Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN), under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department, as the State government’s nodal agency for Startups and Innovations has announced the launch of ‘Startup Thamizha’ a first-of-its-kind Tamil start-up reality show.

The show will bridge the gap between start-ups and investors while creating awareness about start-ups across the State, in the march towards making Tamil Nadu one of the top 20 global start-up destinations.

StartupTN has conceptualised ‘Startup Thamizha’ as a television reality show mainly to sensitise startup founders and aspirants by showcasing start-ups pitching their innovations before global investors and successfully raising funds. It will create awareness of how entrepreneurs and innovators with a novel and scalable product or solution could make a big dream come true, without worrying about challenges.

‘Cultural change’

‘Startup Thamizha’ is aimed at bringing about a cultural change in the minds of innovators and making them become employers by making optimum use of available resources and encouraging innovators as well as aspirants to take risks and shun fear of failure. The show will also throw light on the new-age

Sivarajah Ramanathan, Mission Director & CEO, Startup TN, told businessline that while the reality show is modelled on Shark Tank it is completely different. The show is planned to be launched in January with the Chennai-based brand Avatar wing the bid to produce it.

In Shark Tank, there were only four investors as panellists who will fund the start-up. However, in Startup Thamizha, there will be a panel, and also around 50 investors in the audience. These investors can decide to invest. It is quite similar to the Super Singer show where there will be a set of judges and a large audience. However, in Startup Thamizha, instead of the general public, investors will be there, he said.

The show will be telecast in one of the channels that is among the top three — Sun TV, Vijay TV and Zee TV — in the TRP ranking. It will be decided by the producer, said Ramanathan.