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For startups to grow they must garner funds from investors; and to gather funds, startups need to have a robust product-market fit along with a promising team and a solid business plan with the potential to scale. Then comes the role of angel investors and <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">Venture Capital</keyword> (VC) <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> that usually surfaces when larger amounts are required to grow a business. 
 Lately, major <keyword id="982553" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-startups">Indian startups</keyword> have seen a tremendous boost from venture capitalists. To start with, we saw how Tiger Global Management, Softbank Corp., Morgan Stanley, Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, IDG Ventures India and SAIF Partners managed to support promising Indian startups like that of Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola, Zomato, ShopClues, Urban Ladder and many others. Moreover, it is not only the bigger firms who are eyeing VC funds, relatively younger and smaller firms like OYO Rooms, Swiggy and Grofers have also joined the race. 
 Apart from ruling the e-commerce and fashion industry, <keyword id="153868" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="VC-funding">VC funding</keyword> is now gradually moving into other sectors too, such as agriculture, healthcare and education. As per the data from the upcoming Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF), which is all set to launch the Wharton India Startup Competition (WISC) with over 500 entries, though majority of applicants (around 25%) belong to the e-commerce industry, the healthcare segment is not far away with around 22% applicants. Moreover, most of the participating startups already have pre-seeded and seeded funding arrangements and around 31% of them have listed themselves as social enterprises. 
 
The ecosystem for VC funding for Indian startups would be discussed at length at the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF). WIEF is a two-day event starting from January 6, 2017, which will bring together the best entrepreneurs, investors, distinguished Wharton faculty, students and inspirational speakers. Attendees will not only have numerous opportunities for interaction and networking across the board but will also witness in-depth discussions in terms of understanding the evolving business landscape in India and the need for business model innovation from the government, various industry leaders, and distinguished Wharton faculty. 
 
The relevance of this summit doesn’t end there. It is also known for hosting the Wharton India Startup Competition (WISC) which is giving Indian startups the opportunity to present themselves in front of an esteemed panel of judges and also win cash prizes of over $25,000 and unparalleled mentorship of up to 4 months from some of the most renowned names in the industry on strategy and funding. The jury for WISC comprises top-notch personalities with the likes of Bharati Jacob (Co-founder of Seedfund), Nipun Mehra (Investor at Sequoia Capital India), Rehan Yar Khan (Managing Partner of Orios Venture Partners), Tarun Davda (Managing Director of Matrix Partners), Aditya Nair (Investor at Nyca Partners), Ajay Hattangdi (CEO India &amp; Group COO of InnoVen Capital Group), Ankit Shah (Vice President at Unilazer Ventures), Sameer Verma (Director &amp; Junior Partner of Nexus Venture Partners), Saurabh Joshi (Strategy Manager at PayPal) and Shantanu Gangal (Head – Analytics at Fundbox). Also, past finalists of this prestigious event includes names such as Ketto, Haptik, Zoomcar, Zostel, Targeting Mantra, Qlicket, Samaan and Ambitioni. 
 
Needless to say, such competitions and summits go a long way in not only promoting upcoming startups but also in educating the audience and the participants regarding the funding scenario. Not many seem to be aware about the types and rounds of funding, the know-how of VC funding and even the right way to go about securing such funds, hence this is surely going to be one the most-sought after events at the start of the next year. 
 
(Image Credits: Thinkstock) 
 
(About the Author: This article has been authored by Aman Jain, Chairperson WIEF 2017)

How VC Funding Fuels the Indian Startup Ecosystem

India has seen an upsurge in Chinese investments in recent couple of years. The log jam in China's domestic economy and the newly discovered positive thinking about India's economic prospects has fuelled this pattern further. A mutual economic relationship which was fixated to a great extent on trade is presently developing with investment tossed in with the general mish-mash. This is subjecting decision makers and managers in organizations on both sides to a sharp expectation to absorb information. At the macro level, the open door for Chinese investments in India is clear since expense of capital in India is moderately high and China has inconceivable foreign exchange reserves holding up to be sent around the world. 
 India is likewise a huge developing market with gigantic interest for Chinese products. In any case, a plenty of difficulties are confronted when one drills down to particular investment exchanges between Chinese financial specialists and Indian organizations. Contrasts in societies and lawful frameworks make any kind of cross-outskirt investments an intriguing marvel. Extra components, for example, mutual doubt, political vulnerability and negative view of Chinese industry in India which are extraordinary to the <keyword id="59696" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-China">India-China</keyword> relationship make deal-production significantly more perplexing in this space. 
 Baidu, Alibaba Group and <keyword id="265907" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tencent-Holdings">Tencent Holdings</keyword>, have been scouting in India for a year for new businesses to put resources into, to exploit potential open doors on the planet's third-biggest cell phone market. Alibaba Group, China's biggest ecommerce firm, put $680 million in fintech <keyword id="138263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword> Paytm in September, a month after pumping in $100 million to $125 million in <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, India's second biggest online marketplace. 
 
The distinction is not how materialistic Indians are, nor their readiness to spend versus save, but who's spending, and how much. India has one of the vastest wealth crevices on the planet, more extensive than China. In India, the richest one percent own 53 percent of the nation's wealth. In China, the richest one percent own around 33 percent of the wealth. 
 
A large portion of China's cash reserves are said to be put resources into dollar and euro named assets however it has begun going out on risk exposures in different geologies too. While Chinese investor interest around Indian internet startups has assembled force, it is yet to interpret into different segments which the dragon has looked at for a few years now. 
 
If the domestic strategy in China is adapted towards outbound investment, then Chinese investment in India will undoubtedly go up. India has a major market for Chinese products. The requirement for Chinese investment in India was likewise highlighted given the trade irregularity that exists amongst India and China and accordingly the requirement for investment. At whatever point there is an expansion sought for Chinese products in India, the quantity of Chinese organizations offering their product increments likewise prompting decrease in margins. As a result, the Chinese organizations are left to choose either to quit the market or to contribute and do in reverse reconciliation making a manufacturing base in India. 
 
In the event that India's startup scene is to thrive through these intense times, its entrepreneurs should weave stories deserving of Bollywood. 
 
(<a href="http://img01.ibnlive.in/ibnlive/uploads/875x584/jpg/2016/05/indo-china-flag-getty.jpg">Image Source</a>)

The Chronicle of Indian Startup Ecosystem and the Chinese

“It is never just an incredible idea; it is the ingredients that make a startup successful.” 
 <keyword id="3159882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Paddy-Cosgrave">Paddy Cosgrave</keyword>, co-founder of Web Summit, world’s most important platform for<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/5-easy-and-effective-tips-to-scale-up-your-startup/articleshow/49891713.cms"> start-ups</a> to kickstart their journey in full swing, believes team work, smart money and working in the right ecosystem are the sutras of a successful start-up. And if you couple it up with engineering, no one can beat you.
 When he started Web Summit from his couch in Dublin with Daire Hickey and <keyword id="112960" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="David-Kelly">David Kelly</keyword>, they had no proper office, no working toilet; yet convinced the likes of Niklas Zennström, founder of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Dozens-Of-Skype-Users-Troll-Witness-Testifying-At-George-Zimmerman-Trial/articleshow/21030732.cms">Skype</a> and <keyword id="265395" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jack-Dorsey">Jack Dorsey</keyword>, co-Founder<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Meet-Twitter-Indias-new-Public-Policy-head-Mahima-Kaul/articleshow/47956812.cms"> Twitter</a> to speak at the first Dublin Web Summit.

	 
	This man is a firm believer of the potential of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Startups-know-Bangalore-is-where-their-heart-is/articleshow/49816015.cms">Indian start-ups ecosystem</a>. He said the Indian market is experiencing the second wave of the ecosystem and technology is driving it.
 “People are entrepreneurial when it comes to tackling the traffic,” jokes Paddy while explaining the potential of <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">entrepreneurship</keyword> in every Indian. 

	How far behind is the Indian start-ups ecosystem in the global competition? Or, is the real question is it ‘far behind’? Paddy describes the ecosystem step by step.
 

	1. From 2011-2014 the world has witnessed an explosion of Indian start-ups.
 

	“The ecosystem was hell back for years and everything else was moving ahead. It is almost like an elastic band that just exploded.”
 

	And the explosion is not gradual, unlike anywhere else in the world. There is the second wave right now in the Indian market with a diversity of start-ups. It is happening pretty fast. 
 Paddy explains that there was a time when Indian engineers formed a major part of <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword>. Suddenly we don’t see the same number anymore. The talent that rushed to Silicon Valley 10 years ago is rushing back home. These people would not move away from Silicon Valley until they believed that there was a great opportunity here in India. 
 

