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Introduction
No investor funding. No prior business experience. No safety net. Just three first-year NIAT students, a food stall, some graphic design skills, and one day to prove we could build something from nothing.
Just three first year students, a food stall, some graphic design skills, and one full day to prove we could build something from nothing.
By the end of that day, we had made ₹5,000 in revenue, walked away with the Best Marketing Team award, and learned more about real business in 24 hours than most people learn in a semester.
This is the story of how Dhanush Shenoy H, Archana Jalihal, and I took on the NIAT Business Challenge — and what happened when we decided to go all in.
What Was the NIAT Business Challenge?
The NIAT Business Challenge was exactly what it sounds like — a real business challenge. Students were given a platform, a limited timeframe, and one simple but brutal objective: go out there and make money.
No theoretical case studies. No presentations about what you would hypothetically do. You had to actually set up, actually sell, and actually generate revenue on the day. The competition evaluated teams not just on earnings but on strategy, creativity, branding, and execution.
It was entrepreneurship in its most raw and honest form.
The Plan: Food Stall Meets Graphic Design
When the three of us sat down to figure out our strategy, we knew one thing immediately — we needed two streams working together, not just one.
The first stream was a snacks and fast food stall. Food is always a reliable draw at any student event. People are hungry, footfall is high, and if your food is good and your pricing is smart, the sales come naturally. We planned our menu carefully — snacks that were easy to prepare quickly, popular with a student crowd, and priced at a sweet spot that felt affordable but added up fast.
The second stream was graphic design services. This is where I leaned into what I already knew. Rather than limiting ourselves to just food revenue, we offered on-the-spot design work — posters, digital creatives, branding assets — to other teams and participants who needed visual content for their own stalls and pitches on the day.
Two revenue streams. Two completely different customer profiles. One unified team.
That combination was our edge.
The Marketing: Where We Went All In
Winning the Best Marketing Team award did not happen by accident. From the moment the challenge began, we treated marketing as seriously as the product itself.
Before the stall even opened, we had already created promotional graphics — clean, eye-catching, and designed to stop people mid-scroll when shared on WhatsApp and Instagram. We built buzz before we built revenue. By the time our stall was set up, people already knew we were there and what we were offering.
At the stall itself, the visual branding was consistent and professional. Banners, signage, and the overall aesthetic of our setup looked deliberate — not like a last-minute student project, but like a brand that had thought about how it wanted to be perceived.
We also worked the crowd actively. We were not the team sitting behind a table waiting for customers to come to us. We went to the customers — engaging, explaining, creating urgency, and making the experience of buying from our stall feel like more than just a transaction.
Every element of our marketing — the pre-event hype, the on-ground presence, the visual identity, the personal engagement — worked together as a system. That is what marketing actually is. Not one tactic, but a coherent strategy where everything reinforces everything else.
₹5,000 in a Day: What That Actually Looks Like
Making ₹5,000 in a single day as students with no startup capital sounds simple when you read the number. Living it is a different experience entirely.
It means tracking every sale. Making quick decisions about pricing when something is selling faster than expected. Managing inventory on the fly. Handling the graphic design requests without letting them pull focus from the food stall. Keeping the energy high even when the rush gets overwhelming. Splitting responsibilities without stepping on each other.
Dhanush, Archana, and I each played to our strengths throughout the day. When one of us was deep in a design request, the others held the stall. When the food rush hit, everyone jumped in. When a marketing opportunity appeared — a chance to engage a large group, a moment to push our story on social media — we moved fast.
By the time the day wound down and we counted our earnings, ₹5,000 was sitting in front of us. Real money. Earned in one day. By three first year students with nothing but a plan, some design skills, and the willingness to hustle.
The Best Marketing Team Award
When we were announced as the Best Marketing Team, it felt like the right recognition for the right reasons.
Anyone can sell food at a student event. What sets a team apart is how they build awareness, how they present themselves, and how they make people choose them over every other option available. We did not win that award because we were the loudest. We won it because we were the most intentional — about our brand, our messaging, our visuals, and our customer experience.
That intentionality is something I want to carry into everything I build going forward.
What This Day Taught Me
Business is Execution, Not Ideas
Every student has business ideas. Very few actually execute them under real pressure with real stakes. The NIAT Business Challenge stripped away every excuse and forced us to perform. That experience is worth more than any business theory lecture.
Marketing is a Multiplier
A good product with bad marketing loses to an average product with great marketing almost every time. We had good food and good design work — but our marketing is what made people choose us, remember us, and come back for more during the day.
Design is a Business Skill
Using graphic design as a revenue stream in a business challenge is not something most teams think of. It taught me that creative skills are not separate from business skills — they are business skills. Design creates value, attracts customers, and builds trust. Monetizing it directly was just the most honest expression of that truth.
A Small Team with Clear Roles Beats a Large Team with Confusion
Three people. Clear strengths. Shared commitment. That is all it takes to move fast and execute well. Dhanush and Archana were not just teammates — they were the reason the whole thing worked. The trust between us made every decision faster and every challenge easier.
Revenue is the Most Honest Feedback
At the end of the day, the market told us exactly what it thought of our offering — in rupees. No judge's opinion, no rubric, no participation trophy. Just real people spending real money. That feedback loop is addictive in the best possible way.
To Students Who Think Entrepreneurship is for "Business People"
You do not need a business background to build something and sell it. You need a clear idea of what value you can offer, the courage to put it in front of people, and the work ethic to see it through when things get hectic.
Dhanush, Archana, and I are engineering and technology students. We walked into a business challenge and won the marketing award. The skills that matter in entrepreneurship — creativity, communication, design thinking, fast execution — are not locked inside a business degree. They are available to anyone willing to develop and apply them.
Thank You
To Dhanush Shenoy H and Archana Jalihal — ₹5,000 and a Best Marketing Team trophy sounds great on paper. What I actually treasure is the memory of that day — the chaos, the hustle, the laughs, and the moment we realized it had actually worked. That belongs to the three of us equally.
To NIAT Tech Club and the organizers of the Business Challenge — thank you for creating a competition that demands real performance and rewards real execution. Events like this are exactly what students need more of.
— Anand Mahadev First Year Student | NIAT Yenepoya University NIAT Business Challenge — ₹5,000 Revenue in a Day | Best Marketing Team