Ten startups to be part of Extreme Entrepreneurs by Lightspeed

Lightspeed India’s mission has been to enable startups with the ability to dream big to make it big. This is the reason behind its brainchild Extreme Entrepreneurs (EE 2019) - a programme that will connect 10 selected startups with the top CEOs in the startup ecosystem. [caption id=“attachment_3049362” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Thinkstock.[/caption] The finalists of the EE 2019 challenge are Bakbuck, Deepsync, EazyPG, GroMo, Gratitude, Ithaka, Openapp, Xeno, Womaniya and Blackboard Radio. These startups will be part of a six-week programme, which starts in September. During this period, full-day sessions will be held at the Lightspeed office on Tuesdays. Each session will have three parts: Morning session: A Masterclass by top CEOs from reputable companies. Some of the leaders who are part of this initiative are Ritesh Agarwal (Oyo Rooms), Max Levchin (Affirm), and Sriharsha Majety (Swiggy), among others. Afternoon session: A Lightspeed partner will hold a one-on-one session with the startups. The views and methods of the startups will be put to the test by the Lightspeed professional. Evening session: In the last session for the day, these startups will be meeting a community of investors and mature, high-quality startups. According to Lightspeed, EE is a no-strings-attached initiative, without any terms and agreements. This is purely a community initiative. Notably, the EE 2019 challenge received more than 800 applications from across India. After a gruelling selection process that lasted for more than a month, 10 startups were picked to be part of the Lightspeed training programme. Vaibhav Agarwal, a Lightspeed India partner said, “EE is a platform that aims to level the playing field for startups by providing them with resources and mentorship,” adding, “All Lightspeed partners started as founders once. I was a doctor fixing people’s bodies before taking the plunge into business. During our initial days, we found mentors who inspired and guided us. This is us paying back by doing the same for other startups.”