Apple is big on Indian app ecosystem, say founders who met Tim Cook

As the founder of a startup, you receive an invite from Apple Inc. Obviously, you are excited. This could be that lucky break, you may be thinking. Finally, the day arrives, and as you wait to meet the Apple team, you see Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple walking in. For a moment, you are dumbstruck. But then, you give yourself a mental shake and greet him.

This is exactly what happened to the founders of four Indian startups who met the CEO of the iconic tech company during his India visit this week. The interaction happened the same day Apple announced a startup accelerator for Design and Development Accelerator in Bangalore, which will support engineering talent and accelerate growth in India's iOS developer community.

The four startups that were shortlisted for the interaction with Cook were urban home services marketplace UrbanClap, enterprise software products maker Cynase (also known as Numerics), online shopping application Sweetcouch and Avaz, from Invention Labs, an ipad app to assist speech therapy and develop spontaneous communication in autistic children. While there was no formal process of shortlisting involved, the common thread connecting the four startups was their involvement with the iOS ecosystem through their products.

Techcircle caught up with three of the four tech entrepreneurs who met Cook. Here's what Rakesh Chokani, founder and CEO, Sweetcouch; Apurva Roy Choudhary, CEO, Cynapse and Ajit Narayanan, founder, Invention Labs had to say about the day they met Cook: