Deepa Sai

Speaking, Panels & Startup Juries

→ Invited as a startup jury member for the Investor Connect – Incubated Startup Pitching event at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai. Evaluated close to 15 startups across climate tech, quantum, AI/SaaS, edtech, healthtech, medtech, biotech and sustainable construction. Also addressed students on entrepreneurship, investor readiness and building impact into their ideas (August 2026).

→ Served on the jury for the Women Startup Pitch at EntreprenHer 2.0, hosted by CII IWN Coimbatore Zone. Evaluated women-led startups and provided feedback on their innovation, scalability and investment readiness (August 2026).

→ Moderated a panel discussion at FutureMaker Labs! 2026, facilitating a conversation on purpose-driven careers, innovation and impact (July 2026).

→ Served as a Panel Speaker and Jury Member at GreenShift: Waste & Climate Summit 2026, organised by Thuvakkam (June 2026), discussing innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology-enabled circular economy solutions for a low-carbon future, while evaluating research papers on waste management, climate, and sustainability.

→Delivered a guest lecture at Hindustan College of Arts & Science (June 2026) on the Future of Work, Sustainability, and Emerging Industries, exploring how climate, technology, geopolitics, and changing markets are reshaping careers and business opportunities.

→Panelist at The Founders Blueprint by The Origin Chapter (June 2026), sharing insights on founder decision-making, investor confidence, fundraising, market timing, and the realities of building resilient businesses in Climate Tech & emerging sectors.

→Served as jury member at Loyola’s Inclusive Innovation & Impact Centre, evaluating startups for incubation (March 2026). The cohort featured founders with strong traction and business models integrating social and environmental impact.

→Served as a jury member for the second screening round of the TN-RISE Women Entrepreneurs Programme (March 2026) at the TN-RISE Office in Chennai. Along with fellow jury members, evaluated and shortlisted women-led businesses from a pool of 60–70 entrepreneurs across Tamil Nadu. The initiative supports grassroots women entrepreneurs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 districts as they build scalable businesses and strengthen local livelihoods.

→Invited as a panel speaker at ‘The Founder Forum – Celebrating the Rise of Women’, at Chennai Institute of Technology (March 2026) to celebrate International Women’s Day where I shared insights on conscious entrepreneurship, intersectionality, resilience, social equity, feminism, and leadership.

→Delivered a session on Impact Business Models at FoundR Sprint 1.0 by Marabanu, hosted at KSR Engineering College (Feb 2026), where 40 startups from various institutions participated. Integrated circularity, sustainability, and the UN SDGs into startup innovation, operations, and scaling strategy. Focused on helping founders build durable, future-ready ventures that scale with resilience and responsibility.

→Delivered an interactive seminar on ‘Botany Beyond the Classroom‘ at DG Vaishnav College (Feb 2026), linking plant sciences to climate systems, UN SDGs, and the bio-economy and bio-circular economy. Enabled students to view botany and biotechnology through a sustainability-led startup and innovation lens, aligning with the Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) framework.

→Invited to speak at the closed-door Karotimam Award Ceremony (Feb 2026), addressing founders and investors. Shared my journey and the pathways that shaped my work in climate and sustainability advisory. Spoke on advancing women’s participation across entrepreneurship and STEM leadership, including as investors and advisors.

→Served as Jury Member for the Energy & Sustainability track at eSummit by E-Cell IIT Madras, evaluating idea-stage to prototype-led ventures across grid systems, agri-logistics, battery tech, and more through a strategic, market-readiness lens beyond the prototype stage.Referred by Tamilpreneur.

→Invited to mentor and judge at Only Founders, a 36-hour hackathon jointly conducted by YUVA and Microsoft Innovations Club at VIT Chennai (Feb 2026). Evaluated startups across stages, from early concepts to working prototypes, through a feasibility and strategic execution lens.
Referred by Tamilpreneur.

→Moderated a 1.5-hour panel on Inclusive Growth for a Sustainable Future at Confluence 2026 (Jan), hosted by the School of Management, DG Vaishnav College. Led the end-to-end curation of the panel, including background research, speaker coordination, and question design across sustainability, ESG, SDGs, and future-of-work themes. Facilitated a student-led, cross-sector conversation connecting industry, academia, and emerging workforce perspectives on inclusive and responsible growth.

→Served as a jury member and the key note speaker on Waste Management at Madras Christian College for EcoExpo ’26 (Jan 2026), evaluating student startup ideas focused on waste management and circular solutions. The event was organised by Waste Management Student Association in association with Research & Education for Environmental Foundation (REEF) and Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC).

→Served as a startup jury member at Marabanu Fundr 1.0 (Dec 2025), evaluating 25 purpose-driven startups across agritech, biotech, and climate tech. Additionally, delivered a focused address on building defensible startups — helping founders understand how to tailor pitches for different audiences and clearly communicate go-to-market thinking across idea, MVP, and revenue stages.

→Co-curated AndPurpose Forum, Mumbai (Dec 2025) as a Network Partner, and moderated a fireside chat with the CEO of WRI India on India’s policy and investment pathways for clean-energy development post-COP30.

