Entrepreneur Ignite Summit (EIS) 2026

Date: January 9, 2026

Venue: COMSNETS 2026

Hosted by: CEEDS – Council for Entrepreneurship Enablement, Decarbonization & Sustainability

Format: Single-track, in-person

About the Summit

The Entrepreneur Ignite Summit (EIS) is a founder-first, ecosystem-centric forum designed to bridge ideas, research, policy, capital, and industry into real-world entrepreneurial outcomes. The summit emphasizes early-stage founder realities, translation of research into ventures, and ecosystem enablement for sustainable scale.

Program Schedule

Friday, 9th January 2026
Time	Event
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM	Session 1 — IGNITE Why Build? What Is Worth Building?
10 mins	Opening Context Speakers: Gaurav Vaid, Dr. Madan Mohan Rao
30 mins	Founder Story & Conversation Speaker: Impact-driven Founder (TBD) Moderator: Gaurav Vaid
35 mins	Fireside: Research, Policy & Entrepreneurial Reality Panelists: Researcher / Academic Founder; Policy / Institutional Representative Moderator: Dr. Madan Mohan Rao
30 mins	Open Room Dialogue Facilitator: Vinay Dora
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM	Lunch Break
2:00 PM – 4:30 PM	Session 2 — ACTIVATE How Ideas Become Ventures
35 mins	Use-Inspired Tech & Climate Ventures Panelists: Founder (AI/Sustainability/Decarbonization); Industry/Ecosystem Representative Moderator: Dr. Madan Mohan Rao
60 mins	Integrated Capital & Industry Conversation Panelists: Two Founders (early and later stage), Two Early-stage Investors, Industry/Ecosystem Leader Moderator: Dr. Madan Mohan Rao
20 mins	Closing Reflection: Building for the Long Game Speaker: Gaurav Vaid Wisdom Thinking is referenced lightly as a guiding lens.