Virtual lecture series- Start-up Clinic is an initiative started by MSc HTM, Department of Allied Hospitality Studies for encouraging students to enter business entrepreuneurship. The speaker for thev Start-up Clinic expert talk on 26 August 2020 was Chef Vishal Atreya, Entrepreneur, The PUMP HOUSE Micro Brewery, Bengaluru. The session started with key note address by principal, Chef Thirugnanasambantham where he stressed the need of business startup in the changing business ecosystem. Ms. Nikhita Alinkeel, introduced Chef Atreya with a warm welcome and highlighted his exceptional achievements and accolades. Chef started the session by talking about his journey as a cook, chef and finally as an entrepreneur while talking about the importance of taking calculated risks. He gave students two very important messages – “Entrepreneurs are not born, but made” and “Simple thought and keep working till the end.” The session continued with him taking questions from the participants and began with talking about the significance of passion in startup concerns. He drew some wonderful examples and asked the students never to underestimate the power of social media to market one’s product and service. He advised to focus on the three Cs of marketing communication– Clear, Concise and Compelling. When asked about ‘How to start a business?’, he quickly in a very brief way gave us the seven steps to start a business- Idea, Drive, Finance, Hiring the right people, Visibility, Keen eye and Repeat. He also answered few other questions about craft beer, large scale food businesses, raising funds, competition from other market breweries and their licensing. The inspiring words and countless experiences from Chef Atreya will stay in the minds of the budding entrepreneurs of MSc HTM for a long time. Mr. Mriganga Raj Deori Borah gave a short summary of the entire session and thanked each and every one who could make the session possible.

This session was organised as paer of the module HTM 609, Business Startup Projects. Faculty leader P Valsaraj and student representative Shivangi Trehan  have moderated the session.