India is a country of contrasts, with many successful global companies in the tech sector as well as a large socio-economic divide. There are also challenges in food security, urban pollution, and inadequate access to health and education resources.

But Indian entrepreneurs are seizing these problems as opportunity areas to apply their creativity, and have come up with a range of inspiring solutions. India is now home to the world’s third largest pool of startups, and cities like Bangalore are major sources of AI talent.

Sectorial opportunities

Indian founders’ capabilities for developing products for the world market has significantly increased. They are also targeting sectors like defence, beyond the business and consumer markets. Even areas like the building and launching of satellites has opened up to entrepreneurs, spurred by India’s recent landing of a lunar probe on the south pole of the Moon!

The layering of digital infrastructure for biometrics and digital payments – such as Aadhar, UPI and ONDC - bodes well for startups that can leverage their strengths and services. This will favourably impact speed of customer onboarding, trust, and scale.

Vast opportunities lie in untapped markets beyond the first wave of offerings such as ecommerce conveniences for well-off consumers in urban India. Many Indian entrepreneurs are targeting the deep-tech sector as well. Generational AI like ChatGPT is just the tip of the iceberg, and 2023 will be the year of impact of deep-tech.





Examples

At MXR.world, we regularly showcase Indian startups and connect them to investors, domain experts, talent firms, marketers, lawyers, mentors, and other ecosystem enablers.

For example, Gouthami TS, CEO of Aeronuts, shared her startup’s journey in providing aeromodelling kits to students. It gives aspiring engineers and hobbyists hands-on experience via drone models and DIY kits, along with mentorship support. Based on a subscription model, over 750 students and five institutional partners have been onboarded so far.

Abhijeet Chaudhari, Head of Operations at Varnaaz Technologies, presented his startup’s astronomy education solution called Tare Zameen Par. The mobile digital planetarium helps students, particularly in rural India, to aspire to a scientific career and nurture a passion for astronomy. The products include an inflatable dome, mobile science lab, and science kits.





MicroDegree, co-founded by Gaurav Kamath, has developed a multilingual IT skilling platform for learners in India beyond the large urban clusters. With funding from 100X.VC, it currently offers coding and job-ready skills in the Kannada language at an affordable price. Thanks to educational support by industry experts, a number of its graduates have already been placed at reputed firms.

MeetMyCoach, founded by Anirban Sarkar and Rama Krishna, is an online platform where students and coaches from around the world meet for live sessions. The platform also tracks performance, in 30 subjects like maths, music, sports, and dance. Its quarterly revenues have now crossed US$50,000, from 300 coaches and 700 students.

Perceived, founded by Uttam Kumar Pandey, has developed experiential learning solutions for education. Five educational organisations have already signed up as customers, and 25 schools have seen a demo of the VR solution. It has received awards and recognition from the EdTech Startup Challenge and AWS EdStart.

SchoolKnot, founded by Sikender Shaik and Satish Sawra, is a software solution for school management, from admissions and libraries to communications and transfer certificates. Its clients are schools of sizes ranging from 200 to 13,000 students. These include Vignan Group, Jayshree Periwal Group, Delhi Public School, and Solitaire Global School.





Entrepreneurial success

A range of experts have explained how prospects for success and speed depend on the complementarity of skills of the startup co-founders. Together, they must show an effective blend of tech, business and design aptitude.

Founders should develop a deep understanding of value delivery and value capture in the startup phases of discovery, validation and velocity. At IPO stage, startups should have managements systems to help deliver the predictability that public markets demand, and manage expectations of shareholders.

Humility and the ability to learn quickly are key requisites for founders. Startups can fail due to character gaps, and not just skills or finance gaps. Even in the quest for speed, core governance must not be overlooked.

A number of tactical support solutions has emerged for founders, at launch as well as scale stage. This includes tech partnerships and professional services. The investment pool has broadened to include more angel investors as well.





The road ahead

In sum, experts advise aspiring founders to find the balance between Think big and Be grounded. The ride matters as much as the destination; the race, jockey and horse are equally important.

Founders must demonstrate their commitment to hard work and the long haul. The startup journey is full of ups and downs, and founders must even be prepared to go through near-death experiences like approaching the brink of bankruptcy.

Trends and developments to watch include patent filing support for product startups, the role of boards of directors and advisors, the importance of respecting customer’s data privacy, and opportunities for tech startups to address the MSME sector.