Kuch machao yaar, it's getting boring :)

As we bid farewell to the challenges of the past, let's delve into why 2024 is poised to be a game-changer for the Indian Startups! 🚀 In 2020, the world weathered the storm of COVID, followed by unprecedented quantitative easing. We then saw that in 2021 the bull run came soaring. Investors, fueled by the appetite for riskier assets led to a funding boom for startups as salaries soared. Fast forward to 2022, and the music is about to stop. The realization that the Fed would hike rates to curb inflation means that funding is about to dry up as big money will be invested away into debt/T-Bills. Though demand remained robust, the stock market felt the impact as JPow raised the interest rates. Late 2022 and 2023 saw the tech landscape experiencing layoffs, and startups facing significant headwinds. It’s a wonder if anyone raised this year. But here's the twist—2024 looks brighter. The stock markets have rebounded to all-time highs, signaling that things may be on the rise. Despite geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Iraq, the macro outlook for India shines bright. For Indian Startups? VC Funding is still here to stay. So keep your heads down and keep building. From what I am hearing, it is set to make a roaring comeback. There is now significant rationality in the funding ecosystem leading to realistic valuations. However, this revival will come with a plot twist. Newer companies, fueled by fresh funding, are set to rise, while most of the lofty valuations of those who raised in 2021 are about to crash and burn. So buckle up folks. Let’s see where it takes us. What do you think? 🤔

Let's ignore what's wrong with startups, keep this an optimistic thread. Which startups make you excited about their future? The ones that have cracked product, GTM, model, or something else. Name the best Indian startups :)

Let's not rant over filpkart or others as tech startups. They are Tech enabled. Let's share out some tech startups registered on Indian soil with over 100 million dollar revenue. And discuss, why are you not creating one (if you have a vision and figured problem-solution-market)? Eg: China in its developing time had many. Phone companies, circuits companies, gadgets companies, LED TV companies, semiconductors, agritech machines, plane manufacturing companies. Tik tok was a simple idea, literally most of you could have built the tech, couldn't you? Then, still why weren't we able to carry such big vision and execution. India received funds very well to replicate tiktok, yet they failed in execution and differentiation. I struggle to accept a few thoughts; 1) We are less disciplined, less dedicated, and less visionary compared to the general population of China. 2) Maybe we are more western than the western itself. We adopted and copied developed nations present and skipped their past hardwork and dedication. 3) We have grown too practical and not ready to hear impractical ideas. Share yourself similarly on related topics.

I might sound stupid here but please hear me out. The market is crowded with so many startups in every domain. Older startups are much more stable, on track to become profitable or are already profitable with a huge market share. Not to forget the legacy companies with deep pockets and years of R&D and experience. Along with the competition, funding is another major pain point now because of various reasons we all know of. Also, somewhere I feel we don't face a lot of burning problems we faced a few years back which gave birth to a lot of startups who were actually solving some problem. Most of the new age startups out there are not really solving any problem but just offering premium products or services targeting just the high earning individuals. Most of the new ideas are repetitive with no major differentiation or value add. Because of all these reasons, I feel we might see very few new startups in future let alone successful ones. Share your thoughts please!

Another startup that could have been something had it not been for the bull market and Tiger investing unnecessarily. Over $66Mn raised, and now it's over.

Lately, I have been thinking very deeply about my college days when the Flipkart story had inspired the entire lot of my batch at IIT-D. We were starry eyed college kids who wanted to do something innovative in India and break away from the "three" most popular moves after IIT: 1. UPSC 2. MBA 3. MS/PhD abroad I proceeded to then work in various Indian startups and noticed an alarming thing. I began to realise a pattern across all my stints: The initial founding team does exceptional work innovating, they excel at what Thiel calls "Zero to One", the act of creation. I will concede that although most founders fail to innovate by often copying what worked in the west but the initial founding team usually excels in execution. It allows for initial traction as it breathes a fresh breath in the\ space that they are operating in. Almost always, when Product Market Fit is "achieved"(whatever that means), the founders begin to deploy insane amounts of funds into growth. By definition, Growth is not a bad thing. But, I have been noticing that across all startups I have worked at( all raised funds from the largest global funds) that it comes at the expense of product building. And during this era of hypergrowth, the product starts to stagnate while focus becomes marketing and sales. I often felt that this was temporary. That once we reach enough scale, we would start to innovate again. But time and time again, the ability to innovate atrophies over time. Rather than building something that has enduring value by executing faster than anyone, the focus becomes achieving growth at all costs. This ultimately leads to two outcomes: 1. The startup cannot sustain this growth and retention begins to look dire. The churn becomes unbearable and the startup goes out of business. 2. The startup gets acquired by someone bigger, allowing founders and investors to believe that they created value where none existed in the first place. I am completely dejected at this.

