“If you think your business idea really has potential, do an early product-market fit. Get those first 100 people who believe in your idea. And if you can get that, then go for it.” When Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh shared this advice, she raised a question that comes before funding, scaling or a polished pitch: does anyone actually need what you want to build?
That question sits at the heart of Startup Marathon 4.0, Shoolini Pehal Foundation’s flagship problem-first innovation program. It is a familiar pattern: someone has a business idea, does some research, perhaps even looks for incubation support, but never gets around to testing whether the idea could actually work.
Business ideas often start with solutions. Someone imagines an app, product or service and then goes looking for customers. Startup Marathon reverses that sequence. Participants first identify a real problem, understand the people affected and test their assumptions before deciding what to build. This year’s theme captures this approach in three words: “Build What Matters”.
Shoolini Pehal Foundation was incorporated on 21 June 2022 and has since backed 36 startups. This gives the latest marathon a pool of founders and mentors with firsthand experience of the process.
While speaking with Rahul D. Bahadur, CEO of Shoolini Pehal Foundation, he shared his insights: “While the Startup Marathon is our flagship pre-incubation programme, it also serves as a platform for students, researchers, faculty, innovators, and people from nearby locations to share ideas and gain a deeper understanding of the problems they are trying to solve. This is made possible through the university’s extensive network and strong research acumen.”
How the Six-Stage Process Works
Now in its fourth edition, the marathon takes participants through a six-stage process. It begins with Problem Discovery, where they investigate an unresolved issue, followed by Problem Validation, where assumptions are tested through direct interaction with potential users.
Only after understanding the problem do participants move to Rapid Ideation and explore possible solutions with mentors. During Team Formation, they come together across disciplines around promising problem-solution combinations. In Solution Refinement, prototypes are built, tested and improved before participants reach Showcase and Presentation.
The pitch comes after the research, conversations, testing and revisions. This order reflects Alagh’s advice to validate first and pitch later.
How the Marathon Has Evolved
Startup Marathon has evolved over four editions. The first introduced problem-first thinking to Shoolini’s innovation ecosystem. The second formalised mentorship and validation. The third expanded participation and strengthened the involvement of industry mentors.
The fourth takes the model further through alumni participation, a refined selection process, regular mentor engagement and wider exposure to the startup ecosystem. Founders from previous editions, including some from the 36 startups supported by the Foundation, return as mentors and evaluators. Current participants can learn from people who have experienced the process of testing and developing an idea.
A dedicated track for first-year students is another addition this year. It introduces problem-solving early, often before students have a startup idea. They are encouraged to look closely at the problems around them, identify gaps and ask better questions.
Success Beyond the Final Pitch
Building a startup is one possible outcome, but it is not the only measure of progress. A participant may develop a promising solution and take it further. Another may learn through user validation that an idea does not solve a real problem. Discovering that early prevents time and resources from being spent on something people may never use.
Participants develop skills that extend beyond entrepreneurship, including critical thinking, problem-solving, experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. They learn to test assumptions, respond to feedback and change direction when evidence challenges their original thinking.
Ideas that show potential can progress beyond the final showcase. Startup Marathon 4.0 connects participants with Shoolini Pehal Foundation’s incubation ecosystem and provides exposure to i-TBI DST incubation activities. The initiative also receives support from partners including the Atal Community Innovation Centre at Shoolini University, E-Cell Shoolini and the Institution’s Innovation Council.
The fourth edition is not designed as a one-day competition. It takes participants through each early stage of developing an idea. The final presentation matters, but so do the interviews that overturn an assumption, the prototype that fails its first test and the mentor conversation that sends an idea in a better direction.
Applications for Startup Marathon 4.0 are open. Interested participants can register through the QR code or the official Startup Marathon 4.0 portal https://startupmarathon4.netlify.app/
If you have a promising business idea, the marathon starts with a different question. Before asking how to build something, it asks what problem needs solving. That answer may separate an interesting idea from something people actually need.
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