Collaboration is the New Competition!

The Global Start-up Summit 2025, hosted by Start-up TN on October 9–10, 2025, at the CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore, was a celebration of creativity, innovation, and collaboration. With the theme “Disrupt to Rise,” the event brought together 30,000+ participants: founders, investors, mentors, students, and industry leaders, reaffirming Tamil Nadu’s rise as a vibrant global start-up hub.

Inaugural Highlights

The summit was inaugurated by Hon. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who announced key initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem:

• A ₹100 crore Fund of Funds to enhance access to venture capital.

• Grants to incubation centres to scale early-stage ideas.

• Recognition for women-led and rural startups driving inclusive growth.

The atmosphere was buzzing: live pitches, interactive exhibitions, and themed seminars on deep tech, agri-innovation, climate resilience, and social entrepreneurship, the tone was set on purposeful growth.

The Culture of Innovation

Tamil Nadu’s start-up momentum is deeply value-driven. The momentum was targetted towards encouraging sustainability, inclusivity, and problem-solving rooted in real community needs. Coimbatore, known for its industrious spirit, provided the perfect stage to showcase how innovation, tradition, and technology can work hand in hand.

For Me, on the hospitality road map, the summit opened new avenues to partner with like-minded entrepreneurs, especially those working at the intersection of sustainability, culture, and guest experience.

Inspiring Start-ups & Ideas for Hosts

Here are five remarkable brands I met and seek meanigful connections with my Host Community. Each offering inspiration for Airbnb hosts to enhance their compliance, hospitality and guest engagement.

1. ZenTax Clinic:

Simplifying Compliance for Small Businesses

A professional firm specializing in GST, tax filing, and compliance for MSMEs. A perfect fit to keep up tax compliances, no hassle filing and an AI powered operating system.

Empower your Hosting Game!!

Collaborate to organize a short “Tax Basics for Hosts” clinic or use their services to stay compliant as a small hospitality entrepreneur.

2. Raatai Handloom

Weaving Creativity, One Thread at a Time

Raatai brings the art of handloom weaving into modern spaces through portable DIY looms and creative workshops. Their mission revives traditional weaving while nurturing mindfulness and joy, well under an affordable umbrella.

Host Idea Spinwheel!

Offer Raatai kits in your homestay, or conduct brief weaving workshops for families and creative travellers seeking interactive local experiences.

3. OORVA 

Redefining Local Experiences, Powered by Hosts

OORVA is a digital platform that helps local families, artisans, and micro-hosts design and share authentic cultural, craft, and farm experiences with travelers, mirroring the very spirit of Airbnb Experiences. Experienced the weavers of Sirumugai and echoed with the Thudmbattam performance on their innaugural event for the delegates of Start Up TN. Kudos to the team.

Host Highlight!!

Showcase your signature activities, such as “Kolam Art Evenings” or “A Day in the Fields,” on OORVA to connect with travellers looking for authentic local experiences.

4. Paper Thundugal

Weaving Tradition into Timeless craft

Paper Thundugal creatively reimagines Tamil Nadu’s textile legacy, especially the Bhavani Jamakalam, a handwoven heritage fabric into contemporary lifestyle and gifting products. Their work brings craft stories to modern homes with elegance and purpose.

Weaving tradition through your decor!!

Use Bhavani Jamakalam-inspired décor, table linen, or gift items from Paper Thundugal to add cultural depth and sustainability to your homestay ambience.

5. SANAL Eco

Sustainable Living Made Simple

SANAL crafts eco-friendly daily-use products: cotton bags, reusable bottles, biodegradable household items that make sustainable living accessible to all.

Hosting Suatainably!!

Curate eco-welcome kits using SANAL products and highlight our listing as a “Plastic-Free Stay.”

Why It Matters for Airbnb Hosts

The summit reminded us that hosting and entrepreneurship share the same DNA, both are about building trust, creating experiences, and uplifting communities.

• Partnering with startups brings authenticity and innovation to our stays.

• Guests value stories and sustainability as much as comfort.

• By integrating local brands, hosts can support the ecosystem while enhancing guest delight.

Each collaboration: a handloom corner, eco kit, or cultural workshop transforms a stay into something meaningful, memorable, and rooted in place.

Next Stop: Co Creation!!

The Global Start-up Summit 2025 in Coimbatore wasn’t just an event , it was a movement celebrating how innovation and tradition coexist. For the Host in me, it opened doors to align with this creative energy. Hosting not just guests, but ideas that shape a sustainable, community-driven future.

Startup References:

• ZenTax Clinic — https://zentaxclinic.com

• Raatai Handloom — https://raatai.com

• OORVA — https://oorva.in

• Paper Thundugal — https://paperthundugal.in

• SANAL Eco — https://sanal.eco

#collaboration

#cocreation

#airbnbmeetups

#hostondemand

#successpartnerships

The idea is to embrace, explore and enhance business with effective brand identification. Do bring in your brands/brands tried and tested onto the limelight of the host community.

Dr Jayanthi Ilamurugu

Super Host, Guest Favourite

Community Leader - Host Club of TN & Pondy

Tune in with hperience.co.in for more hosting insights and travel inspirations!

Happy Hosting!