MAM
Startups take centre stage as UpStart 2025 gives ideas a lift-off
MUMBAI: Bengaluru didn’t just host a startup event, it felt like India’s entrepreneurial pulse kicked into overdrive. UpStart 2025, the flagship national pitching competition by Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kanpur, touched down in the city with its biggest-ever edition, turning the Davanam Sarovar Hotel into a buzzing arena of ideas, ambition and unapologetic hustle. With 20 plus dignitaries, including global VCs from South Korea and Singapore, the atmosphere crackled with the energy only a startup capital can conjure.
The event showcased 24 plus early-stage startups spanning technology, healthcare, defence, ed-tech, fashion, sustainability and F&B. In a Shark Tank-style live arena, founders had 7 minutes to pitch and 5 minutes for grilling, facing sharp questions from investors who came armed with appetite and scrutiny.
The competition reached viewers beyond Bengaluru too, it was telecast live with StartupTV and iQue Ventures, pushing early-stage innovation straight onto national screens.
These selected startups will now progress through multiple screening rounds and in-person mentoring sessions before heading to the grand finals at the IIT Kanpur campus on January 25, 2026, part of E-Summit’25.
And Bengaluru wasn’t the only pit stop: editions in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad have already seen 23 plus startups pitch across fintech, health tech, deep tech, Web3, cybersecurity and more. The circuit now rolls into Mumbai on December 6, before finalists emerge.
The organising team from Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kanpur summed up the day with characteristic clarity, “Bengaluru represents the heartbeat of the Indian startup ecosystem. Today’s event showcased highly innovative founders building for the future. We remain committed to helping them reach the pinnacle of success.”
Heavy-hitters from across the venture landscape turned up, including:
• Unicorn Incubator South Korea
• Emphasis Investments
• Ankur Capital
• Thaksil Ventures
• IAN Ventures
…along with several others evaluating the country’s next breakthrough ventures.
Delhi-NCR’s earlier edition featured VCs from GMR Group, Inflection Point Ventures, Finvolve, GrowX Ventures, and more signalling the rising investor appetite for UpStart’s national pipeline.
Across its editions, UpStart has transformed into a rare confluence where founders gain:
• network access
• industry-veteran feedback
• storytelling refinement
• visibility across cities
• cross-sector insight
For many, it’s not just a business competition, it’s a career-shaping accelerator, and a rare chance to pressure-test ideas under the brightest lights.
With Bengaluru wrapped, Hyderabad buzzing, Delhi-NCR completed and Mumbai next in line, UpStart 2025 is rolling across India with the force of a nationwide innovation tour.
If early signs are anything to go by, the finals at IIT Kanpur may just witness India’s next big headline-maker, one pitch at a time.
Brands
Big Bowl appoints Lyxel & Flamingo as social and media partner
QSR brand eyes next growth phase after crossing Rs 100 crore ARR milestone
MUMBAI: Big Bowl, one of India’s largest bowl-format quick service restaurant brands from Lenexis Foodworks, has appointed Lyxel & Flamingo (L&F) as its social and media partner as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
The partnership comes after the brand crossed the Rs 100 crore annual recurring revenue milestone in 2025 and aims to help accelerate its journey towards Rs 150 crore ARR in its fifth year since launch.
Big Bowl currently operates more than 250 kitchens across 50 cities and has emerged as a major player in India’s organised bowl-format food segment. Built around hearty portions and delivery-first convenience, the brand offers a wide mix of Indian, Chinese and fusion bowls designed for quick, affordable and portable consumption.
As urban consumers increasingly gravitate towards easy-to-carry and value-driven meal formats, the company sees the bowl category as a scalable format aligned with modern eating habits.
With the appointment of Lyxel & Flamingo, Big Bowl plans to consolidate its social media and digital media operations under a single partner. The move is intended to sharpen its digital reach, strengthen youth-focused storytelling and improve performance marketing outcomes.
Lyxel & Flamingo, one of India’s largest independent digital-first agencies, manages more than 350 brands and oversees advertising spends exceeding $100 million across its network.
Under the mandate, the agency will handle Big Bowl’s social media strategy, content development, digital performance marketing, media planning and buying, as well as campaign amplification across platforms.
Commenting on the partnership, Lenexis Foodworks founder and director Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal said, “Big Bowl has scaled rapidly to cross Rs 100 crore ARR and established itself as one of the largest bowl-format brands in the country. As a delivery-first, digitally native brand, our next phase of growth will be driven by sharper performance systems and stronger brand storytelling. Consolidating social and media with Lyxel & Flamingo allows us to integrate data, creativity and media precision as we scale towards our next revenue milestone.”
Lenexis Foodworks marketing head Vikas Iyer, added that the delivery-led category requires content, media and performance marketing to work closely together.
“With Lyxel & Flamingo, we aim to build a sharper social voice, stronger acquisition systems and measurable impact, ensuring the brand scales not just in presence but also in precision,” he said.
Lyxel & Flamingo chief executive officer Dev Batra, said the agency will combine data-driven marketing with creative storytelling to support Big Bowl’s growth. “Big Bowl brings the flavour, and L&F brings the fire. Our strategy combines data-led performance with engaging storytelling to help build a strong digital brand presence while delivering measurable business results,” he said.
With this partnership, Big Bowl is looking to strengthen its position as a digitally driven QSR brand, blending brand-building with performance marketing as it scales within India’s rapidly growing organised food delivery market.
