“The world is awaiting next Facebook or Google from India,” Rohit Prasad, author, Startup Sutra

Friday May 24, 2013 , 4 min Read

Sutra — The startup ecosystem in India is maturing nimbly. Startup stories are doing the rounds in every corner of India, be it entrepreneurial Gujarat, tech-savvy Southern India or the NCR corridor. However, the decision to break shackles of conventionalism and turn into entrepreneur is still as difficult as it was some years back. Will I make it? What if I fail? Will life be ever the same?...the questions continue to play on everyone’s mind.

YourStory recently caught up with Rohit Prasad, an academic entrepreneur at heart and a professor at Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. He is also the author of the book Startup Sutra. Startup Sutra comprises of true stories of two sets of people who survived the turbulent times, turned around the tide of the nature, bravely stirring through a combination of unflinching attitude, discernment and kismet.

“Indian ecosystem is suppurating faster than ever. We are witnessing startups in eCommerce, consultancy and tech product. It is like the baby boomers era of 1950. However, entrepreneurship is not as glamorous as it looks. My book takes a reality check at this,” says Rohit. Rohit feels that entrepreneurship is not just about building or selling products, it is about realizing dreams and self fulfillment. When the idea of writing a book on entrepreneurship entered Rohit’s mind, he consciously decided to stay away from a celebrity entrepreneur. He would rather celebrate the story of the entrepreneur next door. The real essence of entrepreneurship, Rohit says, lies in the travail to nurture a product where the only cynosure is your faith.

Advice to entrepreneurs

Rohit — Along with the domain knowledge, entrepreneurs also need to be strong in networking. Personal relationship within and outside the profession is very important for the success of the venture and in a never ending quest for self development. For those who startup with close friends as co-founders, he says, they should be very sure that all the co-founders chase the same rabbit. Be it key decisions to expand, establish a franchisee or launch a new product, if the founders are not on the same page, then the times ahead could be full of troubles.

Failure, he says, is untouchable in India and that dissuades many potential entrepreneurs. But the perception is changing. Failure, after the well-publicized stories of Indian business tycoons, is considered just a part of journey.

What ails the ecosystem in India?

The ecosystem had taken off well in certain pockets of India like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and NCR Corridor. But what really ails the ecosystem in India, according to Rohit is the dearth of the angel groups and funding -- that are in plenty in countries like the USA. The existing angel groups are also not very big in size. And with an increasing number of startups coming up, the funding gap continues to grow. Because of the expediting costs and office rents, startups are coming up from Tier II towns like Madurai, Coimbatore and Thiruvananthapuram.

The world truly awaits technology startups like Microsoft, Google and Facebook to come from India. There are very few product based startups in India that build products that can be truly called world class and one of the reason for this can be attributed to the mediocre quality of education imparted in India. Poor linkage of education with industry and lack of innovation are another factors aiding the conundrum.

“The 21st century belongs to India in terms of market, ideas and youth. We have to hit the right deck to be the next Silicon Valley,” concludes Rohit.

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