70% of startup founders aged less than 30 years

Hyderabad: The third edition of Manthan Samvaad held in the city on October 2 at JRC Convention Centre opened to an overwhelming response with over 1500 members participating in the event.

The event was organised by Manthan Foundation in association with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. It was indeed a feast of fresh thoughts, ideas and intelligent conversations.

R Chandrasekhar, President of NASSCOM, was one of the guest speakers at the event who spoke at length on the ‘Start up Revolution’ in the country.

Can start ups be seen as India’s silver bullet? Can start ups boost India’s economy? These were some of the key areas the NASSCOM President shed light on.

“The conditions in the country have changed; the ease to do business has brought about a change in the start up world. There are close to 115 million smartphone users in the country which takes everything online.

Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai account for 65 per cent of the start ups following Hyderabad which contributes about 8 per cent,” he said highlighting the demographics of the country with 65 per cent below the age of 35 which will contribute to the start up world.

Technology, innovation and digital media have been at the core of such foundations. The NASSCOM President further added that e-commerce has witnessed maximum investment as everything in today’s world is online and that is the reason for this surge.

He quoted examples from a survey stating that 300mn of consumers have created online identity in the year 2014. “An evolving ecosystem of VCs, PEs, angel funding and incubators support network is precipitating the growth of Indian start ups.

Eighty such business incubators and accelerators have already provided seed stage support to over 450+ start ups, which increases productivity,” he said.

“Driven by smartphone adoption a huge consumer base in India is coming online. Technology driven start ups are trying to disrupt every aspect of a consumer's lifestyle.

The passion which young people have, the way they are bursting with ideas that gives us a whole look of the bright future,” he remarked.

Growth of Indian start ups has created significant opportunities for all associated stakeholders. They have generated employment opportunities for the young.

R Chandrasekhar provided insights on the vast opportunities this world opens for those with bursting ideas. “Close to 85, 000 have been provided with jobs today.

Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality movies, cloud computing- which is another big area, education; ad tech and health tech are emerging as key areas in the startup world.”

Start ups can transform India and make living easy in rural areas. “Twelve technologies can have a trillion dollar impact and transform India in the next decade.

Start ups are leveraging technology to solve problems that have been plaguing the country for decades. Power, infrastructure, healthcare, agricultural productivity (providing farmers the access to an app where he can decide the selling price),

financial inclusion (using mobile to transfer money in rural areas), skilling and employment, and education are some of the areas where apps can help bring the change,” he opined.

Money, marketing machine and finance is what start ups lack. He said that funding in Indian start ups is said to grow and that the average valuation of start ups in India has increased at a higher rate even outpacing US, stressing that valuation in Hyderabad is high, next to Bengaluru.

The NASSCOM President also underscored that the young have innovative ideas but they need to be given a platform to exhibit their innovations.

“Seventy per cent of start up founders are less than 30 years. Out of which, 35 per cent of them are engineering graduates and 26 per cent are MBA graduates.

Successful entrepreneurs are coming forward to support other emerging start ups. The tide has turned in the opposite direction, brain drain to brain gain- people who have settled abroad are returning to India to start new businesses,”

he said adding seasoned veterans are also coming forward to join start ups and setting up their own ventures. He highlighted the critical role of the government and said that government policies and initiatives should be start up friendly.

“Everything is not hunky-dory, there are many challenges constraining the growth. Complex and stringent policies stop young entrepreneurs from pursuing their dreams,

there have been some efforts made by the government at the centre in the ease of doing business. We are at the inflection point, with the Indian middle class becoming consumer of digital solutions,” he stressed on the steps government needs to take.

The NASSCOM President concluded by saying that we need to nurture them and create a conducive environment for their growth as this could be our silver bullet and help the country progress.