Could we help turn Kota, teeming with thousands of aspirational youngsters, into a startup hub? Could we instill some hope in these boys and girls that there is life beyond the IITs? Not that I needed proof, but if there was ever any evidence of the massive impact of startups in India, here it was. The competition is unimaginably intense and, somewhat predictably, for the majority of these students, the exam results are accompanied by dejection and heartbreak. Over 300,000 students come to Kota, Rajasthan, every year to prepare for a few thousand seats in our Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other top engineering colleges. He did not demand that we invest money in his constituency or help create jobs. You would be intrigued to know what assistance he asked us for. A few weeks ago, our founder and I met a wise, seasoned politician. That is an enviable track record that’s nearly impossible to match for venerable Indian conglomerates which have been in operation for decades.Īs someone involved in government relations, I often get the chance to interact with leaders from across the political spectrum. As many as 60 former Oyo employees, for instance, have turned founders in recent times. The period since has seen several youngsters take the entrepreneurial plunge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Startup India in January 2016. The first generation of startup cohorts have now given rise to a new generation, all within a few years. While I respect contrarian views, the optimist in me strongly believes that little can counter this momentum as India seeks to build on its standing as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. Since I work for a startup, many well-meaning friends share such articles with me regularly. Sequoia, in fact, has had many successful exits – including from Oyo, the company I work for – and was sitting on $2.5 billion of dry powder. Unsurprisingly, there was no mention of Sequoia’s stellar tenure in India and the impressive credentials of its partners – Rajan Anandan, Mohit Bhatnagar, Shailendra Singh et al. A knowledgeable columnist wrote a piece on the implications of the move, attempting to corroborate a fallacious theory that the country’s startup system was firmly on the road to ruin. Take the recent example of Sequoia India splitting from its parent in the US and rebranding itself as ‘Peak XV’. Despite the turbulence, it would be unfair to conclude that India’s startup flight is about to crash. Not a single nascent industry since the start of the industrial revolution has avoided turmoil and not had its share of failures. Meanwhile, startup pundits and commentators remain consumed by talk of the supposed implosion of the ecosystem without bothering to check under the hood.

Ideas are more welcome than ever, irrespective of how outlandish they may seem to the uninitiated.įrom healthcare to space tech, India has a wide range of startups, with many now poised – especially in sunrise sectors such as electric vehicles and clean energy – to play a starring role in driving the country’s economic progress.Īccording to reports, of a total of 72,993 startups in India, over 38,250 were recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in tier-II and tier-III towns as of June 2022. Powered by an indomitable entrepreneurial spirit, India is in the throes of a startup revolution, one that cuts across financial and geographical barriers. But perhaps, amid our ceaseless obsession with rapid growth and skyrocketing valuations, we have missed the larger picture. Many were started by founders from tier-II and tier-III cities, who were filled with a conviction and confidence unseen in the past.ĭon’t get me wrong – all dreams won’t come true. More than 200 companies showcased their innovative offerings at the expo, and barring a few, I had not heard of them. If you need an innovative, cost-effective way to digitally market your products, EMB provides an end-to-end solution that can save you the hassle of approaching 10 different vendors. EMB works like an aggregator in the digital sphere and has around 1,500 startups under its wing. Recently, at the invitation of a former colleague, I visited a digital expo at Pragati Maidan set up by his company, Expand My Business (EMB). Having spent the last seven years in this space, I have had a ringside view of the phenomenal strides made by the startup ecosystem, especially by companies founded by savvy first-generation entrepreneurs. Nothing quite encapsulates this shift like India’s new breed of entrepreneurs.

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