MAY 20258LTHE RISE OF 'ANTI-VC' STARTUPS REDEFINING SUCCESS IN INDIABy Snigdha Das, Correspondent, siliconindia Columnike monks amid a gold rush, a growing tribe of Indian founders are rejecting venture capital's siren song - and finding a quieter path to success. In a world where the Silicon Valley creed of scaling fast, massive funding rounds, and unicorn valuations are the norm, a subtle trend is reshaping India's startup universe.Many Indian entrepreneurs are ditching the venture capital (VC) playbook and carving their paths without a rupee in investor cash. Call it rebellion or call it sanity these founders are rewriting startup calculus. While others chase vanity metrics, anti-VC companies are quietly building real businesses that don't need investor life support.From Zoho's billion-dollar software empire to Zerodha's dominance in the stock brokerage world, these companies are proving that a startup can succeed and even thrive without ever stepping into a VC boardroom. They're redefining what success means in the Indian startup landscape, and in doing so, they're challenging an entire industry's assumptions.· The VC Illusion: Why Some Founders Are Saying No While the Startup India Initiative aims to foster innovation, many founders are opting for the anti-VC approach. All startup mixers across Bangalore and Mumbai show similar excited announcements about companies having secured their Series A investment while their value increased twofold within six months or are setting out to three new international markets.However, the glamorous media attention and celebratory champagne do not hide the serious statistic that approximately 90% of startups backed by Venture Capital end in failure. Many of the celebrated unicorns survive not on profits, but on successive funding lifelines. The Govt of India Start Up Scheme has provided resources, yet many entrepreneurs find success through the Anti-VC model. While the Startup India Scheme aims to foster innovation, many founders are opting for the anti-VC approach.Shocking Truths About VC Funding· 90% of VC-backed startups fail· 73% of founders lose control to investors· 18 months - Average time between desperate funding rounds`VC money is like signing up for permanent stress,' admits Mailmodo's Ayush Verma.Personal StoriesSridhar Vembu (Zoho):Sridhar Vembu, a co-founder of Zoho, frequently spoke
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