<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider spoke to five sets of twin cofounders to find out what makes them tick.</li><li>They said rivalries and comparisons are inevitable but they play to their dual strengths.</li></ul>Working with your family is pretty common: In the US, family businesses generate <a href="https://carey.jhu.edu/articles/research/family-run-businesses-increasingly-focus-academic-research">half the country's gross national product</a>. So what about a business run by one of the closest possible entrepreneur pairings: <keyword id="12037533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="twins" source="Orion">twins</keyword>? Five pairs of twins who run businesses together – in the <keyword id="11893588" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="retail" source="Orion">retail</keyword>, wholesale, cosmetics, and insurance sectors – shared their tips for dealing with rivalries and comparisons when you're cofounders who know each other very well.Working with someone close to you can give a deep sense of support, said London-based Oliver Kent-Braham, who started the insurance unicorn Marshmallow with his twin, Alexander, and their friend David Goaté. It started in the café of a gym and now has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marshmallow-insurance-85-million-hedosophia-unicorn-twin-brothers-2021-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">a billion-dollar valuation</a>. <div type="image" title="Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham Marshmallow cofounders" height="1332" width="1776" msid="93071190" hostid="261"></div>"As long as you have the twin there, it's like, well, you know, if he's all right, I'm all right," Oliver told Insider. "Everything that he finds interesting, I find interesting."<h2>A balancing act</h2>Nicole Nichols, 37, was born a few minutes before her sister Nichelle. Since then, she said, she has taken the "big sister" role in their relationship. At <a href="https://theguiltygrape.com/">the Guilty Grape</a>, the lifestyle and wine company they cofounded in Dallas, that involves taking the lead on the operations, campaigns, and sourcing of wine, while Nicole deals with the back end, working on spreadsheets and focusing on their bottom line. <div type="image" title="Nichelle and Nicole Nichols of The Guilty Grape." height="4000" width="5333" msid="93071191" hostid="261"></div>The twins, who live together and often say the same thing at the same time, believe that their respective strengths balance each other out."I'm very visual," Nichelle said. "I need to see a map and plan, so when I think she wants to be too risky I'm like, 'Wait a minute, pull it back a little bit.'" Nicole instantly replied: "When she's like, literally trying to be so safe, I'm like, 'Let's go, we can figure it out!'"It's a similar formula for 22-year-old twins Luke and Owen Buckmaster, who began selling pizza bases to businesses through their UK-based company, <a href="https://www.doughboys-pizza.co.uk/">Doughboys,</a> in early 2020 and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twins-made-400k-pizza-business-doughboys-base-2021-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">made $400,000 in their first year</a>. Luke runs sales and marketing, while Owen is operations and finance-focused. <div type="image" title="Luke and Owen Buckmaster" height="3683" width="4911" msid="93071192" hostid="261"></div>"We can observe each others' strengths and weaknesses and we can fit into where we both want to manage the company," Owen said. <a href="https://belkcollege.charlotte.edu/directory/torsten-pieper">Torsten Pieper</a>, an academic at UNC Charlotte, told Insider that twins having distinct roles in a business can be beneficial."You might be tempted not to challenge your twin sibling, and you might be tolerating actions and decisions that you think are wrong, so having a system or a personal process in place that checks that or corrects that can be helpful," Pieper said.<h2>A close bond</h2>Oliver, the cofounder of Marshmallow, took on interview duties without his brother when he spoke with Insider, but it's rare for the pair to be separated. "I think that in my life it'll probably be, genuinely, 2 or 3% of the days I've been alive that I haven't seen Alexander," Oliver said.The twins played doubles tennis for Great Britain in their teens, and Oliver admitted there was often friction: "There's so many arguments on the doubles court when you're 14."Now, Oliver lives a 10-minute walk away from Alexander and his girlfriend.Their closeness helps them succeed as part of the small <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/07/is-it-time-to-consider-co-ceos">fraction of businesses run by co-CEOs</a>. But being joined at the hip isn't the only way to grow a successful business together.Luke and Owen were initially reluctant to pair up in a business setting, worried it might affect their bond. The twins both left school at 16, citing a dislike of authority, and they had different jobs before deciding to work together. Forty-year-old Feven and Helena Yohannes' Los Angeles-based <a href="https://241cosmetics.com/">2•4•1 Cosmetics</a> took off in 2020 when it was included on <a href="https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a34853712/feven-helena-yohannes-241-cosmetics-owners/">Oprah Winfrey's Favorite Things</a> list. They were born in a Sudanese refugee camp after their parents fled Eritrea.Their father encouraged them to forge their own identities from an early age. "As twins growing up, they constantly compare you," Helena said, with Feven adding that their dad thought that treatment of twins was "kind of unhealthy."