Author: Vikash Mittersain, Chairman & Managing
Director, Nazara Technologies Ltd. And Founder & President, India Business
Group Chamber of Commerce.
Director, Nazara Technologies Ltd. And Founder & President, India Business
Group Chamber of Commerce.
 |
| Vikash Mittersain, Chairman & Managing Director, Nazara Technologies Ltd. And Founder & President, India Business Group Chamber of Commerce |
The Start Ups story is well into its phase II.
This trend began about ten years or so back. Initial teething problems
have been greatly ironed out, though scale has been reached only by a few start-ups.
Rest are still in struggle mode. In between private investments had
dried up in the last couple of years, barring some small investments here or
there.
This trend began about ten years or so back. Initial teething problems
have been greatly ironed out, though scale has been reached only by a few start-ups.
Rest are still in struggle mode. In between private investments had
dried up in the last couple of years, barring some small investments here or
there.
Some really successful ones are as below:
Paytm,
Flipkart, Ola Cabs, OYO Rooms, Zomato, RedBus
Flipkart, Ola Cabs, OYO Rooms, Zomato, RedBus
However, a huge number have not got off the ground as
serious businesses. Here are some causes of this slow or negative
growth.
serious businesses. Here are some causes of this slow or negative
growth.
The
environment in India still does not match up to that in places like Silicon
Valley, Israel and some European countries. Especially in USA, the
individual funding for start-ups is being done by thousands of HNIs (each high
network individuals) who make many investments and on a continuing basis. Such
countries have already matured for Start Up activity Entrepreneurs in India are
yet very raw. Mostly they focus on a Me-Too copycat manner, trying
to duplicate foreign success stories. There are few original ideas floating
around in Indian start-ups. Most such entrepreneurs think they will
get millions of Dollar equity investments, even without proof of concept.
The initial euphoria of blind scatter investments got over 3 to 4 years
back. The investors have matured and want to see some results, some
revenues, focus on customers etc.
environment in India still does not match up to that in places like Silicon
Valley, Israel and some European countries. Especially in USA, the
individual funding for start-ups is being done by thousands of HNIs (each high
network individuals) who make many investments and on a continuing basis. Such
countries have already matured for Start Up activity Entrepreneurs in India are
yet very raw. Mostly they focus on a Me-Too copycat manner, trying
to duplicate foreign success stories. There are few original ideas floating
around in Indian start-ups. Most such entrepreneurs think they will
get millions of Dollar equity investments, even without proof of concept.
The initial euphoria of blind scatter investments got over 3 to 4 years
back. The investors have matured and want to see some results, some
revenues, focus on customers etc.
Teams:
Entrepreneurs out of college, or otherwise too, need first to put together a team
which compliments one another. They have to put together tech,
commercial, marketing, financial and gen admin (HR etc) people to form and
manage the company.
Entrepreneurs out of college, or otherwise too, need first to put together a team
which compliments one another. They have to put together tech,
commercial, marketing, financial and gen admin (HR etc) people to form and
manage the company.
Honesty: This
is one of the most crucial areas where start-ups go wrong. Once they
get any funding, they feel it’s their own money and use it for things not in
the business plan. Some even use part of the money for their personal
spending or unnecessary expenses which are not essential for growing the
business. Often entrepreneurs don’t pay statutory dues and keep it for
later. This is a major fault. Statutory must compulsorily be paid on time
and not used for working capital. An image of honesty is also essential
for the business to grow.
is one of the most crucial areas where start-ups go wrong. Once they
get any funding, they feel it’s their own money and use it for things not in
the business plan. Some even use part of the money for their personal
spending or unnecessary expenses which are not essential for growing the
business. Often entrepreneurs don’t pay statutory dues and keep it for
later. This is a major fault. Statutory must compulsorily be paid on time
and not used for working capital. An image of honesty is also essential
for the business to grow.
Short cuts: There are
no short cuts. Starts up entrepreneurs make mistakes when they try to
grow their business too fast. Rarely one becomes a billionaire overnight.
