At BECon’26, IIT Delhi’s flagship Business and Entrepreneurship Conclave, innovation finds its most tangible expression at Launchpad, the summit’s official startup expo. Taking place from 31st January to 1st February 2026, Launchpad is positioned as a high-visibility platform where early-stage and growth-stage startups gain direct access to investors, mentors, policymakers, and industry leaders.
BECon’26 itself runs from 30th January to 1st February, transforming the IIT Delhi campus into a national hub for entrepreneurship, technology, and policy dialogue. Within this larger ecosystem, Launchpad serves as the focal point for startup discovery and engagement.
This year, Launchpad will host curated startups, drawing an expected on-campus footfall of over 30,000+ visitors. These numbers place Launchpad among the most prominent student-led startup expos in the country.
What distinguishes Launchpad from a conventional exhibition is its emphasis on interaction over presentation. Instead of static displays, startups engage audiences through live, founder-led demonstrations, product walkthroughs, and real-world use cases. The format encourages meaningful conversations, allowing founders to communicate not just what they are building, but the problem it solves and the impact it aims to create.
The expo is actively explored by venture capital firms, angel investors, accelerators, and corporate innovation teams, many of whom use Launchpad as a discovery platform. For participating startups, this results in organic, high-quality interactions that frequently extend beyond the event into pilot projects, partnerships, and funding discussions.
Launchpad’s value extends well beyond visibility. Participating startups are seamlessly integrated into BECon’26’s broader mentorship and funding ecosystem. The startups exhibiting their stall also get the opportunity to participate in Startup Clinic sessions, where founders receive direct, actionable feedback from experienced entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and domain experts. These sessions address critical areas such as product–market fit, business strategy, pricing, go-to-market planning, and scaling.
Selected startups also gain exposure to BECon’s Moonshot and Grand Moonshot funding platforms, which provide structured pitching opportunities before leading venture capital firms. For many founders, Launchpad becomes the entry point into a longer, carefully curated funding journey within the BECon ecosystem.
Visibility at Launchpad is designed to be both immediate and enduring. Startups benefit from professional on-stall video interviews, along with amplification across BECon’s official social media channels and partner media platforms. This ensures continued engagement with investors, customers, and collaborators well after the expo concludes.
Indian Startup Times is honored to be the official media partner for Launchpad at BECon’26, amplifying the stories of India’s next generation of founders to a national audience.
The physical design of the expo reinforces its purpose. Launchpad is set up as an open-format startup village, featuring standard and premium stalls designed to maximize discovery and interaction. A dedicated IIT Delhi and FITT Innovation Row highlights research-backed and incubated ventures, while close proximity to mentorship rooms, funding tracks, and networking zones ensures sustained footfall throughout the day.
Crucially, Launchpad is hosted at the Biotech Lawn, one of the most visible and premium locations on the IIT Delhi campus. Positioned along BECon’26’s highest-footfall corridor, the Biotech Lawn sees continuous movement of attendees between keynote sessions, panels, and networking events. This placement ensures consistent exposure, high dwell time, and meaningful engagement for every participating startup.
To ensure founders can focus entirely on showcasing their ventures, the organizing team provides comprehensive end-to-end logistical support. From fully equipped stalls with power and seating to onboarding coordination, on-ground volunteer assistance, and real-time issue resolution, all operational aspects are centrally managed to deliver a smooth and professional experience.
Launchpad draws further strength from the scale and diversity of BECon’26’s parallel programming. The summit features keynote addresses and panel discussions with global leaders, unicorn founders, investors, and policymakers, offering insights into entrepreneurship, technology, artificial intelligence, and the future of business. Platforms such as PolicySphere enable startups to engage directly with government representatives, while Innoverse and the Tech Showcase highlight cutting-edge developments in deep-tech, hardware, robotics, and intelligent systems.
Additional initiatives, including Blueprint, BECon’s business plan competition; Co-founder Catalyst , its co-founder matchmaking platform; and a series of workshops and bootcamps, support founders across stages, from ideation to scale.
Taken together, these elements position Launchpad as far more than an exhibition. It functions as a gateway into a national startup ecosystem, offering founders visibility, mentorship, funding access, policy exposure, and long-term connections.
If BECon’26 is where ideas for India’s entrepreneurial future are debated, Launchpad is where those ideas are discovered, tested, and propelled forward.
If you are a startup and are interested to be a part of the Launchpad, Register yourself by filling the form : https://forms.gle/rmyqk5NReeCEZffa8