<div type="image" title="Feven and Helena Yohannes." height="960" width="1280" msid="93071193" hostid="261"></div>Of the twins Insider spoke to, they seem to have spent the most time apart, having attended separate colleges — though they did rack up a $300 phone bill in their first month apart. Helena said she runs the more "boring" side of 2•4•1 Cosmetics, while Feven tends to have her "head in the clouds," but it's a combination they said works. Feven and Helena live with their respective partners but work together at Helena's house.Deirdre and Helen O'Neill, 37-year-old twins from Cork, Ireland, <a href="https://hertilityhealth.com/">run Hertility Health</a>, an at-home hormone- and fertility-testing group. Starting the business followed years of working separately in an attempt to forge their own identities, though they were happy to swap places in school to help each other skip class. <div type="image" title="Helen and Deirdre O'Neill - Hertility Health" height="3617" width="4824" msid="93071194" hostid="261"></div>"We have spent our lives looking the same and being kind of lumped into the twins category that we fought unnecessarily hard to be individuals," Deidre said. That included dressing differently and taking separate career paths.Deirdre became an M&amp;A lawyer, while Helen's interest in being a twin led her into genetics. Their unique experiences proved a winning combination for their genetics business. Helen said that having her twin with her when they were pitching for funding felt like a comforting blanket: "I could just focus on what I'm good at, and Deirdre to focus on everything that she was fluent in, which is venture capital."<h2>Marketing 'the twindom of it all'</h2>Naturally, twins are memorable, given that only 1.6 million twin pairs are born around the world annually, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/36/6/1666/6168658?login=false">according to the journal Human Reproduction</a>. They prompt a double take that can inevitably be applied to marketing. Research from the <a href="https://www.ifb.org.uk/media/1352/ifbrf-branding-report-final-web-version-1.pdf">Institute for Family Business</a> showed companies that promote themselves as family-run can gain greater trust and are better placed to attract talent. <a href="https://carey.jhu.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/phillip-phan-phd">Phillip Phan,</a> a business professor at Johns Hopkins University, has researched family businesses for years and told Insider that even in businesses where twins don't intentionally use their bond in marketing, it naturally comes through."And the brand value attached to that is the family value," Phan said. "It's sort of an extreme version of a family enterprise."Phan said family businesses inherently care about their communities, because their identity is often attached to the community where they work.The Nichols sisters said the best marketing comes from jointly appearing at events such as wine fairs, where people often instinctively gravitate toward them."We call it the Twin Effect. People are very enamored, I guess, with the 'twindom' of it all," Nichelle said.<div type="image" title="Nichelle and Nicole Nichols picture as young twins." height="843" width="1125" msid="93071195" hostid="261"></div>Looking so similar can also have its downsides. Nichelle joked that she would find herself picking up conversations someone had started with Nicole at events, and vice versa.And for companies less reliant on the personality of their founders, being twins can also be a frustrating burden. Luke and Owen said that some investors and clients may view twins as "nontraditional" founders, so may be less likely to trust them.Helen from Hertility was even told by one investor that they didn't invest in siblings.Oliver said twindom wasn't very effective in marketing insurance, and he and Alexander try to steer away from being pigeonholed as "Black founders" or twins. Feven and Helena added: "It's important that people kind of see us as individuals, and not like as a weird freak show."<h2><div type="image" title="Feven and Helena Yohannes with their father." height="1806" width="2408" msid="93071196" hostid="261"></div></h2><h2>Fighting division</h2>Sooner or later, all business partners face tensions. Phan said conflict between twins could be more devastating to the business than the average sibling partnership, given their codependency."Because they're also emotionally and cognitively tied, much more so than just regular members of the family, I think decisions that impact the families of twins may cause a greater degree of emotional variance," Phan said. "So if there is conflict, the conflict is likely to be a lot more severe."On the other hand, the emotional ties between twins mean "there is on average less likely to be conflict," he said.Owen Buckmaster said any tension between he and his brother is brief. "When we have arguments or fall out, it never lasts long whatsoever. "But I think that can generally last a long time and drag on with partners who aren't twins."<div type="image" title="Luke and Owen Buckmaster sitting in prams as toddlers." height="1895" width="2526" msid="93071198" hostid="261"></div>Things can get trickier if a third party is brought into the equation. Some twins remark that prospective partners will try to eye areas of disagreement to force compromise between them, which UNC Charlotte's Pieper said is a common problem for sibling cofounders."We were in business before with a third person, and the synergy wasn't 100% there, and I feel with my sister we move faster together," Helena said. "We can have disagreements, and once we decide on something we do execute very quickly."<h2>As long as we're together, that's great</h2>All the twins said their businesses have changed the nature of their relationships. "I'd say our conversations are more mundane, like 70% of what we talk about is work, but the closeness hasn't changed," Marshmallow's Oliver said.They all told Insider they feel lucky to be venturing toward success with their other half."I'm so, so blessed to be on this journey with my sister," Helena said. "I feel like I was born with the best business partner."Pieper said that whether it's "planting trees" or "selling ice in the Arctic circle," twins working together can be very successful. <div type="image" title="Helen and Deirdre O'Neill as toddlers." height="461" width="615" msid="93071200" hostid="261"></div>Helen from Hertility added: "I think I feel closer to Deirdre than I ever have, building something together that we both care about so much. "I actually wonder what we would have done — how our relationship as twins would have survived — if one of us was on this path alone, because being a founder is a very lonely journey."