→Invited as Chief Guest by the Department of Economics, Stella Maris College, for EcoArena’25 (Nov 2025), the department’s flagship academic forum, and delivered a keynote on Climate, Sustainability, and Economics—examining climate choices, global supply chains, power politics, and India’s pathways toward self-reliance and sustainable development.

→Serving as a Mentor, Ecosystem Partner, and Startup Advisor for the Women in Climate Entrepreneurship – Climate Fellowship for Women 2025, supporting and guiding women founders building climate and sustainability ventures (Oct 2025 – Jan 2026).

→Invited as Guest of Honour and Startup Jury at Dreamovation 2025 (Oct 2025), hosted by Rajalakshmi Engineering College, to evaluate emerging student startups and address students on the future of entrepreneurship, AI-driven innovation, and SDG-aligned impact.

→Served as Mentor during the Women-on-Women Mentoring Session hosted by TN W.O.M.E.N at the Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit 2025 (Oct 2025), mentoring both women- and men-led startups on product–market fit, go-to-market strategies, and SDG-aligned innovation.

→Special Guest Speaker at KCG College of Technology’s AI Hackathon on AI & Sustainability, representing ecoHQ and Zha VC (Sep 2025). Shared both sides of AI: its energy, water, and mining costs — and its life-saving power in floods, droughts, and health. My message was clear: AI will shape your jobs, but you will shape the AI the world steps into. Build not just for profit, but for resilient communities — that’s real leadership.

→Panelist at Start-up Summit 1.0, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (Sep 2025). Joined a panel on green disruption and building sustainable start-ups, and shared insights on embedding community-centric innovation into climate and emerging tech. I was also invited to tour the Centre of Electric Mobility led by Dr. Bharathi Raja, showcasing SRM’s cutting-edge EV and battery research.

→Panelist & Jury — TechnoSummit 2k25, Sathyabama Institute of Technology (Sep 2025). Joined a panel on startups, sustainability, and market entry strategies. Shared insights on what mentors and investors look for in founders. Served as jury evaluating 50+ student and early-stage startup pitches.

→Co-organiser and Panelist at CircularNXT2025 – The Circularity Summit, a UNEP-registered World Environment Day event (June 5, 2025). Spoke on the panel (representing ecoHQ) on‘Plastics Reimagined‘, sharing what founders need to know to build in the plastic and solid waste management space — with insights on business defensibility, becoming investor-ready, and navigating the powerful value chains that shape the Indian landscape.

→Webinar speaker for EcoConnect 2025 – Reimagining a Plastic-Free Future, hosted by the Nature Club of H.R. College, Mumbai, as part of their World Environment Day 2025 celebrations (June 2025). Delivered an engaging session to college students, covering key themes such as sustainable and circular economy, green engineering and green chemistry, and solutions to plastic pollution through real-world case studies of Indian startups. The session aimed to equip youth with practical knowledge and systems thinking to reimagine a future beyond plastic.

→Invited by Gateway International School, Padur, for Earth Day 2025 to lead an interactive webinar–workshop titled ‘Your Generation, Your Planet: What’s Next?‘ (April 2025). I introduced students to the planetary polycrisis, explained how climate change stems from breaching planetary boundaries, and guided them to link their personal interests—like music, gaming, fashion, or science—to climate action and green careers. The session concluded with a group activity where students co-created ‘planet-positive’ project plans rooted in their passions.

→Addressed students at SSN College, sharing my journey into the climate and startup ecosystem through ecoHQ and RecycleNXT (March 2025). I spoke about how my academic background and prior work across diverse sectors shaped my beliefs and approach to climate action. The session covered the interventions I lead today—from circular economy strategies to ecosystem-building efforts that support climate startups and sustainable innovation.

→Invited as a speaker to Saint-Gobain Research India (March 2025). I delivered a session on key sustainability concepts—covering regenerative impacts, social life cycle assessment (LCA), green engineering, green chemistry, and circular economy models—and explored how these approaches can reshape business strategy for a truly sustainable future. The visit also offered insight into Saint-Gobain’s standout ESG efforts, including their model of personalised sustainability goals that empower each employee as a change agent. From spotless labs to net-zero milestone dashboards, their facility reflected both intent and execution. The audience—comprising researchers, engineers, and sustainability associates—was deeply engaged, asking sharp questions and showing strong climate awareness.

→Served as a jury member for Crescent Innovation and Incubation Council (CIIC)’s Mega Demo Day Celebrations, evaluating high-potential startups across sectors, including climate-tech and sustainability-tech (October 2024). Representing TN W.O.M.E.N, I had the privilege of engaging with visionary founders and learning alongside an esteemed jury panel. The event also marked memorable in-person meetings with mentors, ecosystem leaders, and fellow jurors, making it a rewarding experience in both learning and ecosystem-building.

→Served as a mentor for Startup Ashoka ’21, a 24-hour ideation-to-pitching competition hosted by the InfoEdge Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ashoka University (September 2021). I guided student teams through the process of shaping ideas into viable business models, offering them a hands-on introduction to the world of entrepreneurship in a fun, power-packed environment.