Initially the word starting up on its own was a blasphemy according to well wishers. People were opting for 9-5 jobs for their wards. This dampened the spirits of many aspiring timid ideators, however things have changed drastically with the successes of OYO, OLA, SWIGGY, OLX and many more. These start-ups need to be mentioned as trendsetters who paved the future of this nation of billions. Year after year the ecosystem thrived on the wannapreneur and ideators mindset. The main catalyst was however the government initiatives like ‘Make In India, Atal Innovation Mission, Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme’ and many more. These redesigned the ecosystem and dispelled the fears of the general public while helping the youth turn towards entrepreneurships.
The journey has been horrendous yet the path was well defined, as this country has the mighty power of assimilation with its vast populace. India is one of the largest marketing grounds, globally, with a large size of educated youth and a hefty base of middle class segment. Of course the problems are also many that need the youth to start working on solutions to make this society a more sophisticated and better place to live in. The robust part of the story had its own pitfalls with more failures, in general. An assessment report suggested in 2019, that more than five million Start-ups were founded every year. However sustainment became an issue for most and only 10% survived the odds. The main reasons for failure are the pressure the founders go through in the initial days. Failures could be listed as want of funding, fear of procrastination in case of failure, improper planning of marketing strategy, legal issues and many more.
The burn rate to achieve the required growth was too large and they collapsed without a plan B to their original business plan. However many incubators, accelerators, mentors have taken it on their shoulders to guide such founders by taking their dreams to the next level. This is practically possible only if they open up and seek guidance. The U-turn at this stage that needed to be taken is to confide in a mentor or a series of them from various domains, source funds from friends and family or avail government grants, take consultation of engineered individuals in required domains. And the best solution is to connect with the ecosystem to understand whether the product or service offered is really innovative or is an ancillary to an already existing one. Through this analysis there could be light at the end of the tunnel, resulting in corporate mergers, collaborations and industry assistance programs. One such company that helps start-ups 360 degrees is Map Index Consulting, a platform that not only indicates the various parameters of success but also rates the progress utilising an IT innovative AI tool.
Another mentoring company, RR-GTM Ventures Private Limited helps in scaling up and fund facilitation. There are many such individuals and organisations that are ready to help the early stage start-ups scaleup. On the whole, the stakeholders are concentrating on creating a comprehensive robust ecosystem of start-ups that result in a win-win situation for all. Precisely, a more supportive and responsive system from all involved, is the need of the hour. Another important aspect to succeed is to iterate that simply asks the founder to be open-minded, to create 360 degrees live product that can be recreated or developed based on genuine signals or feedback received from the market. The sources of information could be internal or external but iteration must be the right answer to many hurdles of growth. Love the problem more than the solution is the best way going forward. Classic example is Young at heart, octogenarian, Shri Ashok Patel, of Pramukh Green Leaf Growers Pvt. Ltd, who once said ‘Innovation must enhance human standards!’ This NRI wishing to give back to the society has come up with a commercial Model of Advanced Container to Grow Leafy Vegetable and Juicy Fruits. This hydroponic model is an example of grit and perseverance proving that age is just a number and one needs to be always young at heart.
Do you remember ConfirmTkt, way back in 2014 it was just a fancy way for an individual traveller to test their luck when they booked waitlisted tickets. The novel initiative that was just an option then has become a mainstream ticketing solution today, creating a unique space in the minds of every frequent train traveller. Do you think it was a bed of roses for these young founders, in their journey? Today they are a brand on their own. Resolution with smart work always pays off. However the recent statistics released by a leading media house suggests that the country is the third largest start-up ecosystem, globally with fifty seven thousand start-ups registered till 2022, valued at approximately four hundred and fifty billion dollars. Though this is very good news for all of us involved, yet we still have to go a long way to reach zero mortality among early stage start-ups. The stakeholders need to create best practices and integral systems with the parameters to be set on certain ground rules that yield measurable metrics to enhance start-up value chain.
