siliconindia | | June 20189W e are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in how we will be working, driven primarily by the new automation technologies, new tools of connec-tivity and new businesses that are changing the way we function as an individual and as a busi-ness. All this put together is quickly changing the way our world works. By a simple definition, startup is a company trying to solve a problem where the solution may not be obvious and success may not be guaranteed. So, soon-er you start thinking about the rapid changes happening in the startup ecosystem around you, more prepared you are going to be.With phenomenal progress in the start-up ecosystem in past few years, India is said to be the 3rd largest hub in the world after USA and UK. In recent years, India is emerging as a start-up hub with tremendous growth measured through establishment of thousands of start-ups. Some of these ven-tures have achieved very impressive market valuations and emerged as market leaders. Indian Start-up scenario espe-cially around digital commerce is continuing to evolve for better. Moving away from deep discounting strategy as the primary mode of market acquisition, the business environ-ment is now maturing to push a strategy which not only helps in consumer acquisition but at the same time sets a platform for long term sustainability of business venture. Many of the new start-ups are now focusing on solving real problems than just copying global ideas. Some highlights below would help us understand things better: When it comes to start-ups in India; Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR & Mumbai have been the largest hubs. But interesting-ly in 2017, more than 200 start-up ideas emerged from Tier II/Tier III cities which shows there has been a rapid growth at the grass root level in smaller cities like Jaipur, Ahmed-abad and Pune.Global interest around newer technologies like Big Data, Block chain & Artificial Intelligence further led to inception of more than 1000 tech based start-ups last year. The focus of most of the upcoming ventures has been towards utilisation of technology in widely consumed categories like health, fi-nance, education, clean energy & agriculture. An interesting change worth noticing in the start-up scenario is the age group of founders. More than 50% of the founders are above the age of 30. This is because more founders in the age group of 31-45 years are moving away from their corporate jobs to set up new ventures. Over 13% of start-up founders did not have any technical or relevant work experience related to the venture they launched. Again a sign that entrepreneurs are getting out of their comfort zone to explore challenging business opportunities.With start-up scenario evolving and maturing with time, we have seen a lot of mergers and acquisitions. Some small players struggling to make a mark in the market were taken over by bigger players and some good ventures in the ecom-merce space were taken over by even bigger global and In-dian players providing good exits for the stakeholders. There could be few defining trends that may accelerate the pace of change further:Fintech & Healthtech are expected to evolve much faster over next few years. With introduction of new financial & startup policies & investor's interest in the sector, this sector is further bound to grow in 2018. Healthcare solution is the need of the hour as Indian consumers are becoming health conscious & budding entrepreneurs are expected to leverage on the same.AI, Big Data & Machine Learning - Use of Artificial intel-ligence for personal interaction, self-perception & predicting consumer behavior faster and better could be one of the big-gest trends of 2018. It would be interesting to see how many leading & new digital brands leverage the power of machine learning to unlock its potential.Hyperlocal Ventures ­ This is one of the sectors that is ex-pected to make a big comeback. With a lot of evolvement and changes taking place amongst the existing players, there are higher chances of new ventures to enter this business with new and improvised versions.In this rapidly changing business environment, startup leaders would have to demonstrate drastically different skill sets to navigate the organizations in uncertain environments. Instead of merely relying on predetermined strategies, founders' most valuable assets are going to be their ability to quickly & proactively think of new solutions to define the evolution of their industry. To adjust to this pace at which the start-up ecosystem is evolving, it is very important for all new and existing start-ups to keep transforming. It is going to be extremely tough when markets outside change at a much faster pace and people within the company don't. Leaders would have to be comfortable with chaos in this increasingly chaotic business landscape to work well in uncertain conditions. There is no alternative but to grow fast. Instead of merely relying on predetermined strategies, founders' most valuable assets are going to be their ability to quickly & proactively think of new solutions to define the evolution of their industry
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