Last week, I learnt a new word: scenius. This word, coined by musician and artist Brian Eno, stands for the collective genius of a whole cultural scene. Renaissance is an example. So is Silicon Valley. Organic, yet absolutely disruptive, it depicts a movement that changes the world. Some trail-blazers, an encouraging environment, many nonconformists, oodles of excitement, and serendipity. Scenius “is the communal form of the concept of the genius.”
Isn’t this quite what’s been playing out in India with SaaS booming and blooming 🙂 Well, agree or not, it’s the sentiment with which the latest edition of our Inside SaaSBoomi is heading to your inbox. Scenius is the word for all that’s happening here.
There are quite a few activities coming up – many where you might be already involved and some you might want to jump into.
First up, at the tail end of this month is:
🔀 Demystifying AI Challenges
- May 24 – Gurgaon
Are you a SaaS founder trying to navigate the constantly evolving AI landscape? This unconference is meant for those on an AI SaaS path to share lessons learnt, challenges tackled, and those yet to overcome. Apply here to attend.
🔗 Scaled Founders’ retreat
- May 30 & 31 – in Bangalore
What do founders need when they reach Camp 4 for the push to the summit? This is the theme of our Scale initiative, where founders who have scaled their companies beyond $15 million in ARR come together to exchange notes on how to get to the next level. They are huddling at a by-invite-only retreat this month.
🏅 SaaSBoomi Badminton League
- June 1 – in Bangalore
The much-loved and vigorously contested badminton tournament for SaaS startups from all over India is back again at the Padukone–Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence, Bangalore. Apply here.
🎓 AI Bootcamp
- June 7-9 – in Bangalore
A three-day deeply engaging program for 80 early stage AI startup founders, designed to help them learn to iterate the product with AI at the center, unlock new ways to approach GTM with AI-first frameworks and playbooks, and go back home with an extended family of peers – who would be 2 a.m. buddies in the arduous startup journey. Apply here if your startup fits the criteria.
Now take a breather and head to SB Online (our online home on Circle app) for this set of useful resources from three of our recent online learning sessions.
[Hat tip to my colleague Amrutha for making these videos available in our resource hub.]
Back to other activities coming up:
💬 A myth-busting AI SaaS discussion
- June 26, on Zoom
The ecosystem in India is buzzing with all kinds of speculation about the impact of AI on SaaS businesses. While investors are going all guns blazing after AI-first SaaS companies, incumbents with great SaaS products for businesses are finding out they needn’t have quivered with fear of AI disruption. Some have reaped the rewards of pushing forward with the AI they were building before the GenAI wave. We aim to bring these diverse perspectives to the fore and probably clear the mire in the ecosystem.
🖥️ How to navigate cross-border transactions
- June 26, on Zoom
This webinar session will cover practical aspects and unique changes in the ODI regulations. nuances involved under software export regulations and procedures for regularizing them, as well as multiple use cases of transaction structures across both outbound and inbound investments. Here’s the link to register.
A big thank you to our ecosystem partners: Accel, Peak XV, Lightspeed, Together, Westbridge, Avataar Ventures, B Capital, DCA, HSBC, March Capital, Eight Roads, Boldcap, Blume, DallasVC, Ideaspring, Matrix, PremjiInvest, RTP Global, and Vertex Ventures for keeping our fires burning. Unitedly, we are making a difference.
Credits: Arun Balasubramani (illustration & graphics)
