Theme:

While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to go public, startups are new businesses that want to grow significantly beyond the solo founder. A startup is a young company established by one or more entrepreneurs to create unique and irreplaceable products or services. It aims at bringing innovation and building ideas quickly. A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. Initially, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential.

News & Data on Startups:

A recent report published by CBI Insights concluded that India was among the world’s top 3 largest startup ecosystems, closely competing with the US and China. Indian startups received significant investment, with as much as USD 4.4 billion infused into various ventures between 2022-2023.

Furthermore, 2022 witnessed a rise of as many as 14,000 startups in India. With these figures in mind, it is evident that India is a hub for significant startup activity. There are mainly three main reasons that can be attributed to this. Such include,

• Low-cost skilled labour
• National and international funding
• Growth opportunities

Startups & Flagships:

• Startups have actively contributed to Government’s flagship programs such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY scheme) to improve urban infrastructure and service provision.
• Furthermore, DPIIT has recognised startups which are spread across 56 diversified sectors.
• More than 15% of these startups are in sectors such as Agriculture, Healthcare & Lifesciences, Automotive, Telecommunication & Networking, Computer Vision, etc.
• Over 7,000 recognised startups are in sectors like Construction, House-hold Services, Logistics, Real Estate and Transportation and Storage contributing towards urban concerns.

Top Successful Startups in India:

1. CRED- FinTech

• Founded by Kunal Shah in 2018, CRED is a platform that facilitates all credit card payments.
• CRED recently introduced a new feature called Coins, which gives users free coins each time they pay through the app.
• Cash may be charged for supplies or workshop participation.
• The startup is headquartered in Bangalore and has 11.2 million users.

2. Flipkart- eCommerce

• Flipkart has become quite the household name in the Indian subcontinent.
• It was first launched in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. It amassed wealth and fame in a short span of time, thus making it of the top 10 startups in India.
• Flipkart is an online marketplace where sellers and buyers can easily interact.
• In return, Flipkart charges royalties for products sold through the platform.
• Initially started as an online bookstore, Flipkart expanded to sell mobile phones, home goods, and more. With over 80 million items, there are categories.

3. OLA – Carriers

• OLA, one of India’s top startups, is a leading ride-hailing company with 125+ million users.
• It was first launched in 2010 by Ankita Bhati and Bhavish Agarwal.
• Fast forward to 2019, the company acquired Food Panda and opened its first food delivery service.
• For each vehicle booked on this platform, Ola charges taxi drivers a certain amount. Besides advertising and fancy subscriptions, this is its main source of income.

4. Meesho – Store

• Meesho is a reseller platform that allows small businesses to connect with their target audience. It offers features such as logistics management and payments to vendors.
• Founded by IIT Delhi alumni in 2015, it reached a market valuation of US$2.1 billion.

5. PharmEasy – Healthcare

• Dharmil Sheth introduced PharmEasy in 2015 to digitise the healthcare industry. PharmEasy is a healthcare delivery platform that has simplified the whole healthcare setup in India.
• It allows you to connect with local pharmacies and have medicines and health equipment delivered to your doorstep.

6. Nykaa – Beauty Retail

• Launched in 2012, Nykaa has very quickly made its name among the best startups in India, and for all the right reasons. It is a home-grown startup store that typically sells products related to beauty, fashion, and wellness, both online and offline.
• The idea was to make these products easily available to teenagers and young adults.

7. Zomato – Online Food Ordering

• Founded in 2008 by Pankaj Chaddah and Deepinder Goyal, Zomato has emerged as a prominent food application.
• It operates in 24 countries worldwide and boasts 32 million monthly users. Given such huge popularity and high performance of this platform, it is regarded among the top startups in India.

8. Boat – Lifestyle

• Founded by Aman Gupta in 2016, Boat is yet another example of a successful startup in India. It specialises in electronic goods ranging from earphones to travel chargers.
• Very few companies have been able to provide top-notch quality of these electronic items at affordable price points. This is one of the many reasons this company has exponentially grown among Indian youths.

9. Paytm – FinTech

• Paytm is a one-stop solution for all financial needs, from bill payments to mobile recharges and money transfers. It was first introduced in the year 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
• Starting as a simple mobile wallet service, it has now become a leading giant in the FinTech industry, with over 90 million users.

10. Byju’s – Educational Technology

• With over 10 million users, Byju’s is an online platform that specialises in providing educational courses to students. Tencent and Sofina are among the many investors in this ed-tech startup.
• It was launched by Byju Raveendran in the year 2015 and has quickly emerged as a leader in the educational technology sector.

Conclusion:

India’s startup market is expected to reach $5 trillion by 2024 instead of just one domain. In addition, the Indian government has also introduced various new policies to help entrepreneurs and enhance the overall growth of the Indian startup ecosystem such as the creation of state-run incubators, tax breaks and other reforms.