U T Rao - Associate Professor & Entrepreneurship Initiatives, MICA

U T Rao

Associate Professor & Entrepreneurship Initiatives, MICA

More about U T Rao

Pracdemic ! Associate Professor , Entrepreneurship Initiatives at MICA , Angel Investor, Start Up Mentor and Movie Producer

Dr. U T Rao is truly a Pracdemic, a rare combination of practice and academics . He is an Associate Professor at MICA , was Chair of MICA Incubator and now leads Entrepreneurial Initiatives at MICA , Entrepreneur , Angel Investor and Board Member of several start up enablers and has been on several Govt committees for promotion of entrepreneurship in India, 

As an Entrepreneur , he has co- founded Shrey Multispecialty Hospital , Shubham General Hospital , Solitaire Remedies , Sunset Boulevard Cinemagic and Openfuel Foundation Currently focusing on Innovation through collaboration at 100xstories.com . He also produced the award winning gujarati film “Mara Papa Superhero” directed by Dr Darshan Ashwin Trivedi ,elected in several prestigious international film festivals like San Diego International Kids Film Festival , Kids First Film Festival, USA , 34th International Film Festival for Children and Youth, Iran ,London Indian Film Festival , DYTIATKO International Children’s Media Festival, Ukraine, Indian Film Festival of Melbourne , Bollywood Film Festival of Norway and more ..

He has been board members of several organizations and start up enablers like ISBA (Indian STEP and Business Incubator Association) , Spinta Global Accelerator (US) , Innovify (UK) , TiE Ahmedabad etc 

Loves to interact with today’s youth and imparts training in Entrepreneurship related courses across some of India’sbest educational institutions as well as internationally as visiting and guest faculty. In the last few years he has taught at the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, University Sains Malayasia ,Univers,ity of Waikato , Several IIT’s and IIM’s , NID ,DAIICT , TISS apart from MICA . 

Awards and honours include Start Up Gujarat – Start Up Gujarat Award , Visionary Incubation Leader , eChai Pioneer Award ,Entrepreneurship Education Excellence award etc .

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Featured speaker at previous eChai events:
eChai Fundraising Social
eChai Startup Demo Day @ MICA
Founders and startup folks who joined past eChai startup events

The eChai Effect - In Their Words

"After moving back from the USA, eChai became my go-to space to learn how the Indian startup ecosystem works. It offered direct exposure to startup thinking and a community that openly shares business insights. What stood out was how easy it was to connect, learn, and grow through real conversations. As we built our IT hardware rentals business, eChai helped us find our niche and refine our path. Proud and grateful to be part of this amazing community."
Heet Sheth - Growth and Tech, Sheth Info
Heet Sheth
Growth and Tech, Sheth Info
"eChai has played a truly pivotal role in HummingBird’s journey — even before Day Zero. From ideation to establishment and into growth, it’s been a constant source of support. It connected me with incredible people who’ve become more than just friends. One of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Ahmedabad is because of the eChai community. It has shaped my growth — both personally and professionally — in ways that are hard to articulate. Honestly, words fall short when I try to express what eChai means to me. I’m deeply thankful and forever grateful to eChai for being such an integral part of my journey."
Harsha Bhurani - Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
Harsha Bhurani
Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
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Utpal Vaishnav - Founder @ Upsquare & House of Starts • Angel Investor + LP
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder @ Upsquare & House of Starts • Angel Investor + LP

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