These twins started companies together and other cofounders can learn a lot from them about rivalries, comparisons and being close to your business partner

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54408652.cms" /><keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword> and Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) are conducting a cognitive tech based challenge, ‘<keyword id="3665899" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cognitive-Entrepreneurship-Challenge">Cognitive Entrepreneurship Challenge</keyword>’ (CEC). 
 Under this challenge, students and <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> will be trained via interactive workshops on cognitive-based API on Bluemix. They will build business solutions using IBM's cognitive platform – Bluemix, which is based on open standards and cloud to build, deploy, manage and run omni-channel applications like web and mobile, big data and other smart services. 
 The participants will be evaluated and mentored by the <keyword id="3665209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ibm-india-watson">IBM India Watson</keyword> team. 
 
“Cognitive computing is fast augmenting human knowledge, capabilities and experience. In the case of rapidly digitizing Indian economy, there is vast untapped potential for creative applications of cognitive technologies by enterprises, entrepreneurs and changemakers,” said Prof Anish Sugathan, faculty of Business Policy, and the Masterplan faculty advisor at IIM-A. 
 
"IBM is committed to creating this innovation ecosystem by opening up Watson APIs to the world. Indian entrepreneurs have shown tremendous creativity and passion in applying technology to create value,” said Dr Prashant Pradhan, Watson India Lead, IBM India / South Asia. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Shout out to budding entrepreneurs! IBM and IIM-A want you to build business solutions using cognitive technologies

