Startup Evaluation at IITM: Assessing Founders and Market Fit

Kavya participated in the evaluation process for startups applying for incubation at IIT Madras. Beyond the formalization workstream, she was involved in assessing whether companies were worth incubating in the first place.

Her evaluation framework centered on three questions: does the market actually need this, is there a large enough opportunity for the business to scale, and does the founding team have the clarity and cohesion to execute. She read team strength through conviction and shared understanding, looking for founders who could articulate the problem clearly, knew their technology, and supported each other without ego.

One company she evaluated was building operational software for Indian hospitals, addressing gaps in how calls, medicine delivery, and patient routing were handled. Both founders had worked in hospital environments for years. Kavya assessed the market need using the contacts and resources available through the incubation network, consulting with relevant parties to validate whether the problem was real and whether the solution had scale potential.

Her assessment contributed to the team's decision on whether to proceed with incubation.