	2. Where the whole world has moved on from the ecommerce wave and experiencing a surge of second generation start-ups, hardware and mobile communication start-ups, ecommerce is still huge in India. It is time for India to address the question: What comes next?
 

	“If you look at the funding over the last four years, ecommerce is huge and everything else is a little bit smaller in India. But if you look at the history elsewhere in the world, ecommerce was huge first and then everything else expanded.”
 

	<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/EXCLUSIVE-Kshitij-Marwah-the-pioneer-of-hardware-manufacturing-spaces-in-India-has-more-to-offer-to-the-country-than-just-technology/articleshow/49908383.cms#commentHash">Kshitij Marwah</a>, founder of Tesseract, the company that built the world’s first 360 Virtual Reality Live stream Video Camera, believes hardware start-ups would form a major part of the second wave. It has huge potential and will boom soon.
 

	3. But the interesting thing is where in US, the ecosystem is mainly bound within the Silicon Valley, Indian start-ups ecosystem is dispersed in many different cities.
 

	4. India has kind of leap frogged to the second wave with the penetration of smartphones. The world moved slowly from dot com to applications. But India jumped the desktop and laptop level to directly make it huge in applications.
 

	“People have smartphones before they even know what a laptop is..So there is a whole generation of applications built in India that we probably haven’t seen anywhere in the world.”
 

	5. Where there are innumerable start-ups coming up in the same genre, how do we become unique? Paddy has made Web Summit unique via engineering. He believes one needs to ask one basic question- ‘Why?’ This is what makes their start-up different than the rest. From applying engineering to maintain the queue to applying it to make the most suitable length of name plate for every participant, engineering is the secret. Indian start-ups need to apply it more when it comes to form an incredible idea, making smart money to finding the right market.
 

	But all is not different. Startup ecosystems face one major hurdle in most parts of the world- the mindsets. When it comes to people leaving their 9-to-5 job to work in a start-ups, not many are willing to take that risk. Though the younger generation is catching up, the elder generation is yet to make up their minds.
 

	“My granny doesn’t really like the idea that I left my job and am working in a start-up. She doesn’t introduce me as a start-up founder to her friends yet,” laughs Paddy. 

	 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

The second wave is here in the Indian market. Paddy Cosgrave, co-founder of Web Summit explains the difference between Indian and global start-ups ecosystem

Nearly 88 per cent of the investments made by Alternative Investment Funds (<keyword id="1006423" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="aifs" source="Orion">AIFs</keyword>) under the Startups <keyword id="3483659" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ffs" source="Orion">FFS</keyword> (Fund for Funds) Scheme have gone to five states. <keyword id="6354780" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="karnataka" source="Orion">Karnataka</keyword> has topped the list of states with an investment of Rs 4,687 crore out of the total investment of Rs 14,077 crore spread across the country. The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) Scheme was approved and established in 2016 with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, with contribution spread over the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycle based on progress of implementation, to provide a much-needed boost to the Indian startup ecosystem and enable access to domestic capital. As on December 31, 2022, under FFS, Rs 7,980 crore has been committed to 99 AIFs and Rs 3,400 crore has been disbursed to 72 AIFs which have in turn made investments of Rs 14,077 crore in 791 startups. The government data said that while Karnataka got an investment of Rs 4687 crore for 240 startups under the scheme, Maharashtra's 176 startups received an investment of Rs 3,426 crore and Delhi's 138 startups got Rs 2,254 crore. Similarly, in Haryana 60 startups received an investment of Rs 1,148 crore and in <keyword id="20154" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tamil-nadu" source="Orion">Tamil Nadu</keyword>, 29 startups got an investment of Rs 826 crore. Under FFS, the Scheme does not directly invest in startups, instead it provides capital to SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), known as daughter funds, who in turn invest money in growing Indian startups through equity and equity-linked instruments. The <keyword id="104385" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="small-industries-development-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Small Industries Development Bank of India</keyword> (SIDBI) has been given the mandate of operating this Fund through selection of suitable daughter funds and overseeing the disbursal of committed capital. AIFs supported under FFS are required to invest at least two times of the amount committed under FFS in startups. The Government with an intent to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation, startups and encouraging private investments in the startup ecosystem of the country launched Startup India initiative on January 16, 2016. The flagship Schemes including Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), <keyword id="9949511" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="startup-india-seed-fund-scheme" source="Orion">Startup India Seed Fund Scheme</keyword> (SISFS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) support startups at various stages of their business cycle to enable startups to graduate to a level where they are able to raise investments from angel investors or venture capitalists or seek loans from commercial banks or financial institutions. Officials said that over 50 regulatory reforms have been undertaken by the Government since 2016 to enhance ease of doing business, ease of raising capital and reduce compliance burden for the startup ecosystem. Besides, to enable ease of procurement, Central Ministries and Departments have been directed to relax conditions of prior turnover and prior experience in public procurement for all DPIIT recognised startups subject to meeting quality and technical specifications. Further, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Startup Runway has been developed which is a dedicated corner for startups to sell products and services directly to the Government. The Government also implements flagship annual exercises and programs including States' Startup Ranking, National Startup Awards and Innovation Week which play an important role in holistic development of the startup ecosystem. The Government also facilitates participation and engagement of the Indian startup ecosystem at international platforms. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/chatgpt-wrote-6-love-letters-as-the-bard-chandler-bing-an-srk-fan-more-heres-what-it-missed/articleshow/97823242.cms">ChatGPT wrote 6 love letters as the Bard, Chandler Bing, an SRK fan &amp; more – here’s what it missed</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/direct-tax-collections-fy-2022-23-records-growth-at-15-67-lakh-cr/articleshow/97821630.cms">Direct Tax Collections (FY 2022-23) records growth at ₹15.67 lakh cr</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/poet-amjad-islam-amjad-passes-away-at-78-adnan-sami-pays-condolences/articleshow/97815855.cms">Poet Amjad Islam Amjad who wrote Man Ki Lagan, passes away at 78</a>