Hello everyone, this is Blue Panda. I recently joined Grapevine see lot of folks disappointed with current economic condition and also see lot of folks saying it will stay like this. Good news - I already have started seeing winter fading and we should be back to good times sooner. Lets spread some positive energies around us. I see startups fixing their issues, VCs being more sane while deploying capital. India macro story already playing out. Govt doing better policy making etc. This has already starting to show in business returns when i analyse companies across listed corporates, SMEs and startups Though what will not change in the next bull run as well is the capitalist nature of our world wherein maximising equity return is the key goal of most leaders. I get a chance to spend time with folks who have accumulated massive wealth and none of them have done it through their regular pay cheques but equity. If you are ambitious want to create wealth make sure you get sweat equity commensurate to efforts you putting in. Thats the best way to grow! Few options below - Join a startup negotiate a good ESOP deal - Startup yourself and be the founder - Start a side hustle. Equity trading, Insurance distribution, blog subscription/influencer, goods trading, educational content etc depending upon your past strength - Upskill yourself earn more salary and start taking more equity position in small cap companies (consult an expert and dont do it randomly) You can follow me for regular dose of positivity. Thanks :)

In a landmark deal, Silicon Valley powerhouse General Catalyst has acquired Venture Highway, a seed-stage investment firm with a track record of backing winners like Meesho and Mobile Premier League. The Deal: - Rare instance of consolidation in the Indian VC market - VH to be rebranded as General Catalyst India - GC plans to invest $500 million to $1 billion in India over the next three years - Acquisition driven by desire to build strong local team and tap into local LP network But the move also raises important questions. Will this trigger a wave of consolidation in the Indian VC market? Will other global firms follow suit and snap up local players to gain a foothold in the country? And how will this influx of foreign capital shape the trajectory of India's startup ecosystem? As the dust settles on this landmark deal, one thing is clear: India's startup scene is entering a new era, one where local innovation and global capital are increasingly intertwined.

Always long on India 🇮🇳 Image Credits: The Arc

I have been following the Indian startup scene for a while now, and I have to say that I am not impressed. It seems like most of the startups here are nothing more than people chasing quick bucks and the entire scene is a circlejerk of people doing everything, attending these stupid conferences and gatherings than actually building something game-changing. Every founder is chasing nothing more than a valuation just so they can exit and there’s nothing wrong with it but don’t sit on a moral high ground talking about building business etc. There’s a reason we don’t see startups here penetrating west because most of the founders in the Indian ecosystem reek of ego and it’s all because we don’t judge business on merit but based on the degree the founders have. We all can count stupid startups draining money all because they are from some IIT or IIM or now some fancy degree from Ivy and yes it takes effort and hard work to reach there. Still, it automatically doesn’t translate to you naturally being better than a guy working his ass off to make up that difference. Also, just because you used your dad’s money to start a 'Venture Firm or be an angel investor after college doesn’t mean you’re an expert at everything. You’re just adding to the noise and the hype that is already too much in this space. You’re not helping anyone but yourself and your ego. So a friendly reminder can we all actually focus on building things based on hard work and merit instead of glorifying this circlejerk. Can we stop being obsessed with funding rounds and valuations and start being obsessed with solving real problems and creating value for customers and society? Can we stop being influenced by the media and the hype and start being influenced by the data and the feedback? Can we stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution?