I was surprised to read today’s newspapers. Two poster boys of Indian startups are asking for protection. Though I do not have the depth of experience and exposure as they or their investors have in running and scaling up a business, some very fundamental points struck me. I thought I will articulate them here. I am sure there will be battery of people who will either agree or disagree with me. However as a financial services professional and being a part of the startup and growth stage eco-system, I thought it will be good for me to pen them down. These points neither oppose or support anyone. These points are only to make you think and make your own judgement!
- Indian startups till date are one of the key representatives of growing capitalism of our country. They represent a fresh air of entrepreneurship and capitalism that was overdue in the country plagued by crony capitalism and protectionism. These are the very startups who wanted to defy the old order and create an equal playing field by promoting concepts such as “Customer first” and “survival of the fittest”. Why are suddenly these startups, specially the poster boys feeling the heat and want the Government to do exactly the same that they opposed?
- If Government of India follows what they say, how will the startup environment flourish? why would the new age entrepreneurs start a company in India when, on one hand, they hear “ease of doing business” and on the other hand they see protection given to big boys – earlier from the old economy and now from the new economy!
- I always thought that these technology poster boys took away the clients from offline sellers by using large amount of capital. So what is the issue if some other online business takes away their business. Airbnb also took away the business of craigslist.
- Why did all the VC and PE funds invest so much capital in these businesses? I always believed that they thought that capital is going to be the main differentiating factor for reaching scale – even more than the technology they have since technology arbitrage does not remain for too long in most of the B2C technology oriented businesses unless there is a substantial IP.
- It is fair to say that the businesses outside are able to raise money because they have profitable businesses? I believe this reference is to the cloud service run by the E-Com giant which funds other businesses. Profitability is the bedrock of any business. Though there can be losses in the earlier years, there needs to be clear visibility to profitability in the near future. If most of the Indian startups are unable to reach profitability even after multiple rounds of funding, why blame overseas businesses?
Each of us will have multiple views on whats happening. However the fundamental question to all of us is how do we ensure that the progressive nature of our entrepreneur eco-system is not disturbed.
About The Author:
Shrirang is a founder and CEO of ORIGA Leasing one of the first FinTech asset leasing companies for high growth oriented companies with philosophy of access to finance. ORIGA Leasing is instrumental in providing highly innovative asset leasing solutions to in the sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, sanitation, water and services. It is one of the first leasing companies to extensively leverage technology for providing complete Asset Life Cycle Management (ALCM) to its clients.
Prior to ORIGA, Shrirang has 15 years of experience in areas of investment banking, fund raising, business advisory and structuring. He was part of niche teams at Clearwater Capital Partners, ANZ Investment Bank and PwC. He also had his own investment bank. Shrirang is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and graduate in commerce from Mumbai University.
Shrirang Tambe | Founder & CEO | ORIGA |
shrirang.tambe@origaleasing.com | India Mobile: M: +9198216 19019 | www.origaleasing.com
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