ABOUT THE INITIATIVE

DELL TECHNOLOGIES PRESENTS ENTREPRENEUR CHALLENGE FUTURE-PROOFING STARTUPS

At Dell Technologies, we are committed to encouraging startup and women entrepreneurs to reimagine their businesses, by empowering them with technological innovation. With programs such as Dell for Startups (D4S) & Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), Dell Technologies is committed to accelerating the increasingly powerful role that Entrepreneurs play in driving global economic growth. Through these programs, Dell Technologies empowers female founders and aspiring entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and their vision through the power of technology and expansion of their personal networks. Becoming a part of D4S & DWEN offers access to experts, champions, tools and experiences created to support members as they navigate their journeys together.

Over the years, Dell Technologies has successfully hosted six seasons of the Dell Startup challenge, granting $40,000 worth of Dell Technologies products & solutions to early-stage startup in the last season alone. Since first launching the DWEN Dream Tech Contest in 2021, we’ve awarded more than $400K worth of Dell technology in the US, UK, Germany, India and Australia.

The overwhelming success of Dell Startup Challenge & DWEN Dream Tech inspired us to expand its potential & launch the Dell Technologies Presents Entrepreneur Challenge, powered by CNBC-TV18. This initiative combines both forums - Dell Startup challenge and DWEN DreamTech - to create a more significant and impactful platform for the entrepreneurial community.

This pan-India endeavour not only sheds light on the critical challenges faced by startups but also underscores the importance of embracing technology for business growth. Participants will gain access to a powerful platform to showcase their ground-breaking ideas, secure crucial tech investments, and receive invaluable mentorship, propelling their entrepreneurial journey forward.

About Dell For Startups

Dell for Startups provides startup expertise from dedicated technology advisors and scalable solutions to ensure your business is always ready to grow. To help Startups stay ahead of the curve, the program offers a comprehensive end-to-end support system.

About DWEN

For more than a decade, the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) has brought women entrepreneurs together from around the world to help them connect with each other, scale their businesses, and ultimately succeed. The Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) connects female entrepreneurs around the globe with networks, knowledge and insight that gives them power to do more. By spotlighting the entrepreneurial success, failures and lessons learned in a supportive and unique forum, DWEN enables a community of like-minded women to share experiences, lift one another up, create new business opportunities, explore global expansion and solve challenges together.

Thank you the overwhelming response
1600+ Nominations Received Across India

Click to view the Winners
Process advisors

JURY

Following are the other great minds brought together to make a seamless decision.

Siddarth Pai

Founding Partner & Chief Financial Officer ESG Officer

3one4 Capital

Vargab Bakshi

Vice President &
County Head - India

wix.com

Kritika M

Senior Director, 10,000 Startups

NASSCOM

Biren Ghose

Managing Director – Asia Pacific & Global Executive Committee Member

Technicolor Creative Studios

Kavita Mehra

Senior Director, General Management, India COE

Dell Technologies

Click to view the jury list

Videos

Previous Winners

TECHNOLOGY BENEFITS WORTH 16 LAKHS*

  • Winners receive Dell Technology benefits worth INR 16 Lakhs, & runners-up get INR 8 Lakhs in each category.

  • Winners and Runners up enjoy the opportunity to chose from technology available on the Dell Website

  • Shortlisted participants are invited to attend a half-day workshop as part of the Dell Technologies Presents Entrepreneur Challenge

  • Winners will be promoted on CNBC-TV18

Individuals who are legal residents of India and are at least eighteen (18) years old, at the date of entry into the challenge

For General Category Startup

  • The individual applying for the Awards must be the founder/co-founder of the organisation
  • The number of years of incorporation of the organisation must not exceed 10 years as on March 31, 2023
  • The annual turnover of the organisation must not exceed 100 crores as on March 31, 2023
  • Startups which are currently at their ideation/Conceptualization/prototype stage cannot apply for the challenge
  • Startups that have had funding below Series B stage are eligible to apply for the challenge
  • Applying startups must have already developed an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
  • It is mandatory to attach the DPIIT certificate of your startup
  • The organisation participating in the awards should be using tech based solutions in some capacity within their business operations

For Women-Led Category

  • The organisation must have been incorporated for minimum 2 years as on March 31, 2023
  • The individual applying for the Awards must be working in the organisation as the founder/co-founder for minimum of 1 year as on March 31, 2023. It is mandatory to provide work experience certificate stating your tenure in the current organisation
  • The annual turnover of the organisation must not exceed INR 250 crores as on March 31, 2023
  • The women entrepreneur must have a minimum of 33% stake in the organisation and must provide any of the below documents stating their stake in the organisation
    1. Shareholding Agreement
    2. Company Incorporation Documents
    3. Board Resolutions
    4. Founder's Agreement
  • It is mandatory to attach MSME certificate of the organisations for all participants
  • The organisation participating in the awards should be using tech based solutions in some capacity within their business operations

