MARCH 202019he World Wide Web ushered in sweeping changes from business, economics to our lives. Some of the changes have been positive while some less so. One of the positive changes is demolition of entry barriers for anyone with an idea to transform it into a profitable business proposition. This shepherded in the era of start-ups globally including India from around 2014-15 triggering a vibrant culture of entrepreneurship in the country. Indian tech startup ecosystem closed more than 700 deals across different segments with a record high investment of US$9.4 billion, a growth of almost 1.35x when compared to total investment few years back. Investments have been marked by big ticket funding like the US$1.4 billion invested in Paytm by Softbank, US$1.4 billion in Flipkart by Tencent, Microsoft, eBay, Naspers and US$404 million in Ola by FalconCapital and SoftBank Group. However, funding does not automatically mean success nor is it a measure of a startup's achievement. It just shows that there is investor interest and the startup maybe doing something worthwhile. Not withstanding the fact that market valuation of Indian startups has grown significantly over the past four years, a recent study, "Entrepreneurial India," by IBM and Oxford Economics found that 90 per cent of these fail within the first five years; the common reason is little focus on business basics. Lack of skilled workforce and funding, inadequate formal mentoring and poor business ethics were also cited as reasons for failure.This is where the ecosystem of a start-up and large enterprises comes in. There was a time when big organizations where either underestimating the challenge posed by startups or being overwhelmed by the disruptive force of nimble footed start-ups which launched products and services at a blistering pace or at price points that made competition virtually impossible. Startups have long seen corporations as the enemy. Big companies have the resources to create formidable entry barriers. However, those same corporations envy WHEN DAVIDS & GOLIATHS LEARN TO WORK TOGETHERBy Amitabh Ray, MD, EricssonAmitabh has extensive experience in working on global assignments in corporate strategy, management consulting, program & engagement management, change management & systems integrationTCXO INSIGHTS
< Page 9 | Page 11 >