Compassion-a-thon 2.0: Idea to MVP - A paradox event

We’re thrilled to reflect on the resounding success of Compassion-a-thon 2.0, a pioneering pre-pre-incubation innovation challenge designed to bridge the gap between raw ideas and viable Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). This year’s event showcased the power of compassion-driven entrepreneurship, fostering socially impactful and technically sound business ideas.

Nirmaan IITM and Spirelia proudly served as official Knowledge Partners, playing a pivotal role in shaping the entrepreneurial journeys of budding innovators.

Intention of the Event

The core intention of Compassion-a-thon 2.0 was to nurture socially impactful, technically sound, and compassion-driven entrepreneurial ideas with the aim of incubating them into real businesses. It sought to bring together students from diverse backgrounds to identify real-world problems, iterate on meaningful solutions, and pitch their prototypes in a highly collaborative environment. The event emphasized early-stage entrepreneurial exploration, real-world validation through customer interviews, hands-on prototyping, and a gamified competition culminating in a final on-campus showdown. A key goal was to help participants shape clear problem statements and define actionable, technological approaches towards their solutions, preparing them for pre-incubation. The event also focused on integrating ethical considerations with potential revenue streams, navigating the inherent struggle between compassion and a viable business model.

What Went On: The Actual Event

The event kicked off with an online session on 22nd April 2025, where Prof. Bala introduced the theme of Compassion-a-thon 2.0. This kickoff meeting was remarkably well-attended, drawing over 200 participants. Participants engaged through an interesting website prototype linked to Google Classroom, which incorporated questions and quizzes to gamify the experience.

Throughout the competition, various sessions were held, including those with guest speakers. Sukraat Dang delivered an address that helped anchor ideas and the vision of Compassion-a-thon 2.0. Anuprateei also guided participants. Prof. Bala Ramadurai, in his inaugural session “Achieving Product Nirvana using Karmic Design Thinking,” interweaved stories and real-world examples, connecting Lord Buddha’s Ideology with Design Thinking principles. He introduced hands-on activities that provided practical experience in understanding customer needs, which is foundational for business success. The feedback for these sessions was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees requesting more. A notable success was the use of local language for customer interaction, which proved to be very effective. Encouragingly, some teams generated revenue during the event, and these teams proved to be among the best.

Key Milestones

Compassion-a-thon 2.0 followed a structured timeline with key milestones:

• Milestone 01: Kickoff Session (Online): Held on 22nd April 2025 at 5:00 PM, featuring an introduction to the theme.
• On-Campus Workshop (Offline): Conducted on June 5th, 2025, from 10:00 AM onwards, offering clarity on accelerating ventures from idea to MVP.
• Customer Testimonials (Online + Offline): Took place on June 5th, 2025, from 13:00 to 18:00 during office hours, allowing teams to refine solutions and approach customers.
• Pitch Finale: The culmination of the event, held on June 6th, 2025, from 10:00 AM onwards, featuring final presentations, jury evaluations, and result declarations. The dates for the main event were confirmed as June 5th and 6th, 10 AM to 1 PM.

Modus Operandi: How Innovation Was Fostered

The event operated as an iterative process, with this being “round one”. Participants were guided through “early-stage entrepreneurial exploration” using specialized templates. A critical component was real-world validation through customer interviews and hands-on prototyping. Mentorship was provided on transforming early concepts into tangible MVPs using Design Thinking principles.

Prof. Bala encapsulated the essence of his teachings in “Design Thinking” into the simple yet profound acronym EAST:

• Empathize with your customers
• Analyze the problems they face
• Solve the problem thoughtfully
• Test iteratively for continuous improvement

The evaluation process was precise, shortlisting top entries and assessing ideas based on innovation, user validation, and execution potential. The evaluation rubric included criteria such as:

• Ideation: Clear problem-solution fit and alignment with the Compassion-a-thon theme.
• Branding & Prototyping: Readiness of the prototype, design principles, and interviews conducted.
• Testing: Number of prototype iterations and feedback cycles.
• Documentation: Clarity of submissions, visual aids, and on-campus presence.

Bonus points were awarded for achieving an App Store launch, submitting a hard-coded functional prototype, onboarding paid customers or demonstrating paid traction, and conducting numerous customer interviews (initial, reiterated, and in-person).

Outstanding Ideas & Teams

The event showcased a range of innovative, compassion-driven ideas. We’re proud to announce the Winners and Honourable Mentions:

*The organizing team with SmackTech, the winners - (L to R): Tulika, Tarun (Smacktech), Bala, Pushpendra (Smacktech), Kunal, Shyam. At Taramani Guest House

• Winners:

  • SmackTech: A portal connecting mobile healthcare providers with annual health checkup customers (corporate). Their presentation showed deep empathy to stakeholders and demonstrated revenue.
  • Exam.ai: A functioning AI-based portal designed for exam preparation. Noteworthy for its clear business model and a Play Store app.
  • Leaf & Light: A customized art artefact creator connecting underprivileged women entrepreneurs with art connoisseurs. Praised for its responsible business model and good demo.
  • Tomocha: An Indo-Japanese app for mental well-being. Distinguished by its research basis, clear market need, and focus on internationalization and inclusion.
  • Vyapar.ai: An AI voice assistant for small-sized businesses. Described as “friggin’ awesome!” with cool additions based on feedback.

• Honourable Mentions:

  • Dear me: An AI journal/diary with built-in productivity tools. Commended for its personal story, strong audience engagement, and simple UI.
  • Mataplex: A portal for connecting construction vendors and customers. Recognized for its striking start.
  • Cyberguard: A browser extension designed to guard against foul language for teens. Identified as addressing a very important problem with a cool logo.

Conclusion

Compassion-a-thon 2.0 was a resounding success, marked by a highly engaged audience and innovative ideas. The website developed by Kunal and Tulika for participants was particularly effective. A key learning for future editions, potentially Compassion-a-thon 3.0, is to explicitly add revenue generation as a core focus, given that the best teams this year successfully achieved it. The event has set a high bar for future sessions, and we look forward to building on this foundation.

#Compassionathon #InnovationChallenge #Entrepreneurship #DesignThinking #SocialImpact #IITMadras #NirmaanIITM #Spirelia