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/56588872.cms" />At a time when India is facing a startup boom, <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">entrepreneurship</keyword> has become the top choice of youngsters across India’s educational institutions. IITs and IIMs are seeing creative minds bring their best of ideas forward like never before. But ideas are like streams which have to be channelized and made to flow to the ocean. It is this crucial part that companies like IBM are playing in Indian universities, and thereby fostering innovation in India. 
 The IBM University Relations team has tied up with top B-school entrepreneur cells in India to organize technology mentoring and conducting contests for students who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs or starting their own business ventures. The most recent example is a contest which was held at <keyword id="19478" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIM">IIM</keyword> - Bangalore's flagship event - Eximus. IBM had assigned one mentor to each of the teams who wanted to build a prototype on technologies including IoT, Analytics, Cognitive on IBM Cloud. Their programs are aiming to develop a talent pool of adaptive innovators across multiple disciplines to meet the challenges of the New Economy. 
 Mezjan Dallas, Country Manager, <keyword id="3824957" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ibm-india-university-relations">IBM India University Relations</keyword> told Business Insider - “With India experiencing an upsurge in the startup space with new business models emerging due to new technologies, it is imperative for the new generation to be exposed to opportunities in these emerging technology areas. They need to develop industry relevant skills and challenge themselves to undertake entrepreneurial projects and contribute to the society at large.” 
 He further added – “There has been positive feedback from <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> on the simplicity and ease of use of IBM’s Cloud platform and Cognitive solutions.” 
 
Owing to fruitful and productive association with B-schools so far, the University Relations wing at IBM is now actively seeking more collaborations and relationships with Indian universities. 
 
Dallas said - “Our goal is to develop long-term, mutually beneficial collaborative relationships with the faculties across academic institutions by fostering advanced research, promoting university-industry exchanges, mentoring start-ups, providing infrastructure and technology support, and cultivating tomorrow’s world-class researchers. A focus on encouraging social entrepreneurship through Universities is on the horizon. Learning of cool technologies such as IBM’s Watson by way of fun avenues such as programming Robots with Watson is also on the horizon.” 
 
Here are some other ways the company is encouraging entrepreneurship: 
 
Drone demos and hands-on workshops: IBM conducted drone-themed hackathon at <keyword id="6354859" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT">IIT</keyword> Hyderabad which saw students come up with creative ideas such as<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nth1wvZx2sE"> gesture controlled drones</a>, drones for disaster scenarios, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBFPycGZ244">atmospheric parameters with </a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBFPycGZ244">drones </a>to name a few. One student demonstrated how drones can be used to detect gas leakages and prevent disasters in coal mines. 
 
IBM and Venturesity 'Career Challenge' for industry readiness 
Keeping in view the skills gap in emerging technology areas, the company invited engineering students across India to register for their workshops and get training in the areas of mobile app development, cognitive computing including IBM's Watson technology and data analytics. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Dream-of-working-with-IBM-Heres-your-chance/articleshow/54359740.cms">Read all about it here.</a> 
 
IBM and IIM Ahmedabad Cognitive Entrepreneurship Challenge 
CEC was part of "Masterplan 2016" which is an annual competition held within IIM-A where students and startups build business solutions and win exciting prizes. The main objective of CEC was to encourage young entrepreneurs and the student community to build business solutions around capabilities using IBM's Cloud platform – Bluemix. Students were also given access to other relevant IBM technology platforms in the areas of Analytics and Security. 
 
<keyword id="830097" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hackathons">Hackathons</keyword> and internships 
By way of hackathons, the company is also encouraging developers to build innovative applications and come up with new ideas usually based on a theme. IBM’s internship program 'Extreme Blue' is another avenue for top technical leaders to innovate with students from some of the best universities in the country.

