TANSEED 1.0

In order to promote innovation and startup culture in Tamil Nadu and support upto 50 Startups in the year 2021-2022 with INR 5 Crore, StartupTN has launched a seed funding initiative – Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Grant Fund (TANSEED), a seed fund support up to INR.10 Lakhs as a grant to budding startup entrepreneurs in their early stage of the company.Early stage Startup companies with growth potential may need the first step support before they approach a professional Angel or VC organization.TANSEED acts as the first capital for many deserving startups.

The grant is given based on a rigorous evaluation process as mentioned in the MSME(A) G.O.(Ms) No.49 guidelines. Out of the applications received, after the first level of evaluation top 30-40 startups are shortlisted. These startups go through boot camps, training and mock pitching sessions. These selected startups make a final pitch to a jury of an esteemed panel consisting of Mission Director, Nominee from Finance Department, successful entrepreneurs, Venture Capital firm partners, Angel Investors and domain experts.

Areas covered under the Grant:

The Startups would be supported primarily on the following:

1. Procurement of inputs to develop a prototype or working model to demonstrate the proposed technology solution and equipment rental.
2. Hiring technical mentors to aid and assist in prototype creation.
3. Manpower for product development.(Not more than 30% of Grant)
4. Test Marketing
5. Testing, certification and trials.
6. Any other expenses deemed fit by the TANSEED Expert Committee.TANSEED 1.0The first edition of TANSEED 2021 was conducted during January – February 2021 in collaboration with Headstart Network Foundation and ecosystem partners.
7. 1399 applications were received, out of which 35 Startups were shortlisted for Bootcamp based on eligibility criteria mentioned in the guidelines. 
8. The Bootcamp, which was conducted from 8th February, 2021 to 11th February, 2021 consisted of one-on-one mentorship sessions and workshops. 
9. A Pre-Final Pitch was conducted for the 35 shortlisted startups, out of which 21 startups were selected for the Final Pitch.
10. The Final Pitch was conducted on 14th February, 2021, with the Jury Panel consisting of 
    • Mr. Nagarajan.S, Mission Director, StartupTN
    • Mr. Krishnan Unni, JS, Finance, GoTN
    • Mr. Murugavel, Founder and CEO – Matrimony.com
    • Ms. Rema Subramanian, Managing Partner – Ankur Capital & Visalakshmi Ray  
    • Mr. Vinayak, CTO – Microsoft for Startups 
    • Mr. Prasad, Founder & CEO – Anthill Ventures 
    • Mr. Zaran Bhagwagar, Investment Associate 

10 best startups were selected by the jury and awarded a seed grant of INR 10 Lakh each.The following is the list of Startups