Bengaluru is often called India’s startup capital. At the Mesa School of Business, that culture is built directly into the classroom.
The school encourages students to go beyond theory and start building real companies while they study. Through programs such as the BYOB (Build Your Own Business) sprint and the Mesa Startup Lab incubator, students test ideas, launch products and speak to real customers early in their journey.
Learning by Building
At Mesa, the focus is on learning business by doing it. Students are encouraged to experiment quickly, build prototypes and validate their ideas in the market.
Several early-stage startups have come out of this environment.
One of them is Sakhi, founded by Krishnavi Parekh. The startup is building a women-focused ride platform where women can book rides driven by women. The idea came from a common experience many women share when travelling alone: constantly checking safety, sharing live location with family or friends, and staying alert throughout the journey.
Sakhi aims to remove that anxiety by offering women-only rides while also creating income opportunities for women drivers. The service recently launched women-driven auto rides in Bengaluru, designed to make daily travel safer and more comfortable for women commuters.
Krishnavi credits Mesa’s early startup exercises with helping shape the idea. Students are encouraged to start small businesses within the first few weeks of the program, learning how to test ideas, build products and get feedback from real users.
Startups Across Different Sectors
Other founders on campus are working on very different problems.
One example is Everaw Nutrition, co-founded by Lucky Soni. The brand focuses on simple, clean-label food products made with minimal ingredients. The company began as a prototype during Mesa’s business-building sprint, where the founders tested their product with hundreds of early customers and quickly generated their first revenue. The clean-label snack brand has also gained wider attention recently, with the founders appearing on Shark Tank India to pitch their product.
Another startup, bloc, is working on solutions to deal with mosquitoes and insects without the strong chemical smells or smoke associated with many existing products.
And SquareUp, founded by Param, is building an AI-led market research platform that helps consumer companies understand their customers faster and more affordably. The startup was recently selected for Entrepreneurs First, a global accelerator that backs early-stage founders.
Building Founders Early
The ideas are different, but the approach at Mesa is similar for all of them. Students are encouraged to experiment, build prototypes quickly, and learn by doing.
In a city known for startups, Mesa is trying to create a space where founders begin even earlier. For many students here, the goal is not just to study business, but to build one before they graduate.
In collaboration with Mesa School of Business
