After positive response, Startup Singam renewed for season 2

CHENNAI: Startup Singam, the reality show which rose to popularity by bringing early-stage companies into a television format, is now entering its second season with a bigger pool of investors and a fresh round of funding.

Baanhem Ventures, the company behind the show, has closed its second funding round and brought on board new shareholders, including Gopal Srinivasan of TVS Capital Funds, Girish Mathrubootham of Freshworks, and Ashwini Asokan of Mad Street Den.

In its debut season, Startup Singam featured 35 startups that together secured over Rs 40 crore in commitments. Of these, 15 ventures have already received Rs 13 crore. The visibility gave a push to sectors such as agritech, healthtech, D2C and SaaS, while also making entrepreneurship a subject of discussion beyond Chennai and Coimbatore, into tier-2 and tier-3 towns.

Season 2 has scaled up the ambition by gaining investor commitments of Rs 100 crore, and 75 startups have been shortlisted from more than 2,000 applications made nationwide. The show's run has also been expanded to 26 episodes from the earlier 13 episodes.

Hemachandran, co-founder of Baanhem Ventures, said inclusivity was the core focus. "The idea is to be inclusive and help every business idea to be nurtured and scaled. Startup TN is a big inspiration for us, and we would definitely like and are open to collaborating with them," he said. Co-founder Balachander pointed out that the presence of seasoned investors would add governance and depth to the initiative.

Kumar Vembu, Chief Mentor of Startup Singam, said the challenge for most new ventures was navigating uncertainty. "There are so many unknown factors in business, that's why startups perish after a consequence. But with proper push and mentorship, they can scale; that's the role of Startup Singam," he said. He added that they would take the lead in collaborating with Startup TN.

For investors, the platform is being viewed as a mix of capital and visibility. Srinivasan said, "Startup Singam offers a unique platform where promising talent meets thoughtful mentorship and strategic capital. I look forward to supporting founders on this transformative journey, helping build businesses with scale and sustainability."

Mathrubootham said Tamil Nadu's entrepreneurial potential was vast, spanning both urban hubs and rural communities, while Ashwini Asokan added that the format gave her a chance to engage with new-age founders and support the next generation of tech-enabled ventures.

Along with Srinivasan, Mathrubootham and Ashwini Asokan, the new shareholders include CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti, IppoPay co-founder Mohan Karuppiah, ithought Financial Consulting founder Shyam Sekhar, TSM Group's K Mahalingam, and M2P Fintech's Madhusudanan Rangarajan.