Here's how IBM is fostering innovation in IITs and IIMs

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c3f946f55ab0b2598485ca4-2188/claychristensenheadshot.jpg" border="0" alt="Clay Christensen Headshot" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Clayton Christensen" />Courtesy of Clayton ChristensenClayton Christensen, pictured, says you can marry successful entrepreneurship with effective economic development.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>In <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/china">China</a>, the electric-car market is "booming."</li><li>That's according to Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and an author of "The Prosperity Paradox."</li><li>Christensen said electric cars in China are examples of "market-creating innovations," in that they make a product affordable and accessible to a broader swath of the population.</li></ul>In his new book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062851829/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2">The Prosperity Paradox</a>," coauthored with Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen provides a framework for marrying successful entrepreneurship with effective economic development. That's exactly what electric-car makers in China have done.Christensen is the author of the 1997 classic "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012BLTM6I/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1">The Innovator's Dilemma</a>," in which he popularized the term (and the idea) of "disruptive innovation." But more than two decades before that, Christensen was a Mormon missionary in South Korea, which, as he and his coauthors write in "The Prosperity Paradox," was one of the poorest nations in Asia. Today, it's among the richest countries in the world.The authors argue that most any country can undergo a similar shift - and it's not necessarily a matter of receiving billions of dollars in aid. It has more to do with thoughtful innovation. In fact, the "prosperity paradox" refers to the idea that countries typically don't see improvements in their economic, social, and political well-being when other nations flood them with resources to "fix" poverty. Instead, these improvements often happen when new markets are created within these countries.That means there's an opportunity for ambitious entrepreneurs around the world to simultaneously start a thriving business and bolster the economy.<h2>Electric cars in China are a 'market-creating innovation'</h2>A <keyword id="46801" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="prime">prime</keyword> example of that kind of innovation is the electric-car market in China, Christensen told Business Insider. He explained that electric cars in Beijing are narrow and made of plastic. That's because many people in Beijing work on narrow streets and need a vehicle to deliver products to their clients.Electric cars in China fall under the category of what Christensen labels "market-creating innovations." In the book, Christensen and his coauthors write that market-creating innovations have served "as a foundation for many of today's wealthy economies, and have helped lift millions of people out of poverty in the process."The key to market-creating innovation is spotting would-be consumers, who are unable to use a particular product either because it's unaffordable or because it's inaccessible. "In a sense," the authors write, "market-creating innovations democratize previously exclusive products and services." Not only do market-creating innovations make products available to more people; they also create many new local jobs."The market-creating innovation in China is to make this little vehicle affordable and accessible," Christensen said. The people delivering products on those narrow city streets can do their job more easily - and the companies making those vehicles thrive. "The market is just booming," Christensen said.(To be sure, tiny electric cars in China have their downsides. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-giant-market-for-tiny-cars-1537538585">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported that tiny electric vehicles tend to use cheap lead-acid batteries, which are bad for the environment, and have no crash protection.)<h2>Electric cars in China are also a disruptive innovation</h2>Compare these car companies to Tesla. Christensen previously <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-is-not-disrupting-car-industry-expert-2018-10">told Business Insider's Matt DeBord</a> that Tesla is not, as is commonly believed, a disruptive innovator. That's largely because Tesla is working backward. DeBord reported that, instead of making a desirable product more accessible to more people, Tesla started out making a product that was inaccessible to most consumers and is now trying to make it more accessible.Christensen told DeBord that electric cars in China, on the other hand, are an example of a disruptive technology. "They enable access for a larger population who historically didn't have access," Christensen told DeBord.Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clay-christensen-defends-his-theory-of-disruption-2015-11"> Clay Christensen says everyone misunderstands his theory of disruption - here's what it really means.</a>In a 2015 <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation">Harvard Business Review</a> article, Christensen, along with Michael Raynor and Rory McDonald, wrote that "disruptive innovation" has become a vague buzzword. But it really describes the process through which a smaller company with fewer resources challenges an established business "by successfully targeting ... overlooked segments, gaining a foothold by delivering more-suitable functionality-frequently at a lower price." The newer company then moves upmarket and mainstream consumers start using the product or service.That's what electric-car companies have done in China. In the United States, on the other hand, electric cars are <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/05/teslas-not-as-disruptive-as-you-might-think">sustaining innovation</a>, meaning they offer better performance at a higher price.<h2>In Mexico, there could be another huge opportunity for electric cars</h2>Christensen said electric cars could potentially revolutionize the Mexican economy the same way. That's because Mexican cities tend to be similarly crowded, and people have a hard time making deliveries.What's more, Christensen said, there might be an opportunity to make electric cars an "experience" for consumers. "If you make an electric car affordable, it becomes a jukebox for teenagers," he said, and they'd take the car on short trips to visit friends."If a company in Mexico would come to the bottom of the market making electric products affordable and accessible for a new population, boy, I think it would really be creating exciting potential."Get the latest Tesla stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/TSLA-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-we-all-so-stupid-episode-2-2018-12">Understanding this one cognitive bias may help you better negotiate a pay raise</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/WbnhgCHt-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