Thousands of start ups have made this mistake and folded up. Slow and steady is
the way to go. Every business takes time to mature. There are always
snags which crop up in the initial months and years. Often the business
plans have to be changed from what was envisaged in the beginning.
no short cuts. Starts up entrepreneurs make mistakes when they try to
grow their business too fast. Rarely one becomes a billionaire overnight.
Thousands of start ups have made this mistake and folded up. Slow and steady is
the way to go. Every business takes time to mature. There are always
snags which crop up in the initial months and years. Often the business
plans have to be changed from what was envisaged in the beginning.
This happens
due to several reasons like:
due to several reasons like:
Current
business plan not working out
business plan not working out
Too much
competition
competition
Some
competitors being heavily funded
competitors being heavily funded
The expected
market demand not growing, etc.
market demand not growing, etc.
Start Up
entrepreneurs should never give up. Just keep costs as low.
entrepreneurs should never give up. Just keep costs as low.
Sometimes
the promoter start demanding high salaries which do not match up to revenues.
the promoter start demanding high salaries which do not match up to revenues.
Other Start-ups which are funded and in growth mode
are below:
are below:
iD
Fresh Food
Fresh Food
iD
Fresh Food, a Rs 100 crore turnover ready-to-cook packaged food company in
Bengaluru that makes idly and dosa batter, ‘just heat’ parotas and chapattis,
and curd and paneer. The company, which made 10 packets of one kilogram batter
a day in 2005, manufactures 50,000 packets a day now and has grown into a team
of 1,300 employees who work at their units in Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai,
Delhi, Hyderabad and Dubai.
Fresh Food, a Rs 100 crore turnover ready-to-cook packaged food company in
Bengaluru that makes idly and dosa batter, ‘just heat’ parotas and chapattis,
and curd and paneer. The company, which made 10 packets of one kilogram batter
a day in 2005, manufactures 50,000 packets a day now and has grown into a team
of 1,300 employees who work at their units in Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai,
Delhi, Hyderabad and Dubai.
iD
Fresh Food, a private limited company, was founded in 2005 by Mustafa and his
four cousins – Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK and Noushad TA. Mustafa
holds 50 percent share in the company and his cousins hold the rest. As of
today, the total investment for iD Fresh Food is around Rs 4 crore (Rs 40
million) and revenue is Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).
Fresh Food, a private limited company, was founded in 2005 by Mustafa and his
four cousins – Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK and Noushad TA. Mustafa
holds 50 percent share in the company and his cousins hold the rest. As of
today, the total investment for iD Fresh Food is around Rs 4 crore (Rs 40
million) and revenue is Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).
Practo
Practo,
a health tech company with the motto of #DoGreat is prospering greatly with
2,00,000 doctors and 20 million patients across the world has kick-started its
journey in the year 2008 from Bengaluru by two NITians Shashank and Abhinav
Lal.
a health tech company with the motto of #DoGreat is prospering greatly with
2,00,000 doctors and 20 million patients across the world has kick-started its
journey in the year 2008 from Bengaluru by two NITians Shashank and Abhinav
Lal.
Practo
is the perfect example of “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”
because the idea of PRACTO was initiated from the difficulties Shashank faced
concerning his father’s health. Practo, a product of Naabo solutions, became
the Home for health by its hassle-free solutions for doctor appointments,
delivery of medicine at the doorstep, online consultation with their registered
doctors along with online appointment booking software for doctors to manage
their clinics.
is the perfect example of “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”
because the idea of PRACTO was initiated from the difficulties Shashank faced
concerning his father’s health. Practo, a product of Naabo solutions, became
the Home for health by its hassle-free solutions for doctor appointments,
delivery of medicine at the doorstep, online consultation with their registered
doctors along with online appointment booking software for doctors to manage
their clinics.
Practo
in collaboration with ICICI Lombard launched an app “IL Take-Care” for the
cashless consulting for the health insurance.
in collaboration with ICICI Lombard launched an app “IL Take-Care” for the
cashless consulting for the health insurance.
Zivame
Zivame,
an online lingerie business has been ushered in the Indian market by Richa Kar,
a BITsian in the year of 2011 with the
vision of “Offering every woman the confidence, comfort and choice she
deserves”. Richa while working in her
previous job, got a chance to explore the profits available in India in
lingerie market. Zivame won brownie
points from it’s customers by including unique features of all women customer
care to ease the customer issues, availability of Plus sizes, virtually
checking the fit, size
calculator and wide availability of brands across the world. The website also included lounge wear, Swim & beach wear, Active wear and apparel for women along with
its niche products range.
an online lingerie business has been ushered in the Indian market by Richa Kar,
a BITsian in the year of 2011 with the
vision of “Offering every woman the confidence, comfort and choice she
deserves”. Richa while working in her
previous job, got a chance to explore the profits available in India in
lingerie market. Zivame won brownie
points from it’s customers by including unique features of all women customer
care to ease the customer issues, availability of Plus sizes, virtually
checking the fit, size
calculator and wide availability of brands across the world. The website also included lounge wear, Swim & beach wear, Active wear and apparel for women along with
its niche products range.
Rentomojo
Geetansh
started Rentomojo for providing the online rental services for furniture (only
for a period of 3 months) in the year 2014. It was started with intention of
providing customers with the ever-evolving style without the actual investment
costs for furniture. The company was funded by IDG Ventures India and Accel
partners initially and in 2017, the company gained $10 million Series B funding
from Bain Capital Ventures and Renaud Laplanche. Rentomojo expanded its
business to renting of two-wheelers and appliances in 8 cities (Hyderabad,
Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Gurgaon, Noida, Bengaluru, Delhi) with an option of
Rent-to-own model by the year of 2018. Rentomojo is offering new features to
its customers like annual cleaning, free maintenance along with the
subscription, swap products and many more for their convenience.
started Rentomojo for providing the online rental services for furniture (only
for a period of 3 months) in the year 2014. It was started with intention of
providing customers with the ever-evolving style without the actual investment
costs for furniture. The company was funded by IDG Ventures India and Accel
partners initially and in 2017, the company gained $10 million Series B funding
from Bain Capital Ventures and Renaud Laplanche. Rentomojo expanded its
business to renting of two-wheelers and appliances in 8 cities (Hyderabad,
Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Gurgaon, Noida, Bengaluru, Delhi) with an option of
Rent-to-own model by the year of 2018. Rentomojo is offering new features to
its customers like annual cleaning, free maintenance along with the
subscription, swap products and many more for their convenience.
LeadSquared
LeadSquared
started its journey in the year 2012 for addressing the issues of task and lead
management by marketing automation and CRM software for businesses. The company
was founded by Nilesh Patel, Sudhakar Gorti, Prashant Singh, Sukhbir Kalsi and
Anand Kumar. The solutions include Lead capture automation, Lead Nurturing,
Sales Management, Market Analytics, Lead Management, Dynamic Content and Mobile
Call center. The company has been ranked as the 5th fastest growing tech
company in India by The Deloitte Technology Fast50 India 2017 awards.
started its journey in the year 2012 for addressing the issues of task and lead
management by marketing automation and CRM software for businesses. The company
was founded by Nilesh Patel, Sudhakar Gorti, Prashant Singh, Sukhbir Kalsi and
Anand Kumar. The solutions include Lead capture automation, Lead Nurturing,
Sales Management, Market Analytics, Lead Management, Dynamic Content and Mobile
Call center. The company has been ranked as the 5th fastest growing tech
company in India by The Deloitte Technology Fast50 India 2017 awards.
The
company offering its products in three pricing plans Basic, Standard and
Premium. It is ensuring its customer’s data protection by encrypting all the
web interacting through SSL and also all the data is stored in Amazon data
centers securely.
company offering its products in three pricing plans Basic, Standard and
Premium. It is ensuring its customer’s data protection by encrypting all the
web interacting through SSL and also all the data is stored in Amazon data
centers securely.
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