Voodoo organizes contest for young entrepreneurs and students

New Delhi: Mobile app digital assistant for smartphone users Voodoo has launched a contest for students and start-up entrepreneurs, allowing the winners to bag paid internship and a chance to meet their doyens.

The 'VooDOo or Die' contest – dubbed "India's biggest growth challenge" – aims to stimulate enterprising ideas among students from colleges all over India, including the likes of IITs, NITs and other top-rung colleges across all disciplines, as well as start-up enthusiasts, a company statement said.

"We have launched the 'VooDOo or Die' contest to challenge the intellects of the Indian youth to the very limit and encourage the best and the brightest talent with not just rewards, but rewarding experiences," Voodoo co-founder and CEO Mohit Mittal said at the
launch here on Thursday.

"This is why we have brought the industry pioneers together on one platform to nurture and guide the next wave of entrepreneurs. We are confident that this unique and engaging contest will be highly successful, and are excited to see the youth's response to our challenge", he added.

The contestants will be judged and awarded points by an expert panel, which would evaluate the performance on novelty, impact and their caliber to grow a start-up from scratch.

The top-ranked contestant will be awarded Rs.50,000 while up to 81 places will be awarded cash prizes. Moreover, the three best performers will be awarded a paid internship at Voodoo, a SAIF Partners-backed venture, with a monthly stipend of Rs.25,000 each.

Select winners will also come face-to-face with eminent CEOs and venture capitalists, including the likes of Rahul Yadav, co-founder and former CEO, Housing.com; Kunal Shah, co-founder and CEO of Freecharge; Alok Goel, managing director, SAIF Partners; Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, co-founder and CEO, Zostel and ZO Rooms; Ashish Goel, CEO, Urban Ladder; and Shradha Sharma, founder and chief editor, YourStory.

With the registrations having started on Thursday, the contest will begin on December 10.

Voodoo is a digital assistant that integrates with all the apps on a smartphone device, helping the user get the best deals, compare prices, get coupons and recommendations for online shopping.

(IANS)