A Harvard professor has a tip for entrepreneurs looking for the next big thing: Check out the electric-car market in China

In a recently released entrepreneurial study by <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword> to understand the rapidly evolving India <keyword id="1973995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startup-ecosystem">startup ecosystem</keyword> and its effects on the wider economy, the results reveal that <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> can exploit a range of attributes and advantages unique to India. More than 76% of Indian executives pointed to India’s economic openness as a major business advantage, while 60% identified India’s skilled workforce and 57% of the executives said that India’s large domestic market provides significant advantages. The study further focuses on how more proactive engagement between startup and established organizations can help startups harden their business models, accelerate growth and leapfrog into the big leagues, while enabling established companies to share in the entrepreneurial spirit of <keyword id="94495" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Innovation">innovation</keyword> and agility. Their mutual success will drive India toward an ever-more dynamic future. “Startups are redefining the Indian economy by being the catalysts for technology innovation and collaboration. The Indian startup community; ranked third globally in terms of number of startups has been creating new job opportunities and attracting capital investment. We believe that startups need to focus on societal problems like healthcare, sanitation, education, transportation, alternate energy management and others, which would help deal with the issues that India and the world face. These require investments in deep technology and products which are built to scale globally”, said Nipun Mehrotra, Chief Digital Officer, IBM India/South Asia. He further added, “At IBM, we work closely with startups, VCs, incubators, academia, and individual developers to foster a culture of innovation and disruption and provide access to deep technology such as cognitive, blockchain, cloud and other emerging technologies, as well as the business mentoring needed for their growth.” Startup activity is driving India’s emerging business ecosystems India’s startup community is expanding rapidly with a strong entrepreneurial culture, especially among millennials. Strong government promotion of entrepreneurship has strengthened a rapidly evolving startup culture – a proposed reduction in corporate tax from 30% to 25% is expected to further boost startup activity. The study further stated that market valuation of Indian startups has grown significantly over the past four years, with three times increase in startup investment recorded in 2015. According to the study, approximately 35% of startups are being set up in tier two and tier three cities, thereby promoting accelerated development and industrialization of rural and other less developed areas. Top roadblocks for India’s startups Despite India’s entrepreneurial strength, the startup economy still has not reached full maturity and more than 90% of startups fail within the first five years. 1) Lack of innovation: 77% of venture capitalists surveyed believe that many Indian startups lack pioneering innovation based on new technologies or unique business models. Indian startups are prone to emulate already successful global ideas. 2) Lack of skilled workforce: 70% of the venture capitalists believe that talent acquisition is one of the biggest challenges faced by Indian startups, and limited availability of necessary skills impedes growth. As per a study, 80% of engineering graduates in India are deemed unemployable and 48% of employers in India face difficulty in filling vacancies. 3) Lack of sufficient funding: Indian startups face funding roadblocks both at entry and exit stages while successful global startup ecosystems are well supported by active investor communities. 65% of venture capitalists revealed that funding is one of the major challenges for these companies. 4) Other roadblocks include inadequate formal mentoring, poor business ethics and lack of experienced leadership. Stakeholder engagement key to derive significant benefits in startup ecosystems Ecosystems are crucial for India’s entrepreneurial economy to thrive. The IBV study also outlines the importance of stakeholders’ involvement, along with offering recommendations designed to increase the value of their contributions and accelerate outcomes. Established companies, startups, venture capitalists, government and higher education institutions have significant roles to play and rewards to reap in fostering further development of India’s startup economy. A robust startup community improves the vitality of the Indian economy and provides a gateway to systemic economic transformation. The formation of ecosystems in which established companies, startups, venture capitalists, government and centers of higher education are able to engage and interact can empower India to consolidate its place as a leader in the global economy. (The IBM study, “Entrepreneurial India” is based on interviews with more than 1,300 Indian executives, including 600 startup entrepreneurs, 100 venture capitalists, 100 government leaders, 500 leaders of established companies and 22 educational institution leaders to analyze the macro impact of startups on the economic growth of the country.)

