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    Ink & Insights 2026 at HNIMR Pune: 21 Books, 21 Lessons for Student Founders

    I judged Ink & Insights 2026 at HNIMR Pune: 21 MBA teams, skits, podcasts and props. Six founder lessons and 17 book reviews in one place.

    Ink & Insights 2026 at HNIMR Pune: 21 Books, 21 Lessons for Student Founders

    On Thursday, 29 October 2026, I spent a full day at MKSSS's Smt. Hiraben Nanavati Institute of Management and Research for Women (HNIMR) in Karvenagar, Pune. I was the chief guest and judge of "Ink & Insights 2026", a book review competition for MBA students. The theme was "Entrepreneurship: From Vision to Venture: Learning Through Books".

    Twenty-one student teams each picked one business book, brought it to life in seven or eight minutes, and then faced my questions. I have run entrepreneurship sessions for colleges and companies for many years, and I can say this honestly: it was one of the most energetic days I have spent with students. This page brings together everything I wrote about it, with a link to a full review for 17 of the books.

    What the day looked like

    The day opened with a welcome and felicitation on stage. Then the teams came up one by one, a morning session and an afternoon session. Each team had to do three things in a few minutes: explain what the book says, show how it applies to a real business, and defend their thinking when I asked questions.

    My questions were never about the plot. I asked things like: what happens when you are not in the shop? Have you ever failed? Which government scheme would you actually use? Where does the word "lean" come from? Who is your mentor? A book review becomes useful only when the reader can connect it to a decision they will make one day.

    What impressed me

    I expected slides. What I got was theatre. Team Founder's Footprints turned the stage into a courtroom and put the book on trial. Team North Star ran a podcast where "Peter Thiel" himself answered questions. The Binge Watchers presented the birth of Netflix as a series, episode by episode. The Creative Catalysts made the whole hall draw for sixty seconds before saying a word about creativity.

    The props were just as good. Team Inheritors carried a long hand-drawn banner of Indian family businesses. Team Riser brought an object for every founder in their book, from a TV remote to a model wind turbine. Team Udyam built a skit around a small lipstick business. Team Adhvan opened with a Hindi couplet about facing the storm instead of staying near the shore.

    What I liked most was that many teams used examples from their own lives. One student told us how her own small business changed direction after listening to customers. That is exactly what a book review should do.

    Six lessons that ran through all the books

    Seventeen different authors, from Peter Thiel to Rashmi Bansal, and yet the same few lessons kept coming back. If you are a student thinking about starting something, these are worth remembering.

    1. Start from a problem you have felt

    Phil Knight sold running shoes because he was a runner. The founders in Startups of Bharat and No Shortcuts started from problems they saw every day. The best ideas are rarely found on the internet. They are found in your own street, your family business or your hostel.

    2. Test small before you spend big

    Netflix began by mailing a single CD to see if it would arrive safely. The Lean Startup team spoke about testing a tiffin service with a handful of customers. Talk to ten real customers before you spend your savings.

    3. Watch the cash every week

    Brian Tracy, Kevin D. Johnson, Chris Robson and Phil Knight all say the same thing in different words. Sales feel good, but cash keeps you alive. Many businesses with growing sales still run out of money.

    4. Get work done through others

    A founder who does everything alone builds a job, not a business. Write down how things are done, hire well, and then trust people. This came up in The Entrepreneur Mind, in You Too Can Become an Entrepreneur and in The 7 Habits.

    5. Failure and self-doubt are part of the fees

    Marc Randolph heard "that will never work" again and again. The founders in Stay Hungry Stay Foolish doubted themselves. Chris Robson writes openly about what went wrong. Treat failure as tuition, and self-doubt as a voice, not a verdict.

    6. Choose your people with care

    Shantanu Naidu found a lighthouse in Ratan Tata. Zero to One and Confessions of an Entrepreneur both warn that the wrong co-founder can sink a good idea. Choose mentors and partners as carefully as you choose your product.

    21 books, 17 lessons

    Here are the books in the order they were presented, with the team that presented each one and the one lesson I would want a young founder to take away. Each title links to my full review.

