NASSCOM 10,000 Startups serves up inspiration and innovation with the Startup Product Series

In 2013, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) started its ‘10,000 Startups’ initiative, to aid the growth of 10,000 startups in the country over the next 10 years. The objective is to foster the ecosystem, build entrepreneurial capabilities, and drive significant value and change in the tech startup ecosystem. This is to be achieved via the F.A.M.E. model:

• Funding: The NASSCOM 10,000 Startups programme helps shortlisted startups raise money from a wide range of investors- angels, micro VCs, VCs, and Government funds.
• Acceleration: Once shortlisted for the programme, startups can work with the top accelerators. The NASSCOM 10,000 Startups programme presents unprecedented opportunities and a fast track into the top accelerators for shortlisted startups.
• Mentoring: Focused group workshops are held for the shortlisted companies on Product Management, Go-to-Market Strategy, Pitching and Industry Insights from the experts.
• Enterprise connect: Shortlisted startups get opportunities to showcase their product to top executives across industries and explore strategic partnerships, alliances, M&As , etc., and

In the five years since its inception: 10 warehouses have been incorporated; ~ 300 start-ups have been incubated; $40.7 m funding has been raised; 800+ high impact events have been conducted in 22 cities; >35,000 attendees have attended these events; and 2,470 startups have been impacted, of which 330 received funding, and the rest have received mentorship.

As part of its continuing effort to encourage entrepreneurship in the country, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups is powering the Startup Product Stories series. The NASSCOM 10,000 Startups team and YourStory will identify 26 extraordinary startups in the country and highlight the amazing products/solutions they are building. Each fortnight, one startup will be showcased on the YourStory website and have the chance to tell the world about their amazing startup story. For the startups, this will open new avenues to network and scale up as they continue to work closely with 10,000 Startups to bring their innovation to the world.

“Effective stories have the power to become big voices for startups and hold immense potential to capture the attention of important stakeholders. Through “behind the venture” stories, we aim to help startups connect with potential co-founders, employees, customers and partners, investors, and advisers among others. We are pleased to partner with YourStory to bring forward these awe-inspiring stories.”, KS Vishwanathan, Vice President, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups.

The NASSCOM 10,000 Startups advantage

Over the past four years, the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups initiative has given startups the opportunity to partner with incubators, angel groups, venture capitalists, accelerators, and investors. More importantly, it has facilitated matches between the right fund and investor and the right startups. It has also partnered and sponsored sub-industry events across the country to support the cause. These include creating social awareness, workshops, hacks, tech talks, promoting whitespaces, delegating talks, summits, and demo sessions.

Some of the initiatives include:

• Startup Warehouse Program: A joint initiative between NASSCOM 10000 Startups and state governments. It is a connected network of startup hubs across the country to help startups jumpstart their idea with the help of infrastructure, knowledge-sharing and connections. The Startup Warehouse Program has connected over 2470 startups with mentors, investors and accelerators / incubators.
• Virtual Program/Warehouse Program: The NASSCOM 10,000 Startups Virtual Program is designed to help startups who are product ready and have reasonable traction. The wide industry connects and huge partner network ensures that the right opportunities are created for these startups. The programme is a series of small and big sessions and workshops such as Mentor 101, Investor 101 and other equally impactful initiatives to ensure that the startups scale up to the next level.
• NASSCOM Industry Partner Program (NIPP): NIPP is India's largest industry-backed corporate innovation programme, supporting open innovation initiatives. It is designed to foster sustained engagement with startups, developers and the broader ecosystem.

“A lot has been said on how well the Indian startup ecosystem is faring. There were over 1,000 new tech startups added last year. The momentum that we witnessed in previous years continued last year too, piquing the interest of corporates along the way. A lot of corporates have stepped up their efforts to support startups through their accelerator programmes, collaborations and investments. This certainly points to positive implications for the ecosystem and is a big encouragement for startups to continue to focus on technology led innovation.”

India leading

India is one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in the world and stands in third place – neck and neck with Israel. It moved to 60^th position in the Global Innovation Index (up from 81 in 2015), and ranked second in the growth rate of fintech adoption amongst digitally active consumers. We also have the highest proportion of digital talent – 76 percent, compared to the global average of 56 percent.

There were nearly 5,200 startups in the Indian ecosystem as of 2017, and some of the sectors have shown remarkable growth (7 percent YoY).

Health-tech

28% Growth YoY in overall number

Fintech

31% Growth YoY in overall number

eCommerce/ Aggregators

13% Growth YoY in overall number

Over the next 52 weeks, we will showcase some of the people who are writing impressive new chapters in India’s startup growth story.

Watch this space and be wowed by all the innovation that is taking the startup world by storm