The idea of working for ourselves is very liberating. We have seen most of our parents and grandparents work really hard to achieve someone else’s dream. However, today a lot of youngsters are actually breaking the shackles and stepping out to build something of their own. A few years ago, when I started my law firm for startups, I vividly remember startups were seen as an ecosystem dominated by graduates from Indian Institute of Technologies or Indian Institute of Management or such other premier institutes. Until a few years ago, we still saw a sense of hesitation among the youth about running a startup, majorly due to the financial insecurity entrepreneurs often face, essentially at the start of the venture. Once you are used to seeing salary being credited to your account on every 1st of the month, it gets very difficult to adjust with the irregular payouts. Nevertheless, we have come a long way and the scenes have completely changed now. Today everyone wants to experiment with their skill sets and get independent. The concept of being a job creator, instead of a job seeker is gaining fast popularity. Today, the youth of India, knows that success is not about having a permanent job, instead it is creating employment.
If we do a careful evaluation, we would realize the extent of our dependency on startups. The Indian population has well received startups and their services. For every possible need, there is a startup providing a solution. Right from helping us find a househelp to providing us with an investment platform, we have startups everywhere.
As a part of my work I get to speak to at least 4 -5 founders daily. Some of them have either worked in startups before, some who have stepped down from big positions at a corporate, some who have just graduated from college. They might come with different educational and professional backgrounds, but once they enter the ecosystem, they are all the same, “PURE HUSTLERS”. If we have to identify the reasons for this wild spread excitement about having a startup, one has to give due credit to our Indian Government and its leadership Mr. Narendra Modi. They have positively acknowledged the impact that startups can have on the Indian Economy, Employment, Technology, global placements etc. and have tried to create an environment which will encourage Entrepreneurship in India.
India’s UPI for example, set a transactional record during the pandemic. The same is true with startups like Paytm, Phonepe and Bharatpe. While it was difficult to get medicines and other essentials during the pandemic, startups like NetMed and 5mg, were saving humanity. Groceries and other items were delivered to our door step by startups like Dunzo, Grofers, SwiggyInstamart etc. The Indian Cosmetic industry is seeing an all time high, as we do not have to depend on imported products not made for the Indian Skin anymore. Be it Deep Tech, Med Tech, AdTech, FinTech, AI, Virtual Reality, India and Indian Entrepreneurs are leaving no stone unturned to make the country proud. With the number of Unicorns India has produced in the last 2 years, itself is a record.
India’s population is so high and diverse that it itself is a big market for Indian Startups. Founders need not chase other geographies to test their products and services. The Indian population is slowly opening up and not hesitating to buy the products and services offered by Indian Founders. The market size plays a very important role in strengthening the ecosystem. Further, India also has no dearth of Accelerators, Incubators who induct Startups, guide them, help them raise fundings. Indian High Network Individuals have also started to invest money in startups, motivating a lot of founders to experiment. Micro VC’s and VC’s have emerged to support Indian Minds. Seeing the exponential growth, we have seen foreign investors wanting to explore the Indian Market as well and heavily invest in the Indian Businesses.
Having said that, Indian Startups and Entrepreneurs need to be a little realistic. One needs to focus on revenue and growth instead of just pure valuations. In the recent past we have seen, big startups have disappointed the investors as well as customers.If this continues, it will get challenging for foreign investors and VC’s to trust the Indian Entrepreneurs, which would mean a great deal to the booming startup ecosystem
