Thursday, June 5, 2014

Acara Summer Institute: Day 4

Today was the fourth day of the Acara Summer Institute. It started off with yoga on the roof of a hotel and continued with a visit from a lawyer and presentations from entrepreneurs.
Today started off with yoga on the roof of our hotel. Aruna, our liaison from IIHS, volunteered to come to our hotel before our day of lectures to teach us some of the basics. With the golden shadows of dawn dancing around us, it really did feel like we were greeting the sun as we flowed through the poses.

Then it was off to class. Today was "Make It Legal" day. We had a well-known startup lawyer from India come present to us.

In addition to dropping nuggets of knowledge like "The Law of Crappy People" on us, he gave us an overview of the different types of legal organizations in India. The distinctions between the types were mostly related to their structure of leadership and their means of raising money.

Finally, we had two entrepreneurs come speak with us, one from Kamal Kisan and another from Essmart.

Of particular interest to me was Devi Murthy, who started Kamal Kisan, a business that designs, makes, and leases low-tech farm equipment for small-plot farmers in rural India. Her venture was only in its early stages, but the business was already a success.

It was very valuable to hear from a young entrepreneur and get the perspective of a woman who works in India.