Here's why 90% startups in India are failing in their first five years

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50684953.cms" />The <keyword id="69007" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Economic-Forum">World Economic Forum</keyword> on January 18, 2016, released a report titled ‘Future of Jobs’, which comes under the overarching framework that is part of the ongoing discussions in Davos. 
 
The overarching framework being discussed is the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, which is also the title of a recent book written by Professor Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. 
 
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is at a fundamental level and a profound technological revolution which ‘has the potential to disrupt not only our work life, but essentially how humans live and relate to one another’, argues Professor Schwab. 
 The revolution is driven by disruptive changes in fields as broad and varied as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, <keyword id="970768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="internet-of-things">Internet of Things</keyword> (IoT) as well as nanotechnology, biotechnology, quantum computing, and 3D printing, etc. 
 
While it is hard to forecast precisely what the future will be like, it is important to look at some of the implications of this significant technological change. This is where the ‘Future of Jobs’ report becomes relevant. 
 
The basis of the research is a questionnaire survey done by the WEF on 371 companies representing more than 13 million employees across nine broad industry sectors in 15 major developed and emerging economies and regional economic areas. 
 
According to the survey, 44% of the respondents believe that 'Changing work environments and flexible working arrangements' are the major socio-economic and demographic driver of change. This is followed by 23% of the respondents choosing ‘Rise of the middle class in the emerging markets’ as a primary driver of change. 
 
In technological drivers, a majority 34% believe that the 'mobile internet and cloud technology' is a major driver of change followed by 'advances in computing power and Big Data' which is rated by 26% of respondents as a primary driver of change. 
 
An interesting analysis in the report deals with how jobs are going to shift because of the forces of fourth industrial revolution impacting various industries. In some cases, the net effect on employment is positive while in others the net effect is going to be negative. 
 
The net negative industries include “Office and Administrative” sector where an estimated 4.8 million people are going to be adversely impacted over the period 2015-2020. 
 
Similarly, another major loser is the ‘manufacturing and production’ sector where an estimated 1.6 million people are going to be adversely impacted. This is expected as a lot of work in the office space may be automated as well as technologies can make the human intervention in factories even more unnecessary. On the gainers side are industries like ‘Business and Financial Operations’ that can see an addition of half a million people due to these changes. Similarly, ‘management’ industry is another gainer which will see an addition of four hundred thousand jobs in the period 2015-20. 
 
The report overall talks about an interesting framework for defining skills required for succeeding in such a scenario. There are three elements to the structure. The first of these include abilities that include cognitive abilities (like creativity, problem solving, logical reasoning, etc.) and physical abilities (like Physical Strength, Manual Strength, etc.) 
 
The second of these is basic skills that include content skills (focused on active learning, reading, comprehension, etc.) and process skills (like Critical Thinking, Active listening, etc.) Cross-Functional Skills is the third broad category and includes Social Skills, Systems Skills, Complex Problem Solving Skills, Resource Management Skills and Technical Skills. 
 
Also, maximum skills demand is estimated to be for Complex Problem Skills (36%) followed by social skills (19%) and process skills (16%) till 2020. 
 
The report also has a section on country profiles and for India, there are interesting insights. 
 
The top trend like the outcome of global survey is perceived in a similar manner by Indian respondents as 'Changing nature of work' (43%), but this is followed by Climate Change and Natural Resources (40%). Similarly, a large number of respondents (69%) felt that the impact is going to be felt over 2015-17. 
 Also, 60 percent believed that strategies are suitable for dealing with the challenges. These strategies include investing in <keyword id="3216616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="reskilling">reskilling</keyword> current employees (48%) are supporting mobility and job rotation (48%). 76% also believed that future workforce planning is a leadership priority for India. 
 
Over the next few years, India not only in the formal space but in the informal space will have to rethink industrial development and the challenges that arise. The ministry of skill and entrepreneurship should take cues from the study to understand how forces of the fourth industrial revolution can radically reshape the employment scenario in the country. The aim should be to preempt this before it happens to help people succeed in the dynamic labour market. 
 
(The article is co-authored with Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness &amp; Editor of Thinkers. The views expressed are personal. Amit can be reached at amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in and tweets @kautiliya) 
 
 (Image: Thinkstock)

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