situations, visual differences etc.. to craft a story. Financials & Projections: At early stage specially seed, projections don't really mean much. Evidence of user adoption/traction is one of the key aspects to demonstrate. Avoid putting 3-5 years projection in slide pack. Keep in appendix for reference. Ending the note with a pic from the demo day