Sanjeeva Shivesh began his career with the Indian Railways after qualifying civil service (IRAS) and then quit after a service of about a decade for higher studies and then moving into global consulting and later founding Smart Wave Education and The Entrepreneurship School, through which he mentored more than 800 nascent startups. Shivani Singh Kapoor, an IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta alumna, built Intellitots Learning which was acquired by KLAY before she launched ThinkStartup in 2020.
Q: How did you two meet and embark on this co-journey choosing school entrepreneurship education?
Shivani: After the acquisition of Intellitots Learning, I was exploring what to do next. During my brainstorming, entrepreneurship education in schools stood out—it had immense potential for large-scale impact. But I wasn’t an expert in the field.
So, I reached out into the IIT network, and everyone said, “Talk to Shivesh—he has been doing this for years.”
We connected, met, and immediately realized that the mission resonated deeply with both of us. It was a true meeting of minds.
We agreed that entrepreneurship education must begin early, especially in a system that restricts independent thinking. So, we started experimenting—running batches, talking to educators and parents, and refining our approach for scale.
Even though I studied at places like DPS RK Puram and IIT Delhi, I may never have discovered the transformative journey of entrepreneurship had it not happened accidentally. We don’t teach children early on that they are unique, capable, and able to create something meaningful. Entrepreneurship reveals that potential—the ability to dream and believe in oneself. That realization shaped our mission.
Shivesh: My journey began earlier, in 2013, with The Entrepreneurship School. Although it was in the higher education space, I saw that the challenges across the system were the same. India’s growing economy urgently needed innovation and entrepreneurship, but change on the ground is difficult. I completely agreed with Shivani that schools are where this change must begin. Whether we call it entrepreneurship, design thinking, or problem solving, these are tools to nurture creativity, self-belief, and autonomy—the qualities that future business leaders need.
Most schools rarely nurture independent thinking. Instead, the industrial model of education prioritizes standardization, often stifling individuality and originality. Entrepreneurship, by contrast, is a creative endeavour—it flourishes on innovation, self-expression, and the courage to challenge the status quo. Yet, students are seldom encouraged to think like innovators or leaders.
The problem intensifies as students’ progress from Class 9 to 12. Mounting exam pressure and societal expectations force them to narrow their focus solely on academics, leaving little room for real-world experiences. In this rigid structure, curiosity and experimentation—the very foundations of entrepreneurship—are sidelined, just when young minds need them most. We are questioning these challenges.
Shivani: India has more talented children than the total child population of many developed countries, yet our startup ecosystem doesn’t reflect this. Countries like Finland and Israel encourage creative thinking early; we begin far too late, mostly after college.
We need to give children a safe environment in school to explore, experiment, and discover themselves.
Q: Your initial journey had to pass through the covid epidemic. How did it impact your work?
Both:
We met in January 2020 and initially planned physical programs across co-working spaces in multiple cities. Then COVID-19 hit.
We pivoted online, which unexpectedly expanded our reach across India. We could bring guest speakers from anywhere, leverage technology more effectively, and parents welcomed meaningful engagement for their children during the lockdown. For nearly 18 months, we operated fully online.
At the same time, national conversations around innovation were rising—Startup India, Make in India, and the Delhi government’s Business Blasters program. But these top-down initiatives need a large base of young innovators, which cannot be built overnight. A bottom-up capacity-building movement is essential.
Convincing schools, principals, and parents was anything but easy. The market was non-existent or very thin. Making a market was a big challenge. We had to build it. Everyone was focused on marks and results. NEP 2020 which mentions National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Promotion Policy (NIEPP) also lent support to our efforts at convincing people.
Over time, ThinkStartup became an aggregator and ecosystem enabler, bringing together educators, government bodies, experts, mentors, investors, and industry professionals to support young innovators. Schools slowly began to recognize that students with ideas now had pathways—and people—to guide them.
Q: What are your key services and offerings as of now?
Although we still see ourselves as an early-stage startup, we have already shaped a movement. The Youth Ideathon, organized with CBSE and MEPSC for four consecutive years, has engaged more than two lakh students across India.
