Avant Garde — IIM Indore B-Plan Pitching Showdown for College Students — Frequently Asked Questions

Avant Garde is a business plan competition hosted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore. Teams pitch a startup idea across three rounds that focus on ideation, business projections, communication and investment analysis. Participants switch between the roles of entrepreneur, strategist and investor over the course of the contest.

The competition is open to college students from all over India. You enter as a team of 3 to 6 members, and cross-college teams are allowed, so your teammates do not have to be from the same institution. A single college is also free to send more than one team.

Prize details are not specified in the listing, so no cash amount, grant or award value is stated for the winners. Treat the competition as a pitching and evaluation experience rather than a known cash prize.

No. Avant Garde is a pitching competition, not an investor programme — the listing does not mention any equity stake or investment being made in participating teams. The investor simulation round involves virtual funds used to build mock portfolios, not real capital.

Neither is mentioned as a requirement. Entry is based on being a college student in a team of 3 to 6 members, so no DPIIT recognition, MSME registration, incorporation or funding history is needed.

The registration deadline is 20 July 2026. Applications are made through the official Unstop page for Avant Garde: The B-Plan Pitching Showdown, IIM Indore, which is the listing linked from this page.

Round 1 is online, where you submit a pitch deck. The remaining rounds are held offline at IIM Indore and include an Elevator Pitch, where you present your deck briefly and convincingly; an Investor Simulation, where you evaluate other teams' pitches and build a mock portfolio with virtual funds; and an Interaction Round, a networking session where teams exchange ideas and influence investment decisions.

Your deck can run to a maximum of 3 slides and should cover four things: the problem and your solution, your target market and business model, your unique value proposition, and your competitive advantage along with the scope for scalability. Keeping it concise is part of what the round tests.

Yes. Cross-college team participation is explicitly allowed, and multiple teams from the same college may also enter. The only team rule stated is the size: between 3 and 6 members.

No sector or stage restriction is listed. The competition is open to college students pitching startup ideas, and no particular industry, funding stage or business model is called out as required.

Avant Garde — IIM Indore B-Plan Pitching Showdown for College Students is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.