In a time when India is reclaiming its cultural and entrepreneurial identity on the global stage, 17-year-old Shubham Bhasin, a Class 12 student emerges as a beacon of Gen-Z innovation rooted in deep Indian values.
Shubham stays in a condominium which is home to people from diverse cultural backgrounds, where residents of different communities come together to celebrate festivals.
During Holi (festival of colours) last year, everyone decided to organise a vibrant food fest. The aroma of traditional Holi dishes like gujiya, pakode, and chhole poori wafted through the complex as we relished the delectable spread.
Amid the revelry, he observed a Japanese family lingering at the doorway, eager to try Indian cuisine, yet nervous to come in. Nobody turned to look at them. As he got up and helped familiarise them, he realised that there were countless such families struggling to adapt to a different way of life.
The Holi colours washed away by the next day, but for him, a sense of unease remained. If people really wished to understand other cultures, why should they be deterred by such barriers?
This question gnawed at the seams of his consciousness. It struck him that designing a next-gen community engagement platform could be envisaged, which is also tech-enabled and helps in visualising a multicultural experience in a world where people of different communities can comfortably connect using their common intersection points or “connectors”.
He tested this idea while naming it as CommunityCX (the next gen community engagement platform - https://communitycx.net) during Startup Mahakumbh 2024.
CommunityCX® is a next-gen community engagement platform developed with the objective of accelerating meaningful connections and engagements amongst communities. The platform aims to encourage awareness, engagement, and personal connection, which fosters a vibrant and harmonious “Community”. It’s members can to explore various communities, united through connectors such as arts, cuisine, music, etc, exchange knowledge by reading original information bytes/articles, contribute their authentic insights (by invitation) and celebrate amongst communities through various community-level engagements and events.
He, under the mentorship of DPIIT and international thought leaders, brought in a bold attempt to bridge cultural divides through tech.
Having built this idea over one year and bringing his platform from idea to a minimum viable product, Shubham has also converted his entire journey of entrepreneurship in the form of a Student Startup Playbook (a playbook by a student entrepreneur for aspiring student entrepreneurs of India).
This first-of-its-kind playbook covers a student version ranging from basic to advance topics such as defining problem, preparing pitch book, deciding venture type, ensuring various registration related aspects, development and deployment on various platforms, branding and marketing aspects, raising investments, etc. In brief, this playbook is a DIY-toolkit backed by months of research and practical implementation guide for successfully launching a startup and could act as pocketbook for any aspiring future entrepreneur.
With support from dignitaries such as Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industries and Internal Trade (DPIIT); Mr. Sumeet Kumar Jarangal, Director at DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India; and at the Main Plenary of Startup Mahakumbh 2025 by Mr. Prashanth Prakash, Padma Shri awardee, an Indian Venture Capitalist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, founding partner of Accel India; and Mr. Aman Gupta, Co-Founder and CMO at boAt Lifestyle, Shubham’s Student Entrepreneur Playbook became a standout moment at Startup Mahakumbh 2025.
Having built this playbook for Student Entrepreneurs, Shubham has offered this playbook download for free on his website: https://communitycx.net/student-entrepreneurship-playbook/
This is more than just a feel-good education story—it’s a narrative about India’s youngest cultural-tech visionary, and how New India’s youth are taking charge of inclusive innovation. We believe this would make for a compelling feature in your Youth, Nation Building, or Education Innovation segments.
