About the role
The Escape is Takshila's startup programme for students. You come in with an idea and leave with something people can actually use.
Last year more than 400 students from 40+ colleges signed up, 60+ teams pitched, and 10 teams went on to build with founders as mentors. Edition 2 keeps what worked and gives teams more time to build.
How it works
Round 1 · Idea Deck, online, till Fri 27 Nov. Register, then upload a deck of up to 5 slides on this page: the problem, who has it, your solution and where AI fits, what you've built so far, and your team. Open to students anywhere in India.
Round 2 · Ideathon, Mon 30 Nov – Tue 1 Dec, at Techno India University, Kolkata. The top 50–60 teams pitch in person to a panel of founders and operators. Show a deck, a prototype or a working demo. Shortlist and pitch slots are announced on Sat 28 Nov.
Incubation · 3 weeks, hybrid. Around 10 teams build their MVP with weekly milestones, mentor office hours and Saturday build sprints on campus, with credits and tools from our partners.
Demo Day. Teams demo live products to investors, founders and the TIU incubation network.
Who can join
- Undergraduates from any college, any branch, any year. Inter-college and inter-branch teams are allowed.
- Teams of 1 to 4. Solo founders are welcome.
- It's free.
What you get
- Feedback on your idea from people who have built companies.
- If you're shortlisted: a pitch slot in front of founders and operators in Kolkata.
- If you're selected for incubation: three weeks of mentorship, partner credits, a deadline that makes you ship, and a room full of investors at Demo Day.
- A certificate for every team that pitches.
Rules and format
- Upload your deck in Round 1 by Fri 27 Nov, 11:59 PM. One PDF, named with your team name.
- Each shortlisted team gets a 5–10 minute pitch slot on one of the two days, in person at TIU.
- Judging: is the problem real, can the team build it in three weeks, what have they shown so far, and how clearly they pitch.
- Got a referral code from a club or a friend? Add it when you register.
- After you register, join the participants' WhatsApp group for deck reminders, the shortlist and pitch slots: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hw1izBqAFYBCpT6rHyU069
Data sharing: by registering, you agree that your name, email and college may be shared with our event partners only so they can send you credits and perks for the event.
Questions: mail@takshila.club. Organised by Takshila, the technical society of Techno India University.