88% of ₹14,000 cr AIF funding goes to startups in 5 states - Karnataka tops the list

The Indian startup ecosystem has seen a lot of change in the last few months. This includes top-level shakeouts, valuation cuts, shutdowns and anxiety over funding. While it’s fair to say that a company’s overall status shouldn’t worry a common employee, reports around layoffs and downsizing mean everyone’s taking sat up and taken notice now. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=LinkedIn&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">LinkedIn</a> Co-founder <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Allen+Blue&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Allen Blue</a> however feels this is a global phenomenon, and it’s nothing to be worried about. 
 
“Funders should be cautious though. Too much enthusiasm on the part of people who fund companies doesn’t help the ecosystem to grow”, Blue told Business Insider in an exclusive interview. 
 After acquiring an unmatched level of funding, over $9 billion to be specific, 2015 was perhaps the best year so far for Indian <keyword id="53533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="entrepreneurs">entrepreneurs</keyword>. 2016 has seen PM <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Narendra+Modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Narendra Modi</a> inaugurating his ambitious <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Startup+India%2C+Standup+India&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Startup India, Standup India</a> campaign. 
 
Blue thinks that with startup funding consolidating and more dogged <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=entrepreneurs&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">entrepreneurs</a> coming up, the startup ecosystem is poised for growth. “A lot of the funding that’s happening here is part of the worldwide Venture capital funding that’s happening. So even if there is a collapse here, the entire ecosystem won’t go down, unlike it was 10-15 years ago during the first Dotcom burst,” he said. 
 
While there have been reports doubting the future of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=startup+industry&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">startup industry</a>, the first quarter of 2016 has already proven that wrong. In Q12016, Indian <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> have already raised $1.42 billion by closing a well over 300 deals. This is well above last year’s figure of only 147 deals in the same quarter. 
 “India is currently building the foundation for the next generation of startups. We’re hoping <keyword id="28120" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Linkedin">LinkedIn</keyword> becomes the platform where people who are working together now form their next company. That’s exactly why we built the product”, Blue concludes. 
 
<a href="http://www.wamda.com/application/rapyd/assets/mfm_012/upload/allen_blue.jpg">Image Source</a>

Exclusive: LinkedIn co-founder Allen Blue
explains why India won’t ever see another Dotcom burst

India’s <keyword id="1973995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Startup-ecosystem">startup ecosystem</keyword> is going through a lean phase. A lot of start-ups in sectors ranging from food-tech to logistics to e-commerce have seen pink slips, mergers and shut downs. The real bad news? There seems to be no ending to this freefall. 
​ 
The recent KPMG-CB Insights report confirms the worst. Investments in Indian startups slumped from $2.89 billion in the third quarter to $1.51 billion in the last quarter of 2015. The year 2016, saw a further fall in investments with around $1.15 billion invested in the first quarter, almost a 24% slump. The number of startup deals also fell 4% to 116 in the quarter. 
 
