India, Dec. 30 -- Entrepreneurship among students is clearly on the rise. A recent GUESS India report highlights that about 14% of students aspire to become entrepreneurs immediately after graduation, and nearly 31% see themselves starting up within five years.

Is there a formula to building a startup? Yes and no. Entrepreneurship isn't an exact science and the variables are many, and the uncertainty is real. But what we can do is offer directionality: a few practical first steps that increase the probability of survival and success for student founders.

At NSRCEL, through the sector-agnostic Campus Founders program (supported by GPS Renewables) for students and recent graduates, we've worked with 80+ ventures and 120+ founders. Here ar...