14 Feb Why Startups are important for India’s Development?
Today we see funding for Startups in all sectors i.e. Fintech, Deep tech, Transport Tech, Edtech, Health Tech and Enterprise Tech among many more. In practically every industry, technology has become an enabler.
7 Feb Can more be done in early stage funding for Edtech startups in India?
India’s online education market is expected to go from $247 Mn in 2017 to $1.96 Bn in 2021*. However, we continue to see a lack of investor funding in this space and a large untapped opportunity still to be explored. Most startups in this space have focused on test preparation, K-12 and skilling, with many having similar business models...
17 Jan Why choosing the right investor partner could be crucial for your Start-up?
Bringing on board the right investor partner can be one of the most important decisions you make as an entrepreneur. While raising funds is not easy and many times you may not have a choice of the investor you get money from at a time when you need it the most, researching the investors you are approaching for capital is important...
27 Dec Why we need more Problem-Solving Start-ups in India?
I was recently reading an article by Prof Michael D Alter, from the University of Chicago, on Startups forget about the technology. He wrote “In the startup world, it isn’t necessarily the best product that ultimately wins out. Rather, it’s the best way to solve the problem.”
22 Nov Do You Need Venture Capital Funding For Your Startup?
In the first quarter of 2019, $75 billion was invested globally into venture capital backed startups. Traditionally technology has been linked to venture capitalists and we have seen several well-known technology companies that got created in the early 1990’s create tremendous value for venture capital firms. Today again we see several disruptive venture-backed unicorns drive the interest of entrepreneurs to raise startup funding for small businesses...
15 Nov Why we need more mentors for entrepreneurs in India?
Some of us have been fortunate to have had business mentors in our careers that have changed our thinking or taught us invaluable lessons. Being an entrepreneur is a lonely path and having a mentor with you in your journey can provide a great value add in several different ways. I’ve been fortunate to have had several mentors in my career and some of the key learnings that have stayed with me have been:The importance of having a vision: One of the first things my mentor asked me was “what are you trying to create?” He taught me the value...
20 Sep How to generate opportunities to develop an early stage business?
As per the website www.bebusinessed.com, the first entrepreneurs can be traced back to nearly 20,000 years ago with trading being one of the first entrepreneurial ideas. During my career I’ve had the opportunity to connect with several people aspiring to be entrepreneurs. Today most conversations around early stage funding in India, only focuses around tech-based start-ups. However, there are many ways to generate opportunities to develop an early stage business. InnovateThis is one of the most popular and hardest way to become an entrepreneur. After all, how many people can be the next Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates?...
13 Sep Questions around Mentorship & Fund raising for First Time Entrepreneurs
Becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy decision so through this blog I would to address some basic questions that many first time entrepreneurs have asked me over the years. 1. How do I find Angel investors to start my business?There are several angel investor networks, accelerator programs and individual angel investors that one can approach today. But the first thing you need to think about is, what type of angel investor do I need for my business? Would my business be best served by bringing on board an industry veteran or domain expert? Or would it be better to...
10 May The power of letting go – how constantly disruptive innovation is here is stay
One always talks about letting go, in regard to relationships, when we are in a bad marriage, or a friendship ends, or someone hurts you. But I believe that this skill has uses beyond that. Isn’t Letting Go important when a new technology comes in and disrupts an old one, or when a competitor comes in and pushes us to completely rethink our business model? If we don’t Let Go, how can we start walking on the path of building something new again?Although funding for start-ups and entrepreneurs is the key for business growth, the point of discussion here is...
14 Sep Embracing Uncertainty
We all usually have a life plan. Starting from our teenage years, we start planning when we will get married or be in a relationship, start our career, earn a certain amount of money, own a house, travel the world, reach our ultimate goal of what we want to be in life and a lot more. For a lot of Asians, we usually also have a life plan made for us, in the minds of our family and friends...