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Goa always had the image of being a leisure place. People from all over the world come here to relax and unwind. However, young minds are finding Goa a wonderful place to work and come up with innovate, fresh ideas and form new companies finds out VIKANT SAHAY

Panaji: In a strong indicator of Goa's strength in the information technology sector, web and product development startup, DCCPER (pronounced deeper), is seriously deliberating an expansion into the Central American and Scandinavian region in the near future.

Deepak Pathania tells Streets of this remarkable design saga Smart Vault: ICICI's Automated Locker is an engineering feat with engineering and robotics by a Pune based PARI Robotics. But then for a product to be successful, not just the technology has to be perfect but its look and experience must also complement it, just as Apple has done.

Goa always brings to mind relaxed vacations, but dig a little deep and you'll find that a startup ecosystem in the state is thriving despite the odds. YourStory spoke to several of these daring young entrepreneurs - most with no connection with tourism - who've chosen to put down roots far away from metros and are flourishing in the sunny state.

(Abhisek Sarda, founder...) Like many people, Abhisek Sarda likes to have company on his way to work. Every morning, the 30-yearold entrepreneur meets up with his travel companion, Bodoni, and to gether they go to office. While this may sound unexceptional, it is not-Bodoni is Sarda's pet dog.

With an eye on the estimated $5 billion-dollar market, India's largest online-only craft store started up in early 2014. Less than two years down the line, they have over 1500 products (and growing) and have clearly emerged as one of the preferred craft needs destination.

PANAJI: GWave - the internet service, which is a value addition to the Goa government's public-private-partnership GBBN ( Goa Broad Band Network) project - seems to be getting popular with the public. Launched in 2012, when the service had around 350 accounts (mostly corporate clients), the service today has around 3,000 accounts, including hotels and homes.

BITS Pilani is known for its entrepreneurial culture. The college has many successful alumni in the startup industry like the founders of redBus, Exotel, Zivame, and Blume Ventures, etc. It also has a course in 'New Venture Creation' which is supported with a fund to invest in startups from BITS.

PANAJI: Scarcity of employment opportunities has often prompted Goans to leave the state in search of better opportunities. Bucking this gloomy brain drain are Prajyot Mainkar, Mangirish Salelkar and Nigel Quadros who put Goa on the global technology map from their sunny home, which anybody would agree, is not known to feature very high on the information technology map.

A quartet of young Goans is poised to crack a problem that is arguably on the wishlist of so many owners of legacy audio equipment: how to unshackle wired speakers and music systems and connect them wirelessly to music sources. The product is called Plugzee.

Offers tools to efficiently manage retail operations, provide knowhow for retailers who don't have it

PANAJI: Working hard to promote Goa as an entrepreneurial destination, the second Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA) has been opened at Agnel's Institute of Technology and Design, Assagao. The state-of-the-art facility aims to promote innovative ideas in the information and communication technology, food processing and solid waste management spheres.

PANAJI: L&A Tech, a Verna-based IT startup, has been acquired by a German IT company for 1 million euros, the first such acquisition for any Goan startup. The transfer of technology process is still under way and the promoters of L&A Tech have been offered the choice to come onboard the German company or opt out, founder Lucio Mesquita said.

Dressed in a yellow T-shirt and blue jeans, the lanky Pranav Pai Vernekar could easily pass off as a college student, and one can barely believe that this recent graduate from the Goa College of Engineering (Engico) and then the Goa Institute of Management is the owner of a company that is slowly but steadily imbibing a culture of robotics in children, as young as nine years of age, in the state

PANAJI: If the government takes up the offer, Goa could become the first state in India to be on 3D Google maps which will allow viewers 3D imagery of every nook and corner of the state. Google India has also offered to sponsor or incubate at least 1,000 information technology startups in Goa through its funded programmes through other partner agencies.