Students are one of the biggest assets for a country and to equip them with the needed skills that are required to thrive in the modern world should be a top priority for any nation. While there is a plethora of educational institutions, Indian education system especially at the school level lags behind when compared to many developed counterparts.

One pioneering business organization that strives to be a catalyst of change by addressing this issue is ThinkStartup. This unique entity is the brain child of IIT Delhi alumni and serial entrepreneurs Shivani Singh Kapoor and Sanjeeva Shivesh. It is their commitment to play a crucial role in changing the conventional norms of school education in India, and helping students realize their true potential that forms the cornerstones behind ThinkStartup’s steady growth in the industry.

When asked about the inception story of the firm Shivani adds, “The genesis of ThinkStartup has been an outcome of our own personal journeys. We have both gone through the Indian education system and we understood that there is still a huge gap that the school system doesn’t cover. In the 21st century, while the world has progressed rapidly, the school education system has remained stuck in past methods and processes”.

She further adds, “We wanted to plug this gap in the education system by bringing real world learning into schools. Currently, we offer top quality, engaging, real world education through entrepreneurship programs created for class 6th to 12th. Through our programs, we focus on harnessing the innate capabilities of a student to take them on the much desired path of innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership”.

During the unprecedented pandemic, Shivani and Shivesh leveraged their entrepreneurial expertise to adapt to the emerging situation. While many will feel disheartened by such a blow, these pioneering individuals saw the opportunities of going online and started working on making the best out of the given situation. Owing to the fact that they are predominantly operating online, they were also able to pull in more resources such as getting the best mentors in the industry for their students. And as of now, ThinkStartup has Professors from Ivy league Universities, Unicorn Founders and Venture Capital investors interacting with their students as guest speakers.

ThinkStartup has Professors from Ivy league Universities, Unicorn Founders and Venture Capital investors interacting with their students as guest speakers

Adding more about their operations and its uniqueness, Shivesh says, “Our students work on real life hands on projects that prepare them to succeed in the real world. We look at entrepreneurship from a competency perspective and there are multiple skills that are important to be successful as an entrepreneur. We engrain these entrepreneurial skills into the students. So, we have structured our courses around these competencies and skills while also leaving room to nurture the student’s innate passion and creativity. We are also rolling out entrepreneurship clubs and labs for schools where the students will be trained on startup ideation, product designing and prototyping, business modeling, marketing, new age technologies and financial literacy to mention a few.”

Shivani Singh Kapoor, Co-founder

Apart from just being a normal business entity, ThinkStartup is committed to making a difference in the Indian education system and as a testament to their growth in just two years, the firm was able to conduct a Youth Ideathon which turned out to be the largest school based innovation competition in India.

Now ThinkStartup is leading the change by building the school entrepreneurship ecosystem through in school incubation of student ideas, running School Angel Fund to help talented students’ startups with funding needs and training of school teachers. Apart from that, team ThinkStartup remains committed to continue churning out engaging programs for students across the country to help students from all walks of life dream about a successful tomorrow.