The Submission includes a fully completed registration form in text format developed by the Administrator of the challenge. After the challenge registration form closes, 200 Finalists will be chosen and contacted to participate in an online jury pitching session introducing yourself, your company, and what goals and/or challenges would be addressed if you were to win the technology

  • After the online pitch sessions are completed, Dell Technologies and CNBC-TV18 will select 30 finalists which will go through an offline Workshop & physical pitch and top 10 will be selected for final pitch on the main day. Of these 10 finalists, 4 will be awarded rewards from Dell Technologies
  • The Submission must be in English and The Submission cannot have been submitted previously in a promotion of any kind or exhibited or displayed publicly through any means prior to submission

Selection of 30 semi-finalists:

The top 200 entries will be invited to participate in a virtual pitching session and provide a summary of how the challenge would help their business grow/scale. Post these pitch sessions, 30 semi-finalists will be selected by jury members.

Selection of 10 finalist:

The 30 semi-finalists will be invited for an offline workshop and a pitch session. 10 finalist will be selected at the offline pitch event in Bangalore or any other city mutually agreed upon between Dell and CNBC-TV18 and the Jury panel will be invited by Dell Technologies & CNBC-TV18

  • The objective of the challenge is to recognize and connect startup and women entrepreneurs with networks, knowledge and insight that gives them power to do more. By spotlighting the entrepreneurial success, failures and lessons learned in a supportive and unique forum, the Dell Technologies Presents Entrepreneur Challenge enables a community of like-minded entrepreneurs to share experiences, lift one another up, create new business opportunities, explore global expansion and solve challenges together and reward their contribution in the industry

The challenge is open for the below 2 segments:

  • Startup
  • Women-led Organisation
  • Entries must be submitted in English Language only
  • No, the participant can apply on any one of the defined segments. If the individual is eligible to apply in both segments, they must select any one segment based on their understanding
  • The challenge is open for startup and Women-Led organisation in India
  • Individuals who are legal residents of India and are at least eighteen (18) years old, at the date of entry into challenge
  • The individual applying for the challenge must be the founder/co-founder of the organisation
  • The number of years of incorporation of the organisation must not exceed 10 years as on March 31, 2023
  • The annual turnover of the organisation must not exceed 10 crores as on March 31, 2023
  • Startup which are currently at their ideation/conceptualization/pre-revenue/prototype stage cannot apply for the challenge
  • For Women-led category, the women entrepreneur must have a minimum of 33% stake in the organisation. Relevant documents stating the stake must be submitted for verification
  • It is mandatory to submit the audited financials for FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23
  • Candidate can apply for the challenge by completing the application form online
  • Link to fill the application form will be available on the website entrepreneurchallenge.in
  • To apply for the challenge, the Candidate should first go through the terms and conditions then select the segment and category pertaining to the segment and submit the application pertaining to the same.
  • No, that participant can submit only one application form which shall consist of the details of their organisation
  • Yes, it is mandatory to submit the pitch presentation while filling your application form.

The pitch presentation must cover the below pointers and can be submitted in PDF, PPT or JPEG format:

  • Brief description about your startup (mission, vision, objective, etc.)
  • Team structure and key roles and responsibilities
  • Problem statement you aimed to address
  • Elaborate of your target market, strategies and challenges faced
  • Key offerings/solutions/products of your startup. Highlight the USP
  • Future plan to scale up your business in the next 3-5 years
  • Your Key Responsibility Areas and contributions in the organisation
  • Key Achievements and milestones achieved by your organisation
  • For Women-Led category, please highlight the challenges that you faced while your journey as an entrepreneur
  • Audited financials for FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23
  • DPIIT Certificate
  • MSME Certificate
  • Yes, it is mandatory for the startup to have a DPIIT certificate while participating for the challenge
  • Your application form will first be reviewed for completeness, eligibility and adherence to the application guidelines, including character limit. Incomplete and ineligible applications will be declined without further review. Applications that meet eligibility criteria will be further considered for the jury rounds

*Please note: The schedule and timelines are tentative and are subject to change based on the management and jury’s discretion.

  • There is no application fee associated with the challenge
  • Please refer to the Terms and Conditions to understand the instructions for filling and submitting the application form.
  • You will receive an email acknowledgement that your application has been received within 24 hrs of electronic submission
  • Once the application form is submitted you will not be allowed to make changes to your application. Hence, please review the information provided in the application form before submitting.
  • No, the application has to be completely filled and submitted online. However, we have a save as draft option that will enable to fill the application form at your pace and submit post completion
  • The last date for receiving completed application forms is 2nd Feb 2024 at 4 PM
  • The management will contact you in case you are shortlisted
  • There will be 2 winners in each segment at the discretion of the jury members appointed by the management
  • Winners receive Dell Technology benefits worth INR 16 Lakhs, & runners-up get INR 8 Lakhs in each category.
  • The link for the Terms & Conditions has been mentioned on the home page of the website. For your reference, please click on the Terms and Conditions to access the same

For any further clarification kindly write to us on entrepreneurchallenge.in

Gifting Partners