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11 under-30 founders named in Hurun India’s Future Unicorn Index 2024

Almost one in five of India’s future unicorns drop off the race as funding winter bites

234-year-old company EID Parry is only a tad more valuable than year-old  unicorn GlobalBees

The <keyword id="6355302" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rupee" source="Orion">rupee</keyword> jumped 27 paise to 82.32 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid a weak American currency and inflow of foreign funds in the domestic equity market. Traders said declining <keyword id="102132" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crude-oil-prices" source="Orion">crude oil prices</keyword> also supported the Indian rupee. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened stronger at 82.38 against the dollar, climbed as high as 82.26 and hit the lowest level of 82.41. Later, the Indian currency was trading at 82.32, registering a gain of 27 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.59 against the US dollar. The foreign exchange market was closed on Wednesday on account of Gudi Padwa. Meanwhile, the <keyword id="75201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dollar-index" source="Orion">dollar index</keyword>, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was 0.23 per cent lower at 102.11. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.86 per cent to USD 76.03 per barrel. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 340.92 points or 0.59 per cent lower at 57,873.67 points while the broader NSE Nifty was down 84.25 points or 0.49 per cent at 17,067.65 points. The decision of the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday to raise interest rate by a quarter of percentage in line with the market expectations boosted the overall investor sentiments. <keyword id="6438315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="foreign-institutional-investors" source="Orion">Foreign Institutional Investors</keyword> (FIIs) turned net buyers in the domestic capital market on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 61.72 crore, according to exchange data. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-rekha-rakesh-jhunjhunwala-the-top-indian-entrant-in-2023-m3m-hurun-global-rich-list/slidelist/98916777.cms">Meet Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the top Indian entrant in 2023 M3M Hurun Global Rich List</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/healthcare-consumer-goods-minted-the-most-indian-dollar-billionaires/articleshow/98913863.cms">Healthcare, consumer goods minted the most Indian dollar billionaires</a>

Rupee surges 27 paise to 82.32/USD on foreign fund inflows, declining crude prices

<ul><li>Saksham, the <keyword id="13004400" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship-Cell-of-IIM-Udaipur" source="Orion">Entrepreneurship Cell of IIM Udaipur</keyword>, is organising its third and largest e-Summit 2022 with the theme “Zilch to Zillion: Celebrating a Decade of Unicorns”.</li><li>The summit will be held on 23rd January 2022 virtually.</li><li>Representatives from top-tier VCs like Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners and Times Internet will also be joining as speakers and panelists.</li></ul>Saksham, the Entrepreneurship Cell of Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur, is organising its third and largest E-Summit 2022 with the theme ‘Zilch to Zillion: Celebrating a Decade of <keyword id="2023017" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="unicorns" source="Orion">Unicorns</keyword>’ on 23rd January 2022 in a virtual format. The aim of the summit is to honour the efforts and celebrate the accomplishments of all rising entrepreneurs. The E-summit will provide a forum to brainstorm and discuss innovation and ingenuity demonstrated by Indian entrepreneurs that have helped India’s unicorns (companies with valuation more than $1B) gain a combined market cap of $240 billion. Even as India is rapidly enhancing its start-up ecosystem, it still needs to climb 67 positions to top the Global Entrepreneurship Index, an indicator of the overall entrepreneurial potential of a nation. Prof. Janat Shah, Director, <keyword id="349500" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIM-Udaipur" source="Orion">IIM Udaipur</keyword> said, “Management schools in India are emerging as the breeding grounds for start-ups, especially Unicorns, by creating an enabling environment in curricula and bringing together key enablers of the ecosystem.” “Entrepreneurship is one of the core values of IIM Udaipur, and the institute is committed to nurturing future leaders and entrepreneurs who will power their organizations, create innovations in products and services in the emerging economies,” he added. Yashish Dahiya (Co-Founder and CEO, Policy Bazaar) and <keyword id="237838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arjun-mohan" source="Orion">Arjun Mohan</keyword> (CEO, upGrad) will throw light on how to shape the entrepreneurship landscape and leapfrog to the top league, as the keynote speakers. Other eminent speakers at the E-Summit ’22 are Prashant Pitti (Co-founder, EaseMyTrip), Ishan Bansal (Co-founder, Groww) and <keyword id="3014325" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-kumar-agrawal" source="Orion">Amit Kumar Agrawal</keyword> (Founder, NoBroker), who will all be covering their experiences and learnings from building scaled companies in India. Representatives from top-tier venture capital firms like Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners and Times Internet will also be a part of the summit as speakers and panelists. The event is supported by a network of corporates, incubators, media partners, including Secure Meters, TiE Udaipur and Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund. Top upcoming D2C (direct-to-consumer) startups like Ugaoo, InACan and Bombay Shaving company are also partnering with the E-Summit ’22 as “Gifting Partner”, “Experience Partner” and “Grooming Partner” respectively. In the past decade, India has transformed its start-up ecosystem into becoming the third-largest in the world. In 2021, India added 46 Unicorns, doubling the number to over 90. In 2022, It is estimated that over 50 more unicorns will be added to the Indian start-up ecosystem. Disclaimer: Business Insider India is a media partner to the event.

IIM Udaipur kicks off its third Entrepreneurship Summit, India’s unicorns to be in focus

A considerably higher percentage of <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> are flush with funds today compared to a decade earlier. As a consequence, in the last few years, the market prices for certain type of talent has shot up, mainly fuelled by the whirlwind of VC money made available. 
 
 
 
(Image Source: Dilbert.com) 
 
The machinations of startup finances require them to pay over the odds for top talent. While they are high pressure jobs that require cross-functional skill sets, not unlike other industries, they are also high-risk, as the environment is relatively new, unexplored and extremely competitive. 
 
Undeniably, salaries contribute massively to the burn-rate of startups, especially at unicorns. Often, wages were the single biggest expense items at a startup. At one point it appeared as though the unicorns were trying to outspend each other in enticing the best talent from top B-schools and the valley, but more as an ostentatious show of strength rather than out of requirement or necessity. It reminds you of those pubs that have a scoreboard announcing which table spent the most on alcohol. Needless to say, there has been plenty of debate on when the bubble would burst. 
 
The problem with too much money and overpaying key personnel is that you start operating in a separate market altogether. 
 
That means expensive hires could turn out to be expensive mistakes too, when exorbitant severance packages are factored in. Also, there aren’t many corporates willing to pay unicorn-level startup wages, even for above-average talent which results in them getting locked-in at the startup. 
 
All of this (combined with other macro factors) hastened the fund crunch, leading to lay-offs and a <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/funding-freeze-puts-startup-hiring-in-cold-storage-up-to-50-drop-in-recruitment/articleshow/57240893.cms">50% drop in recruitment</a> in the last 18 months. 
 
Using <keyword id="1454728" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="high-wages">High Wages</keyword> as a Strategy 
Ashish Sinha, in his <a href="https://www.nextbigwhat.com/indian-startups-foreign-competition-297/">critical post</a> against protectionism mentions how “excessive funding” shaped the thinking of a “startup founder’s <keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> mantra”, which was to give 
 
…so much salary to employees that the salary becomes an exit-barrier. 
 
He goes onto mention that, several startups “had to shut shop because they couldn’t afford to bring in great talent, thanks to the talent-hoarding war by the likes of Flipkart and Ola.” 
 
It can be supposed that, 
 
Such practices created an environment where it appeared as if there existed two markets, one for unicorns and another for the rest. 
 
 
 
(<a href="http://www.tnhh.net/assets/posts-images/throw_money_at_it.jpg">Image Source</a>) 
 
In a way, when growth is the focus and the pace set is extremely ambitious and aggressive, there are few options left other than ‘throwing money at the problem’. So, the <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Companies/55bKNDKYIn4YFlBVuuxitL/Startups-pay-top-dollar-for-Silicon-Valley-talent.html">best talent was lured in at a considerable premium</a> which further skews the wage index heavily. 
 
But paying extremely high salaries comes with its cons besides increasing cash-burn. A recent Bloomberg report mentions how some Google self-driving car experts were <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-13/one-reason-staffers-quit-google-s-car-project-the-company-paid-them-so-much">overpaid so much that they quit</a>. Back here, there’s been a spate of exits at the highest levels at <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Companies/LgBrTHVqAM6MBeCAhdDIVJ/Flipkarts-new-CEO-has-his-work-cut-out-in-the-wake-of-topl.html">various</a> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/top-executives-from-flipkart-snapdeal-ola-and-paytm-quit-companies-to-start-own-ventures/articleshow/51901907.cms">unicorns</a>. While the reasons vary, they have been largely attributed to lack of innovation and work culture in the latter case. 
 
When M&amp;As become the primary strategy for top talent acquisition-When unicorns can’t get the talent they desire, they ‘acqui-hire’ 
Usually an effective strategy to on board entrepreneurial talent who have a high risk appetite, it turns out to be quite expensive too (especially if the buy-out is an all-cash deal). Many a time, post acquisition, the founders lose motivation and may not align completely with the acquirer’s vision. Sometimes, it could turn out to be bad cultural fit for both organisations. 
 
An interesting case was when Flipkart <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Companies/DbMTb2tDKuZoTfEa203XBL/Flipkart-acquires-UPIbased-payments-startup-PhonePe.html">hired back their ex-employees</a> by acquiring the startup they had just founded for a rumoured $20 million. The acquisition was done so quickly, that the founders were yet to launch their product after having quit. It does make one wonder why they weren’t given the freedom to develop that product while they were still employed. 
 
But the playing field is more level now than ever before 
The sheer quantum of dollars flowing in and number of deals happening has resulted in the Indian startup system becoming a more level playing field in reality. 
 
Everyone has reasonable spending power and there is only so much top talent the unicorns can hire. 
 
And the absolute elite talent from the valley, could not be lured in to make that extra difference. That meant, other funded startups could attract local talent, albeit above market prices. 
 
Issues due to wage disparity 
Another problem is that while the top management is paid top dollar, it does not filter down the pyramid at the entry-level or mid-level roles. It is becoming increasingly common for employees to have that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/08/22/justifying-recent-layoffs-flipkarts-sachin-bansal-claims-he-wa/">odd spat with the management</a> and sometimes even <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/sacked-tinyowl-employees-confine-founder-for-48-hours/article7850903.ece">openly revolt against the founders</a>. But, that is expected when there’s uncertainty over future funding and/or revenue sources. 
 
The recent <a href="https://m.yourstory.com/2017/02/the-infosys-severance-drama/">Infosys episode</a> on high severance packages is a clear example of the old guard trying to uphold core values and maintain transparency as the current management team has adopted a growth-at-all-costs approach which has upset the founders who built their success on frugality and efficiency. 
 
N R Narayana Murthy felt his “compassionate capitalism” philosophy was under threat, which recommends that the ratio between highest compensation in the firm and the median salary should ideally between 50% to 60%. The salary hikes and severance packages, NRN claimed, affected employee morale and increased dissatisfaction. 
 
Regulate Wages? 
Does bringing in regulations on salaries make sense? I don’t think so. We operate in a free market and market dynamics should always dictate wages. That is key for a performance based economy to flourish. 
 
However, to create companies that last at least a couple of decades, firms could insert clauses in the company’s charter that impose reasonable restrictions on salaries. 
 
So what then is the solution? 
Focusing on the fundamentals of building a company and never losing sight of it as the firm grows, is key. That means, getting the work culture right, building lean teams, reducing redundancy and increasing efficiency are critical for success. 
 
But more importantly, it always starts with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-steps-hiring-right-your-startup-praveen-rajaretnam">choosing the right candidates</a>. 
 
Share your thoughts with me on <a href="https://twitter.com/prajaret">Twitter</a>. 
 
Read: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-steps-hiring-right-your-startup-praveen-rajaretnam">8 Steps to Hiring Right at Startups</a> 
 
(Main Image: Thinkstock)

You Searched For "Hurun Indian Future Unicorn Index" and got 6 results

11 under-30 founders named in Hurun India’s Future Unicorn Index 2024

Kunal Kambli

Almost one in five of India’s future unicorns drop off the race as funding winter bites

Katya Naidu

234-year-old company EID Parry is only a tad more valuable than year-old unicorn GlobalBees

Vaamanaa Sethi

Rupee surges 27 paise to 82.32/USD on foreign fund inflows, declining crude prices

PTI

IIM Udaipur kicks off its third Entrepreneurship Summit, India’s unicorns to be in focus

BI India Partner

Here’s how the startup hiring scene has changed in the unicorn era

Praveen Rajaretnam

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