    1. No Shortcuts by Nistha Tripathi, presented by Team Founder's Footprints. Persistence is not stubbornness. Name your sacrifice before you start.
    2. Zero to One by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters, presented by Team North Star. Build something new, not just better, and own a small market completely first.
    3. The Inheritors by Sonu Bhasin, presented by Team Inheritors. Inheriting a business is easy. Deserving it is the real work.
    4. The Entrepreneur Mind by Kevin D. Johnson, presented by Team Vision In Ink. Ideas are cheap. Execution and a weekly eye on cash are rare.
    5. You Too Can Become an Entrepreneur by Nalinaksha Mutsuddi, presented by Team Udyam. Listen and ask before you sell, then write down how you do things.
    6. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, presented by Team Lean Innovators. Start with five customers, not five lakh rupees. Your MVP is a learning tool.
    7. That Will Never Work by Marc Randolph, presented by The Binge Watchers. "That will never work" is information, not a verdict. Test ideas cheaply.
    8. Creative Confidence by Tom Kelley and David Kelley, presented by The Creative Catalysts. Creativity is a skill. Start with empathy and beat fear in small steps.
    9. Entrepreneurship by Brian Tracy, presented by The Start Up Squad. Sell first, watch every rupee, and read foreign books with Indian eyes.
    10. I Came Upon a Lighthouse by Shantanu Naidu, presented by Team Lighthouse Crew. Every young founder needs a lighthouse. Approach a mentor with a clear question.
    11. Confessions of an Entrepreneur by Chris Robson, presented by Team Adhvan. Choose a partner like a life partner, and put the agreement in writing.
    12. Entrepreneurship, Make in India and Jobs Creation by P. Madhavi and G. Satyanarayana, presented by Team Ignitors. "No funding" is often "no information". Learn the schemes that already exist.
    13. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, presented by The Covey's Crew. Stop blaming. Do the important work before it becomes urgent.
    14. Stay Hungry Stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal, presented by Team Fearless Founders. It is never too late. Self-doubt is a voice, not a verdict.
    15. Startups of Bharat by Aditya Arora and Surya Pasricha, presented by Team Bharatpreneurs. Great startups are being built outside the metros, from problems founders see every day.
    16. India Inc. by Vikas Pota, presented by Team Riser. Going global starts with being excellent at home, and values are a business asset.
    17. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, presented by Team Swoosh Squad. It is fine to start as a trader. Watch the cash, not just the sales.

    Four more teams presented on the day, on Womentrepreneurs, The Mom Test, Social Entrepreneurship in India and Connect the Dots. I will add those reviews when I have written them up properly.

    Why book review competitions work

    A lecture on entrepreneurship is forgotten in a week. A book a student has read, acted out and defended in front of a judge stays for years. The students had to read closely, choose what mattered, explain it simply and think on their feet. Those are the same skills a founder needs in front of a customer or an investor. My thanks to the HNIMR management, faculty and every student who made the day possible.

    Four more books from the afternoon

    Four groups presented in a part of the day that was not recorded. Their reviews are written from the book and from what the photos show.

    Invite me to your college

    I run entrepreneurship sessions and workshops for MBA and engineering colleges in Pune and across India, and I am happy to judge book review competitions, business plan contests and student presentations. If you would like an entrepreneurship session for your students, or a judge who will ask them real questions, get in touch with me here.

    With thanks to HNIMR

    My thanks to Dr. Priyanka Singh, Director of HNIMR; Mrs. Manjushree K. Nawale, Librarian, and her library team, who organised Ink & Insights 2026; Mr. Vishwajeet Deshmukh, Placement Officer; Mr. Devadatta Sant; and Ms. Minal Kotwal, for hosting me so warmly and making the day run so smoothly. And to every student who stood on that stage with a book in hand: thank you for the courage and the creativity.

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    Avinash Chate

    India's Leading Corporate Trainer | TEDx Speaker | Author

    With 1000+ organizations trained including RBI, JSW Steels, and Ferrero, Avinash Chate delivers high-impact corporate training across India. Creator of the KITE Leadership Framework and bestselling author of "The Winning Edge."

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