New Delhi, Sept. 6 -- From Building a Business to Building It Better: What Odoo Experience 2026 Means for India's Next Wave of Founders

"Building a business is one challenge. Building it to scale is another."

There is a point in every growing business when the founder stops asking, "Can we sell more?" and starts asking another question: "Can our business handle selling more?" A startup that once ran comfortably on spreadsheets suddenly needs proper financial controls. A retailer that managed ten orders a day now has hundreds. A manufacturer that knew every process personally now has multiple teams, locations and suppliers. Growth, in other words, can create a management problem of its own.

This is precisely the tension that Odoo Experience 2026 is built around, which will bring founders, investors, business leaders and tech professionals to Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar on September 11 and 12. The event is expected to draw 45,000+ attendees, with 200+ sessions, 10+ master classes and more than 180 exhibitors.

What stands out early is the pricing model, and it says a lot about what the event is really designed for. India's startups and MSMEs rarely have the bandwidth to pay upfront for a conference on the chance that something useful might come of it; they need a reasonably certain return on a day taken away from operations. By offering free entry built around hands-on exposure to running a business on modern, affordable software, Odoo Experience removes much of that calculation. The only real cost of attending becomes the time itself.

Speakers Bringing Different Perspectives on Growth

The speaker line-up adds another dimension to the event. Dr Arokiaswamy Velumani, who moved from working as a scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, is among the prominent names. He will share the stage with investor Arjun Vaidya of V3 Ventures, content creator and entrepreneur Gaurav Taneja, Swiggy's head of design Saptarshi Prakash, and actor/investor and entrepreneur Suniel Shetty.

Their backgrounds are considerably different, but that is also what makes the line-up relevant to founders. The challenges of building a business are rarely limited to technology. They involve finding customers, developing a brand, raising capital, building teams and maintaining operational discipline as the organisation expands.

The broader speaker reflects the same approach, with names including Viraj Bahl, Ghazal Alagh, Sharan Hegde, Ranveer Allahbadia and Shlok Srivastava. Rather than treating entrepreneurship as a single discipline, the event brings together perspectives from consumer businesses, technology, content, finance and investment.

"The real value of technology lies not in what it promises, but in how well businesses can put it to work."

Training Before the Cameras Arrive

Two days ahead of the main event, on September 9 and 10, the operational side of that plan plays out at Odoo's Gandhinagar office through full-day, trainer-led master classes covering accounting, manufacturing, inventory, retail and restaurant point-of-sale, e-commerce and marketing, and application development. These sessions are kept separate from the main conference by design, since they are meant for teams already using the software who want to run it well, a different challenge altogether from simply choosing a system in the first place.

The Exhibition Floor Does the Closing

Back at the main venue, the exhibition space is where the conference stops being aspirational. Of the 180+ exhibitor booths, the overwhelming majority belong to implementation partners across India: the businesses that actually build and configure systems once a company has decided what it needs.

What Founders Actually Walk Away With

For business owners, the value of spending two days away from daily operations ultimately comes down to what they can take back with them. At Odoo Experience 2026, that could range from lessons on building and scaling a business to practical knowledge of finance, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce and AI.

The event is positioned less as a conventional technology conference and more as a meeting point for different parts of the business ecosystem. Entrepreneurs can learn from people who have built companies, explore technology that can support day-to-day operations and connect with professionals who can help put those systems into practice.

Registration for Odoo Experience 2026 is open on the event's official website. A free Basic pass covers all sessions, the exhibition area and workshops, while Premium and CEO passes add paid networking access. For India's startups and MSMEs, the proposition is fairly straightforward: come for the software, but the people in the room next to you might make the trip worthwhile on their own.

"The next phase of India's growth will depend on how well its businesses turn ambition into execution."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.