Startup Ecosystem in India

Are you already a Startup?

What is a Startup?

Do you want to set up a Startup?

Or are you a student studying startups?

Either way you must know what support is available in the country for startups. For those not familiar with startups, a  startup is an entity not older than 7 years. Readers may refer to the government site for a detailed definition of a startup and related information.

As part of the Entrepreneurship and Startup Management course being taught by me this semester, our MBA/PGDM students studied the Startup Ecosystem in India as a team task.

What do we mean by the term ecosystem? Simply stated it is the overall environment which supports the startups. Apart from the Government of India and State governments there are many initiatives taken by the industry, academic institutions and PPP (public private partnership) entities. Therefore, we first prepared a list of more than hundred incubators in India who support the startups in one way or the other. Credit for this compilation goes to Rashmi Raj, Class of 2019 at VVISM Hyderabad.

An incubator is an organisation which provides the following support to the startups:

• Infrastructure 
• Mentoring support
• Professional networking
• Market reach
• Funding support or access to investors

We then designed a 20-point template for studying and comparing the incubators. Some of the key points included in our template are listed below

Number of startups that can be hosted simultaneously

Total startups hosted so far

Sectors supported (Technology startups, e-commerce, Fintech, Agri, Foodtech, entertainment, healthcare, Edutech, travel, marketing, analytics, social ventures etc)

      Bootcamps held with details

      Access to investors or funding support and conditions for qualification if any

      Special support for student startups and women entrepreneurs

      Survival rate of startups incubated/supported

         Patents filed by incubated startups

Some of the incubators studied by the students are listed below.

Technology Business Incubator (TBI)-BITS Pilani Centre for innovation incubation and entrepreneurship-IIM-A Kakatiya Sandbox Nizamabad NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning IIM-B D Labs ISB Hyderabad Incube Ventures- Ahmedabad Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society(36Inc) Atal Incubation Centre Banasthali Vidyapith Dasra (Impact Foundation) Mumbai iB-Hubs India Wadhwani Centre For Entrepreneurship Development T-Hub Hyderabad VillGro Chennai Bala Vikasa International Warangal

Few facts that emerged from the study are:

1. Although large number of incubators have come into being, success rates of startups need improvement
2. Very few patents have been filed
3. Linkages with investors need to be strengthened

It was a great learning experience not only for the entire class but also the faculty. The students appear confident of applying their knowledge whether setting up their ventures immediately or in the future.

Earlier on, we had carried several related stories which you may like to browse:
Can Startup Management be taught?

Its all about Identifying the Opportunity

Proof of the Pudding- Inspiring stories of nine successful Startups set up by Ghumakkad's former students

We end with one of my favourite quotations on entrepreneurs.

Special thanks to my students of PGDM Class of 2019 at VVISM Hyderabad for joining me in this exciting journey of entrepreneurship and startups.

Thanks are also due to you the reader- for browsing the post. Your feedback is welcome as always.

     - Harsh-the-teacher-cum-Ghumakkad/ 14th October 2018
#Startups #entrepreneurship #ecosystem #startupindia #vvism #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh