Before the sprint, each day of Genesis for the PGDM batch was dedicated to one value of the acronym I.N.S.P.I.R.E and we can conclude that each of those values were about raising awareness and gathering knowledge to set the tone for the journey ahead for the students.
But before the new students went back to their normal college time, we had something planned for them. Something on a execution level.
Since the first two weeks were about raising awareness, Genesis Sprint 2026 was about putting that knowledge to actual test.
That was the premise behind the Genesis Industry Sprint 2026, the capstone experience of Genesis: I.N.S.P.I.R.E in Action.
What Is The Genesis Industry Sprint?
For two days, the incoming PGDM Class of 2026–28 stepped away from presentations and theory to work on something far more uncertain.
Real business problems.
In collaboration with eChai Ventures, four startup founders walked into the NBS campus with challenges their companies are currently trying to solve. There were no case studies, no model answers, and no predefined framework.
Every team had just 24 hours.
Students had to understand the business, question assumptions, research the market, validate their ideas, use AI wherever required, and finally present their recommendations directly to the founders.
Every team was guided by a faculty mentor, but every solution belonged entirely to the students.
When the presentations concluded, each founder selected the solutions they believed had the greatest potential.
Retner AI, co-founded by Rahul Kumar
Challenge: How can Retner deliver an instant, high-touch WhatsApp support experience for thousands of D2C brands without proportionally increasing support headcount?
The founders selected two winning teams, each approaching the same problem from a different perspective.
Winning Team 1
Team Leader: Nalin Upadhyay
Team Members: Rudri Pandya, Nayan Jain, Sujata Patel, Kushal Tiwari, Tushar Parashar, Vedang Kothari, Sneha Singh and Shivam Goyal.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Charmi Shah
The team proposed an Agentic AI-powered customer support system, demonstrating how intelligent automation can maintain personalised customer interactions while helping businesses scale efficiently.
Winning Team 2
Team Leader: Hardik Shivhare
Team Members: Nakul Pareek, Itisha Patel, Pranshu Vyas, Jayant Jain, Nisarg Bhensajaliya, Priyanshi Kotak and Prachi Doshi.
Faculty Mentor: Yashpalsinh Jadeja
Their solution focused on categorising customer queries based on urgency while introducing the Retner Community Club, creating a stronger customer engagement ecosystem alongside an efficient support structure.
CheckMyWarranty, founded by Anuj Dalal
Challenge: How can we make every household in India care about warranty management before something goes wrong?
Winning Team
Team Leader: Ruchi jain
Team Members: Tisha Parekh, Yagni Chovatiya, Kanika Gupta, Rahat Siddiqui, Sayyed Alfez Ali, Hardik Sharma and Gaurav Rathod.
Faculty Mentor: Dr.Hardik Brahmbhatt
The team presented a comprehensive strategy combining targeted digital marketing, personalised customer engagement, strategic partnerships, and an improved customer experience to strengthen both customer acquisition and long-term retention.
NOKO, founded by Sagar Thakker
Challenge: How do we introduce the world’s first AI character for children in a way that children instantly love while parents instinctively trust?
Winning Team
Team Leader: Himanshi Singh
Team Members: Vishal Singhvi, Deeya Rathod, Asmita Tiwari, Bhakti Banwat, Sujal Allawadhi, Ridhima Jain, Aanya Shah, Sahil Bhavsar and Nimish Narang.
Faculty Mentor: Prof (Dr) Indra Meghrajani
The team’s recommendation was backed by customer research, surveys and a clear Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) strategy, helping balance two equally important goals, earning parents’ trust while creating excitement among children.
Workplate, founded by Amish Trivedi
Challenge: Founder-led selling will get us part of the way. We now need a scalable sales playbook built from evidence, not intuition.
Winning Team
Team Leader: Vanshita Agrawal
Team Members: Divyansh Khandelwal, Ashutosh Sharma, Priyanshi Bairagi, Prachi Porwal, Rishika Shrivas, Sneha Dubey and Nupur Tiwari.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Pragya Sharma
The team proposed bundled offerings, personalised sales journeys, customised product options and stronger compliance measures to help Workplate move beyond founder-led sales towards a scalable growth model.
Why the Genesis Industry Sprint Matters for Higher Education
We are proud of our incoming PGDM students for actively participating in the sprint and we congratulate all the winners. The Industry Sprint was never about finding the perfect solution. It was about learning how to approach a problem when the answer is unknown.
For many students, this was their first experience of working directly with startup founders, defending ideas, accepting criticism, changing direction, and presenting solutions under pressure.
Some teams won. Every team learnt. That is what made the Industry Sprint one of the most meaningful experiences of Genesis 2026. Because management is not learnt only by reading about businesses. Sometimes, it begins by helping build one.
