Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur

“₹5 crore funding mil gayi!”
Great.
“Kitne time tak chalegi?”

That's usually where the celebration ends and founder thinking begins.

Through 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗶 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺, Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk) is simplifying startup fundamentals for aspiring founders and ecosystem stakeholders.
Follow the series for more startup concepts explained in human language.

'Maa, papa… the letters are dancing'.
Not every child who struggles to read is struggling to learn.

Cute Brains, incubated at Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk), is addressing the invisible challenges of dyslexia and dysgraphia through assistive technology that helps children improve reading, writing, and cognitive skills with the right support at the right time.

Two SIIC IIT Kanpur Startups Among India's First to Secure ₹1 Lakh Crore RDI Funding

India's deeptech moment is here. EndureAir Systems and Noccarc Robotics—both incubated at SIIC IIT Kanpur—are among the first five startups selected for initial funding under the Government's ₹1 Lakh Crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme.

EndureAir Systems is building Sabal 200, an indigenous heavy-lift unmanned helicopter capable of carrying 200+ kg payloads in high-altitude and rugged terrains—reducing India's dependency on imported aerospace systems for defence logistics, disaster response, and remote operations.

Noccarc Robotics is developing an Intelligent Mobile Life Support System—a portable ICU-grade critical care platform built for Indian conditions, strengthening emergency response across ambulances, rural healthcare, and disaster relief.

This milestone validates SIIC IIT Kanpur's mission: incubating deeptech ventures that solve India's most critical infrastructure challenges while building indigenous technological capability.

Bharat

Startup Didi is back. 🙂

And this time she is talking about one of the metrics that silently decides whether a startup scales… or simply burns money.

𝗖𝗔𝗖 = 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁

CAC simply means:
How much money a business spends to acquire one customer.

For example:
Imagine a food delivery startup spends ₹1,00,000 on advertisements and discount campaigns in one month and acquires 1,000 new customers from it.

Its CAC becomes:
₹100 per customer.

Now the real question is:
How much revenue is that customer generating?

If the average customer only spends ₹60 and never returns to order again, the business is losing money on every acquisition.

This is why startups cannot measure growth only through:
❌ app downloads
❌ users acquired
❌ vanity metrics

They also need to measure:
✅ customer quality
✅ retention
✅ repeat behaviour
✅ acquisition efficiency

Because sustainable businesses are not built by acquiring the most customers.

They are built by acquiring the right customers efficiently.

“We inherited this land from our ancestors.
What are we leaving behind for the next generation?”

India loses nearly 5.3 billion tonnes of fertile soil every year.
Today, around 30% of our soil is already degraded.

For years, farming focused on increasing yield.

But somewhere along the way, the soil started losing its life.

This is not just a farming problem.
It is a future problem.

Through Navyakosh, LCB Fertilizers is working towards restoring soil health naturally — because farming survives only when the soil does.

Support our new initiative — “What Are You Solving?” — spotlighting startups building impactful solutions to real-world challenges and driving meaningful change.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹. 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?

Applications are now open for 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗔𝗬𝗔 - 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗽𝗮𝗱 (𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟮) a CSR initiative of Pernod Ricard India Foundation in partnership with Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk), supporting startups solving the plastic waste crisis.

𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴:
• Grants amount: ₹12 Lakhs (Early to Growth Stage) & ₹8 Lakhs (Early Stage)
• Mentorship from industry experts
• Market access through strategic partnerships
• Incubation Support & Residential Training at IIT Kanpur
• Follow-on Funding & Investor Connections

If you are building in plastic circularity, plastic waste management, or sustainable materials - this is your moment.

Last Date to Apply: 𝟯𝟭 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
Email Id- [email protected]

🔗 Apply now — https://lnkd.in/gcvtwDqg

“Founder life was difficult.
Then someone said — ‘What’s your PMF and GTM?’”

Introducing a new initiative - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗶 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 by Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk) - a series where startup ecosystem terms and founder concepts are explained in simple language.

We are committed to educating and empowering budding entrepreneurs, students, startups, and other ecosystem stakeholders by simplifying startup concepts, making the innovation ecosystem more accessible, and encouraging more individuals to confidently step into and contribute to the startup ecosystem.

𝗣𝗠𝗙 = 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘁
Product Market Fit happens when people genuinely find value in a product because it solves a real problem for them. It is the stage where customers not only understand the product, but continue using it and start recommending it to others naturally. In simple words, PMF is when the market starts saying — “Yes, this is useful. We need this.”

A simple example?
When apps like Google Maps started helping people avoid traffic, find routes easily, and save travel time, people naturally kept coming back to use it every day. That is Product Market Fit — when a product becomes genuinely useful in people’s lives.

Because startup banana cool lagta hai.
Samajhna zaroori hota hai.

Every founder you admire was once a first-year student figuring things out.

As part of our ongoing outreach initiatives, Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk) - Surbhi Awasthi, General Manager at SIIC IIT Kanpur, engaged with first-year students at JECRC University under their Entrepreneurship Development Program, held at the JECRC Incubation Centre

The session on “Startup Ecosystem and Government Enablement” focused on decoding how India’s innovation landscape is evolving—and where young innovators can meaningfully participate.

Key highlights from the session:
*The shift from idea-first to execution-first startups
*The role of government initiatives in enabling early-stage ventures
*Why ecosystem access, mentorship, and right problem selection define outcomes
*Practical pathways for students to start early and build with intent

What stood out was the energy and curiosity in the room - students asking sharp questions and actively exploring the idea of building.

A quiet reminder—some commitments don’t need to be spoken. SIIC employees choose to show up and deliver.

We sincerely thank the JECRC Incubation Centre for the invitation and for hosting Surbhi Awasthi for this engaging session.

To organise similar sessions, please write to us at [email protected]

Great startups don’t just grow—they grow profitably.

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk) Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur in partnership with Advaya, supported by Pernod Ricard India Foundation, successfully hosted a live webinar on “Unit Economics and Pricing for Startups”, bringing together founders and entrepreneurs for an insightful discussion on building financially sustainable ventures.

The session was led by CA Prachi Jain, Co-founder & CSO, Ednovate, and moderated by Vatsala Khare, who guided the discussion with a strong focus on startup realities and growth challenges.

Participants gained practical insights into:
• Cost structures
• Pricing strategies
• Margins management
• Balancing profitability with scale
• Data-driven business decisions

At SIIC IIT Kanpur, such sessions continue to strengthen founders with the right knowledge, mentorship, and decision-making frameworks needed to build resilient and scalable businesses.

Got a startup idea?

Step by Step incubation process at SIIC IIT Kanpur

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk) takes you from idea to impact with funding, mentorship & world-class infrastructure.

One application. That's all it takes. 🔗https://lnkd.in/gCwpptxM

For more information, connect with: Riya Singh
Email: [email protected]

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur (incubatoriitk) in partnership with Advaya - a plastic circularity Launchpad supported by Pernod Ricard India Foundation is hosting a live webinar on “Unit Economics and Pricing for Startups”, a critical topic for building sustainable and scalable ventures.

Date: 29 April 2026
Time: 4:00 PM

The session will be led by CA Prachi Jain (Co-founder & CSO, Ednovate Official), who will share practical insights on understanding cost structures, pricing strategies, and achieving financial sustainability.

The webinar is designed to support founders in navigating key challenges around margins, pricing decisions, and balancing growth with profitability—enabling stronger, data-driven business decisions.