Statistically speaking about 15K startups got registered in the country in the last fiscal year alone, which as compared to only a half a decade back was merely ~1000. Having said that, we cannot overlook the fact that about nine out of ten startups fail within the first 3-5 years of inception despite getting funded (by friends, family or third-party) and/or being able to generate early revenue. From the perspective of most entrepreneurs, the top needs they identify besides funding, are access to the right market and simultaneous access to the right guide to take them forward. Let us dive a little more to understand how these may help any startup survive, sustain, and grow in the market.
Funding – paramount at every stage of the startup in technological spearheading, acquiring and retaining talent, strategizing go-to-market activities, product development, business operations et all. The simultaneous need for working capital also grows to build and scale up infrastructure. A brilliant idea may still be at the desk and fight it off for proof of concept and never be able to reach the stage of proven market acceptance irrespective of how effective it is, due to the lack of funds.
Market Access & Fit – Howsoever good an idea may be and be strategized for bridging the gap, achieving market fit for the product or solution is extremely important and critical stage for any startup. When a business is started, it is done with a clear objective in mind to address a market gap that the entrepreneur identifies. However, at the very foundation to actually strive and cater to the objective lies various factors like timing to the market, flexibility & adaptability, credibility, and usability much before the product is even introduced to the market, the needs of which are very volatile and dynamically changing at every stage of the startup. May a times, the well-audited, segmented and tragetted audience might expect a solution that is different than what is being offered by the company. So, it is paramount to develop the product with as much dynamism as possible and be suitably backed by the other mentioend need, that is of funding. Thus right ‘Market Access & Fit’ is an important aspect in every startup's journey.
Mentoring – Mentoring is one of the most important yet neglected, least talked about, and probably the least emphasized need for business growth. An entrepreneur might come up with a brilliant idea, and if it is worth its' salt, pitching it to investors is likely to give access to money as well. However, there are many steps and other challenges faced by first-time entrepreneurs at every step of their entrepreneurship journey. In the absence of right mentoring, a lot of founders get their calculations and strategies wrong, eventually burning cash on things that could have been avoided and leading to a scenario where they are left with no money to sustain or scale the enterprise.
Guidance or mentoring from industry experts or successful entrepreneurs in the domain can give the right direction to the entrepreneurs. They can get inputs on aspects such as compliance and taxation, technology, hiring, procurement, sales, and marketing etc to build more robust and sustainable businesses. Most of the mentors are also people with the right industry connections and can help startup founders get the right exposure or opportunities to network with other important stakeholders such as investors.
It is not easy for first-time business founders to find all these discussed aspects catered to under one roof. The challenge is even more daunting if the startups are in Tier-II, Tier-III, or Tier-IV cities. That’s the reason why setting up of a networked ecosystem is extremely important for extracting the true potential of the talent India offers.
For India to truly become a global startup super-power enunciated not just in numbers, but in terms of economic and employment growth, there is a need to prioritize cultivating this ecosystem across the country. The governments as well as the other stakeholders including universities, colleges, and B-schools have to collaboratively materialize this effort, remove the barriers, and pave the path for speedier and widespread growth for the Indian startup ecosystem!