We’ve evolved into ecosystem builders—connecting educators, government bodies, schools, parents, and industry partners. Earlier, schools had no idea how to support a student with a promising idea. Today, an entire support network exists to guide them toward industry exposure and incubation.
We offer a curriculum for Classes 6–12. Delivered by trained facilitators across India, it combines standardized LMS content with live activities, mentoring, and evaluations. We are currently present in 45 schools. We also run the Young CEO Program and Boot Camps, which are four-day sessions during school breaks where students develop entrepreneurial skills and pitch ideas. The School Youth Ideathon, now in its 5th edition, is India’s largest school entrepreneurship festival. In 2024, we really began to see that multiplier effect with over 2,00,000 students registering. 52,000 ideas were submitted. Happy to say 20 of the top 50 finalists are currently under incubation. We expect five to seven promising innovations from the current incubation cycle. Students learn to balance academics with project work, and both schools and parents are very supportive.
ThinkStartup takes a holistic, ecosystem-driven approach through entrepreneurship. We act as a network integrator—linking students with subject experts, mentors, partners, funders, and industry enablers. With the right support, good ideas can truly travel far.
Q: Tell us about the current edition of Youth Ideathon.
The 5th edition is launched on October 6, 2025, at the CBSE Headquarters in New Delhi. It is open to students from Classes 4–12 until November 20. The Grand Finale will be held at IIT Delhi in December 2015. A network of 500+ volunteer evaluators ensures rigorous assessment, with each idea evaluated by at least two experts. Top teams will receive incubation support.
Q: Is entrepreneurship education age-appropriate for schoolchildren? What research supports this?
Child development research identifies specific “windows of opportunity”: Ages 0–6: Best for language learning and Ages 6–12: Best for developing creative thinking and innovation aptitude. That’s why we say: catch them young—help them discover their unique identity.
Our internal research also shows that early exposure to STEM, tinkering, research and creative pursuits correlates strongly with a higher entrepreneurial quotient. Surveys with business leaders support the finding that kids who start early are three times more likely to take entrepreneurial paths in life.
Q: What are your views on Atal Tinkering Labs?
ATL is a powerful initiative, but implementation is the key. The model and infrastructure are excellent, but in India real scaling happens when we have well-trained teachers who are ready to provide ‘hands-on” learning. Also, ATL’s are in about 15000 schools, that is only 1% of our schools, but we have to acknowledge the massive work that has happened. Imagine there was no conversation around tinkering and innovation a decade back, zero work and here we’re. Our growing economy needs an army of entrepreneurs. We need innovation to emerge from India, not rely on countries like the US or Taiwan. Big changes come in multiple ways. We still have a long way and are slowly moving in that direction and that should be our journey.
Q: There is a perception that project work hampers studies. How do students balance academics with entrepreneurial projects?
The perception that project work hampers studies is largely because, most school projects are poorly defined with little guidance. But in our experience entrepreneurial projects with the right guidance and mentoring, significantly enhance learning and career prospects. In a time when many children spend hours passively on devices, entrepreneurial projects channel their energy into creativity and critical thinking. When we look at our teams in incubator, we can see how motivated they are. Schools are also supporting them; parents are also appreciating them. And study work balance has automated almost. So, skilling from every source contributes to your learning.
Q: Are there pathways to higher education for students pursuing entrepreneurship?
This is evolving. International universities already value passion projects and entrepreneurial experiences, and many students working on global admissions connect with us for this reason.
In India, institutions like NSUT have begun recognizing such skills. Colleges increasingly understand that in a post-industrial, post-IT, AI-driven world, marks alone are insufficient. Statement-of-purpose-based admissions are growing, and society is transitioning. More pathways will emerge.
Q: What’s next for ThinkStartup and for the movement you’re building?
ThinkStartup is rapidly expanding its impact and has ambitious plans for the future, both as an organization and as a movement to foster youth entrepreneurship in India. We are on a mission to touch over 1 million students annually, aiming to embed entrepreneurship education across India’s school ecosystem. Our goal is to make entrepreneurial skills as fundamental as traditional academics in schools. The next step is to strengthen this journey and scale up the movement further.