According to the report, the largest deals in the January quarter were - $150 million secured by online grocery retail startup BigBasket, $150 million raised by e-commerce marketplace Shopclues, and $50 million raised by the country’s second most valuable e-commerce startup Snapdeal. 
 
According to <a href="https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2015/10/venture-pulse.html?cid=psrs_nwr_xx_q2-acx_ent-vntr-pls&amp;utm_medium=psrs&amp;utm_source=nwr&amp;utm_content=xx_q2-acx&amp;utm_campaign=ent-vntr-pls">Venture Pulse</a>, the quarterly global report on VC trends published jointly by KPMG International and CB Insights, Q2 2016 saw $27.4 billion invested across 1,886 deals globally. The total number of deals declined an additional 6 percent from Q1 2016, after reaching a high in Q2 2015. 
 
After a marked decline in seed-stage deal activity to start 2016, Q2 saw seed share bounce back from 31% to 35% of all deals, driven by especially strong seed investment activity in Asia and Europe. 
 
After median late-stage deal size in Asia ballooned to $150 million in Q4 2015 and crashed below $75 million in Q1 2016, the region saw late-stage deal size bounce back to $100 million in Q2 2016. 
 
<a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03366/wile_3366650b.jpg">Image source</a>

India’s start-up investments on a free fall

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

There has been a lot of buzz created around the start-up ecosystem in the country over the past two years. The number of new companies entering the playing field has increased significantly since the year 2013. According to <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasscom">NASSCOM</keyword>, the Indian technology start-ups landscape has seen a tremendous growth towards creation of innovative start-ups and this country, a home to a new breed of young start-ups, has clearly evolved to become the third largest base of technology start-ups in the world. 
 There has been a strong impetus from the <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian Government</keyword> as well in order to boost the budding entrepreneurship economy in the country. Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>’s <keyword id="129467" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="start-up">Start up</keyword> India Initiative is a step in this direction. A very important part of a thriving ecosystem is the presence of investors, PE firms, start-up accelerators and incubators. They make for the complete link to the complex chain. Another major reason for the growth of start-ups in India is the presence of more than 80 business incubators and accelerators, which provide seed stage support to start-ups. Major cities such as Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai account for 90% of the start-up activity. 
 
It takes more than just an idea for rising entrepreneurs to become a successful start-up. The industry is quick growing and evolving, and hence there is a constant struggle for the survival of the fittest. Even with a lot of excitement observed in the beginning, there has been a dip in the investor interest and a hesitation to continue funding. What can be marked as a start-up winter, is a period of disdain for all budding entrepreneurs. If companies are well funded, there is also immense pressure on them to scale up operations. It is in times like these that it becomes imperative to continue building hope for people with a great product and service to offer. What the Indian start-ups need more than the money is motivation and a nurturing touch in terms of expertise and guidance. The need for the hour is to educate, inspire and support the next generation of entrepreneurs and that’s what they are going to do. 
 
Accelerators and incubators can play a very important role in the current scenario. They will play an important role in reviving the Indian startup ecosystem’s momentum and will also make sure that they do it in a sustainable manner. The reason these are called accelerators are because they provide immersive education, where a period of intense, focused attention provides company founders an opportunity to learn at a rapid pace. Learning-by-doing is vital to the process of scaling ventures and they also focus highly on that. In this way, they ensure that the startups compress years’ worth of learning in a bracket of a few months. When put into the Indian scenario, accelerators will help startups study and adapt to the swiftly changing Indian markets and will have a positive impact on their performance. In a conducive environment, start-ups have more chances to kick-start their projects and flourish. Accelerators have become popular in terms of the growth infrastructure, and play an important role in the scaling-up of entrepreneurial ventures. 
 
In addition to this, a lot of corporate have taken up the role of catalysts for the budding start-ups, wherein, they are working with emerging and mature start-ups to address business challenges, mentoring and guiding them with real life scenarios, scaling their business model, helping them with revenue, expanding their customer base while retaining existing customers etc. They help by developing a complete support system for the start-ups by giving them access to basic infrastructure clubbed with expertise and knowledge and thereby, create a runway for them. In times like these when the general sentiment surrounding start- ups is on a low, catalysts also provide the much required motivation to budding ideas in addition to material help. 
 
