Srijita Ghosh
Represented East Central University in 2017 Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup
2nd place in Small Business category and Pitch Competition winner
Currently Venture Advisor at i2E
Please provide a few details on your winning Entrepreneur’s Cup business idea.
Fueled by my own battles with anxiety, I founded StoPanic, a startup aimed at helping people manage panic attacks with therapeutic music and on-demand counseling. This is the business concept I competed with at the Entrepreneur’s Cup in 2017.
What key learning experiences did you take from the Entrepreneur’s Cup?
The entire experience was eye-opening and went beyond textbook learning. The main lesson was conceptualizing a massive idea into an actionable business strategy. Extensive research was involved in understanding the problem, target audience, and go-to-market strategy. The key learning was putting it all together in a coherent message that others, including investors, understood – a pitch. Presenting something complicated in a compelling manner is a great skill to learn.
The second lesson was understanding the commercialization process. As a business plan competition, I had to consider the market, customers, and their willingness to pay for the product. Conducting customer discovery and assessing the market was a valuable learning experience early in my career.
How have the connections, mentors, or networking opportunities from Entrepreneur’s Cup impacted your entrepreneurial journey?
As a young student, I never dared to imagine myself in the venture capital industry because, as a woman of color, I hadn’t seen many people who looked like me in those positions. However, attending the “Who Wants to Be an Entrepreneur” conference by i2E prior to participating in the Entrepreneur’s Cup was life-changing. The lead presenters, Stacey Brandhorst and Kevin Moore, were not only subject matter experts but also incredibly encouraging. Meeting them led me to believe that I could do it, too. Years later, when a venture advisor position opened up at i2E, Stacey believed I would be a good fit for the role and recommended me. It was truly a full-circle moment, and I am grateful for the valuable connections and mentorships I found through this program.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
My advice to students is this: I understand that you can be incredibly busy with studies and extracurricular activities, but participating in something like the Entrepreneur’s Cup is an experience you should absolutely try at least once. You may not even know if you want to become an entrepreneur just yet, but the skills you learn from going through a program like this will be invaluable in the workforce. I encourage you to take the leap of faith and say “yes” to the opportunity to participate in something like this. I would love to see more of you and your schools participate in the Entrepreneur’s Cup.
