indianotes

When I finished college in 1983, start-up was not even a word! There were no VCs and no angels. The few brave entrepreneurs were suppressed, heavily taxed, lacked access to capital and were viewed suspiciously by our socialist leaders.  The Babus decided who could make what, where and in what quantity – and who they could sell to.

Fast forward to today.

Last year (2024), more than a thousand start-ups collectively raised 10+ billion USD. And this does not include PE funds, nor the informal sector. There are around 2,000 Indian and foreign VC funds and AIFs registered with SEBI. Angel investor groups have blossomed as the first wave of successful entrepreneurs become investors. According to reports, more than 10,000 individuals have invested via VCs or Angels. India’s start-up ecosystem is now the world’s third largest, after the US and China. According to Inc42, there were 122 Indian Unicorns in June 2025, collectively valued at $345 billion – or 8.6% of our GDP!!

Several factors have contributed to this. These include liberalisation post 1991, growth in capital markets, an ever-larger domestic market, and integration with the world via the Internet.

However, the biggest change has been psychological and societal.

The psychological shift was triggered by the runaway success of IT companies (of which Infosys was the icon) in the early part of the 21^st century. These were not built by rich people, but by educated professionals from modest, middle-class backgrounds. Suddenly, entrepreneurship became mainstream – as thousands of IT and IT services founders created serious wealth.

More entrepreneurs joined in. Success stories in early e-commerce (Flipkart) attracted more funds; which in turn attracted more entrepreneurs. Add to this, the rapid evolution of technology – Internet, cloud, IoT, analytics, machine learning and all that crazy stuff – created newer, larger and diverse market opportunities. It’s no longer just IT or IT-enabled services. Today’s start-ups span e-commerce, SaaS platforms, biotech, deeptech, fintech, foodtech, enviro-tech, AI and even farming, space and defence!

Suddenly, every second kid dreams of becoming a famous (and rich) start-up founder. And our society is responding to this: IITs and other universities have start-up labs and accelerators, media and government play up the successes – and founders get ever younger.  Zepto was founded by two 19-year-olds in 2021, and is worth close to $6 billion today!

Little wonder that kids across the country are now thinking – Why not me?

But what I find most remarkable is the scale of ambition or audacity of these kids. Some are even building or launching satellites or rockets. How crazy is that?

Only a handful of companies globally have achieved such things.

What’s even more interesting is the age of the founders. Prominent space start-ups like Pixxel, Bellatrix, Agnikul, Skyroot and Digantara were all started by “kids” in their twenties.

These are huge shifts that should not be underestimated.

Many start-ups will not succeed. That’s life! However, that does not seem to deter the thousands of super-ambitious young Indians who are willing to give up a cushy corporate job or an H1B to build companies. Money, too, is no longer a problem – in fact, there is a surfeit of risk capital.

All that we need to do is get out of the way (read: unnecessary taxes and restrictive legislation) – and I’m confident our youth will transform the economic landscape of India.  

What do you think?