$8B of venture investment went into Indian startups in 2015 alone! Four firms–Ola Cabs, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm–accounted for 32% of these investments. However, on the M&A side, things have been slow. Since 2011, there have been approximately 190 transactions valued at a total of $2.3B (about $11M per deal), placing India way behind the U.S., Israel, and other startup...
January 20, 2016
The Road to Startup Exits – Think Next Roundtable Recap
20January
January 19, 2016
3 Days to remember : 200+ Entrepreneurs , Inspiring mentors and a life-changing workshop – @PNGrowth 2016.
19January
It was an eventful Friday morning – 7 buses with more than 200 attendees made their way to Infosys campus, Mysore, the venue for a 3-day entrepreneurial retreat. #PNGROWTH 2016, was handcrafted by iSPIRT foundation and academia professionals of Stanford and Duke school of businesses for Indian Start-ups. Each bus was assigned a bus facilitator and Pallav Nadhani, who set the ice-breaker...
January 19, 2016
#StartupIndia Action Plan — Reactions from a “normal startup”
Last weekend witnessed a glitzy startup event. In many ways, this event was like every other startup event in India — founders of “unicorn” startups dispensing gyaan to the rest of us mortals interspersed by some disinterested folks featuring in hackneyed panel discussions on done-to-death topics in front of an uninterested audience who had suddenly rediscovered the hidden joys buried deep in...
January 18, 2016
Startup Action Plan: Glass Half Full
18January
Innovation and entrepreneurship are cornerstones of sustained economic growth. The Government has done well to recognise this by launching the Startup India Action Plan. The event was an unprecedented and resounding success. The energy in entrepreneurs, leaders of unicorns, seasoned investors, Government officials, etc was intense and, for most part, contagious. No doubt the Startup India Action...
January 18, 2016
#StartupIndia Little Action Plan
There was palpable excitement all around on June 16th as the much awaited Startup India policy was to be unveiled. Scores of intrepid, passionate, dedicated, knowledgeable volunteers from multiple groups had worked tirelessly for very many months advocating the need for the administration to recognise startups as legitimate 21st century vehicles for creating jobs and wealth in society. For this...
January 18, 2016
Prof. Sharique's(Stanford’s) email to internal iSPIRT community
Dear iSPIRT Family, I wanted to follow up with an update from the PNgrowth team at iSPIRT. A little less than a year ago, a small group of iSPIRT volunteers proposed something unconventional: We would run a bootcamp to jolt 200 growth stage entrepreneurs from India to aspire to category leadership. The bootcamp would combine learnings from strategy courses taught at Duke and Stanford with...
January 15, 2016
Sign Startup Bridge Petition and promote Stay-in-India Checklist
15January
Today’s Economic Times carries an article about “The Dark Secret of India’s Start-up Boom”. This implores the Modi Government to make bold moves regarding the onerous regulations that startups face. iSPIRT is also part of the new Startup Bridge India campaign, which urges the Indian government to adopt best practices from around the globe to help startups start, flourish and exit. We’ve...
January 15, 2016
The Dark Secret of India’s Start-up Boom
The Modi Government has made bold moves on the world stage. Its now time to make one at home! By Mohandas Pai & Sharad Sharma New-age startups are making waves. Flipkart has redefined retail. Ola is changing how we travel by taxis. PayTm is at the threshold of disrupting banks. Forus Health is attacking blindness with gusto. Eko is bringing financial inclusion to millions. Team Indus is on...
January 15, 2016
Start-ups and think tanks are game-changers
It is time for us to embrace new-age start-ups and local think tanks for India to prosper. Human development indicators improve rapidly when countries learn to provide health, education and financial inclusion more effectively. Incremental increases in expenditure on welfare schemes and subsidies do not bring about this change. Plugging the leakages in government distribution helps, but it is not...
January 14, 2016
Tech Startups: Here Is A Chance To Take Your Rocketships To The UK
14January
The Great Tech Rocketships Initiative (GTRS) 2016 is back again – only bigger and better. It is all set to introduce high-potential tech companies from India to the best in the UK. The initiative was started last year with the intent to provide a platform to startups with innovative and disruptive ideas that have the potential to scale up globally. If you think you have the potential to grow...