The Government of India is also trying to promote the startup culture and is revolutionizing its policies towards startups in order to ensure ease of work and financing by launching initiatives like ‘Startup India’ and ‘Self Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU)’. The right kind of help and support from the government and private sector organizations can really lift up and ensure the development of a healthy and sustainable startup ecosystem. 
Considering the role that startups are set to play in India’s economic growth and the amount of income and jobs they can generate, it is imperative for us to support them while they grow their wings and become self-sufficient in their cocoon. 
 
<a href="https://e27.co/">Image Credit</a> 
 This article is written by <keyword id="1964927" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sumesh-Menon">Sumesh Menon</keyword>, Co-Founder, U2opia Mobile

Time for accelerators to step up to maintain the Start Up momentum in the country

<ul><li>Indian <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> today account for 430,000 jobs, and added 60,000 of them in 2019.</li><li>According to the latest Nasscom-Zinnov report, India now has the third highest number of unicorns in the world.</li><li>However, India’s 24 unicorns are nowhere compared to China’s 206 and US’ 203 unicorns. </li></ul>Indian startups have been growing rapidly in the last few years and it has become the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. India is also home to the third highest number of unicorns, according to the Nasscom-Zinnov report Indian Tech Start-up Ecosystem – Leading Tech in the 20s. In the first eight months of 2019, India added 7 unicorns, taking their number to 24. Though India is at the third position— it is nowhere close to that of China’s 206 unicorns and US’ 203. But <keyword id="2023759" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups-in-India">startups in India</keyword> are also solving its gravest problem — of unemployment. Startups account for 430,000 jobs, and added 60,000 of them in 2019 alone. There are also 50 more startups with the potential to turn unicorns. As many as 35 of them might reach the $1 billion valuation in the next two months as they are a part of soonicorn list. The cumulative valuation of all Indian startups stands at a massive $101 billion. Not just that, India now has about 9,300 tech startups alone, while 1,600 are deep tech startups. It also has 335 incubators and accelerators. "The start-up landscape in the country is becoming the epitome of innovation, with companies bringing out solutions that are aimed at solving locally relevant issues. However, to simulate innovation, government and corporates need to focus on increasing their role as prominent stakeholders playing the part of venture capitalists and providing the appropriate market access, funding, and guidance to seed stage start-ups,” said Debjani Ghosh, President, <keyword id="6372077" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="nasscom">NASSCOM</keyword>. The report also adds that India will see 100 unicorns by 2025 and will create over 1.1 million direct jobs.

The $101 billion valuation Indian startup ecosystem made way for 60,000 jobs in 2019

In the wake of drying up of easy money for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=startups&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">startups</a>, the Indian <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=startups&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">startup</a> ecosystem is going through a shakeout phase. Funds have dried up since June 2015, and while many claim its necessary, this means <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> have to sit up and be a bit thriftier with their cash. 
 
As the country’s startup ecosystem undergoes a purge, startups still need dedicated social media services and other digital assistance such as website design, app development, graphic designing, branding and related solutions personalized for individual needs. 
 
Dubai-based <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=social+media+marketing&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">social media marketing</a> agency Websters founder Sheraz Saaed feels it’s easier to cope with the times by outsourcing marketing to agencies. “Startups have budget constraints. Agencies can help cut costs. You can have three times the service for the same money with an external agency. One can also terminate a contract with a 15/ 30 day notice, but termination of your staff will be more challenging. The HR gets involved, and a budding company won’t want that”, Saaed said. 
 
While there have been reports doubting the future of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=startups&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">startup</a> industry, the first quarter of 2016 has already proven that wrong. In Q12016, Indian startups have already raised $1.42 billion by closing a well over 300 deals. This is well above last year's figure of only 147 deals in the same quarter. 
 
After acquiring an unmatched level of funding, over $9 billion to be specific, 2015 was perhaps the best year so far for Indian entrepreneurs. 2016 has seen PM <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Narendra+Modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Narendra Modi</a> inaugurating his ambitious <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Startup+India&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Startup India</a> campaign. 
 
<a href="http://blog.mejobs.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/saving-mistakes.jpg">Image Source</a>

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