Goa Startup Festival 2026 at Parul University: Coir, Konkani OTT and a First-Year Startup That Won Rs 1.5 Lakh

On 2 and 3 September 2026, Parul University Goa hosted the Goa Startup Festival 2026, a two-day platform built to pull students out of the classroom and into direct contact with real founders, investors, mentors, and Goa’s startup ecosystem. Championed by the campus’s senior leadership, including Provost Dr. Lalit Lata Jha, and driven by PIERC, the festival packed signature talks, an ecosystem round-table, a pitch competition, an investor fireside, a startup expo, and a four-module masterclass into forty-eight hours.

The festival’s Signature Talks brought Goan entrepreneurs to campus to share the gritty reality behind their ventures. Sairaj Dhond, founder of Wakao Foods, spoke candidly about the FMCG journey, the capital it took and the resilience it demanded, reminding students that every visible company began as a small, unproven idea. Nikhil Desai of Vindaloo Entertainment described building a regional OTT platform in the Konkani language, proof that a startup need not be software or fintech, and that language, regional entertainment, and local culture can be serious business. And funding environment. The most resonant note came from Rohini Gonsalves, who told the students to chase their vision relentlessly, but to add a crucial ingredient.

“Passion matters, but patience is just as important. Pursue your vision relentlessly, but add a pinch of realism.”
– Ms. Rohini Gonsalves, founder of Sevarat Healthcare

Two more strands rounded out the festival. The Startup Expo turned Day 1 into a live marketplace: around ten Goan founders showcased real businesses, from hardware and IT services to customised merchandise and eco-friendly products, and students stepped into the role of customers, handling products, studying branding and pricing, and buying directly. And the Startup Masterclass Series, run by the PIERC team for over 120 registered students (with a strong first-year turnout), broke the entrepreneurial journey into four practical modules: from idea to startup, discovering opportunities, thinking like an innovator (design thinking), and building a winning business model with legal compliance. Together, inspiration met actionable knowledge.

The Goa Startup Festival is more than a campus event; it is Parul University Goa positioning itself at the centre of the state’s growing startup ecosystem. By bringing Goan founders, the Goa Startup Mission, local incubators, and investors onto campus, and by backing student ideas with real funding and pre-incubation, the festival builds genuine bridges between education and enterprise in Goa. It reflects a wider PIERC-driven culture across Parul University of treating students as potential job creators, and brings that ambition firmly to the Goa coast.