Startups don't need gyan, 360-degree support to scale up is the key

The ecosystem needs to be built in India considering the 360-degree support that is required at various stages of creation, developing, building, mentoring, funding and scaling-up of startups by budding entrepreneurs, feels Shyam Sekar S, a business growth enabler, virtual CMO and digital marketing and startup expert. A product of Malaviya NIT, Jaipur and Harvard Business School, Shyam Sekar, a well-known startup mentor, is the founder, chief mentor, virtual CMO at Startup Xperts, a business growth and consulting company. In an exclusive interview to Bizz Buzz, he says the present ecosystem needs a lot of changes to encourage innovation among youngsters.

With rich domain knowledge in the world of startups, what is your take as to how our startups are shaping today in India?

India has come a long way in the last decade with startups and is now ranked 3rd in the world, besides US and China. I have been part of this ecosystem for over 8 years now, and am able to feel the undercurrents far more vibrant than what I have seen earlier. The word startup itself wasn't familiar in the industry and also the social stigma associated with failure has been a major factor that contributed to India getting onto this bandwagon later.

New business avenues have always been part of India's growth story be it in the manufacturing or in IT. With a lot of awareness and encouragement from Government and private initiatives, the number of startups have been steadily on the rise year on year. The number of recognised startups have increased by almost 100-fold in the last 5 years. India has about 84 unicorns now and it is predicted to go up to 120 plus in the next 3-4 years. Ecom, Fintech and SaaS accounts for 40 per cent of this. So India is in a great space and has become an exciting market for startup investors as well.

How is the startup maturity here, and what are some of the major challenges that startups face today?

Good news is that many have started to realise that 'entrepreneurship' is also a career choice. Entrepreneurship means risky business but then it can feed their passion to explore higher potential which is of great attraction for the youth of India today.

There is a lot of media coverage, be it in the press or social media. This brings a lot of awareness and motivation to try to do something else besides looking for a job post their graduation. Many working professionals have taken up entrepreneurship, started new ventures and quit their regular jobs. This trend is on the rise.

The biggest challenge that I have seen them facing, is that of validation. Most business ideas aren't validated. They look at incorporating entities, setting up operations without even focusing on the basics which I call as 'business fundamentals'. Customer identification and discovery is a big challenge for startup founders. Besides, many are strong technically/technologically or have great experience in the core operations, but lack marketing acumen, strategic thinking and smart execution tactics. Unable to raise funds at the right time is another problem that many good startups are grappling with. In addition to this, being unable to get the right guidance at the right time is a critical need for most first-time (first-gen) entrepreneurs. There could be many issues but these are on top of mind from our experience.

What are all the support areas that startups require?

Startups would require support right from the start, which is from a thought process stage. How do they need to look for new ideas; how to come with innovative solutions to problems?

The problems that the entrepreneurs state may not be the 'real' or even if so, 'not attractive' enough. The compelling need isn't established most times. Or if they wish to charter in a new territory as in 'the blue ocean' then understanding customer experiences and benefit play is paramount for which they need support from mentors/experts. Mentors play a valuable and big role in shaping up entrepreneurs' ideas, validating, and helping launch them in the right direction at the right time. Though there are numerous incubators and accelerators most do not have sufficiently qualified mentors on board who have the experience and the expertise to guide startups across various industries/ segments. The ecosystem needs to be built considering the 360-degree support that they might require at various stages–creation, developing, building, scaling-up. The fundamental support is to provide them with guidance in the areas of idea generation, validation process, and in building the right team/structure to put the plan into action. The next step is to help them with incorporation, regulatory compliance if any, organizational setup, business process, leadership, and create a prototype or MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Support through customer discovery, customer acquisition, and retention are important elements in every startup's business cycle. Every startup's need and support requirements are unique and hence it has to be a tailor-made solution.

Can you suggest ways to improve the startup ecosystem?

Yes certainly. There can be more initiatives from the Government as well as from the educational institutions in building entrepreneurs at the root level. Rural entrepreneurs also need support as their needs are quite different from that of the startups in cities. They require support locally and at every stage to manoeuvre challenges and move forward. Startups don't need gyan anymore. They need practical guidance and solutions to the problem that they typically face. Gone are those days with the one-size-fits-all approach in providing generic management consulting. Every startup is unique and so the solutions and guidance have to be tailored to suit their specific needs. Without this it will be a superficial addressal of the problem with a generalized solution. Generic best practices are good to share from an awareness and knowledge perspective, but custom consulting and specific guidance to their needs is critical for their growth, if not for their survival. More passionate entrepreneurs cum mentors are the need of the hour, who can commit to build this startup ecosystem as startups are the future of our nation. It can provide greater employment opportunities, varieties, solutions to numerous problems that we face, and also in generating wealth.

How are Startup Xperts positioned and helping startups in this process?

Startup Xperts has been in the business for almost 8 years now. At the start of our venture, the industry wasn't even familiar with the word 'startup'. Thanks to a lot of new initiatives by the Government and also various players who have contributed to building this ecosystem. Since we have seen the journey of 100s and 1000s of them, we understand the nuances and can spot the need or their requirements swiftly thereby guiding them in the right direction. Our focus is primarily on the business fundamentals and strategy formulation for startups and SMEs across industries. As a business growth consulting firm, we support aspiring entrepreneurs in idea selection, idea validation, pre-launch, launch and post-launch strategies, helping them build a scalable and profitable business model.

For SMEs and established startups, we help fine tune their strategy, customer discovery and acquisition tactics, digital marketing execution support, organizational realignment, performance monitoring/tracking, review and action steps to be taken to ensure startups move forward with their goals and aspirations. We are Startup Xperts try to bring in the breadth and depth of experience and expertise which is not easy to find in today's market; and this is our unique strength that the beneficiaries appreciate.

What have been your personal commitments to this startup ecosystem?

Our passion to build a robust startup ecosystem prompted us to kickstart our Startup Xperts initiative almost a decade back. Besides providing support for various startups and SMEs through mentoring and business consulting, I am personally associated with numerous entities and associations as their startup mentor or advisor. For various startup events I have taken part as a judge or jury for the pitch sessions, act as speaker/ panelist/moderator for various events across India. Besides I am part of many Government programs that includes the EDII_TN where I have been one of the senior mentors coaching/training 1000s of entrepreneurs and the aspiring ones over 5 years now. I am also part of various startup initiatives of IITs, and various educational institutions across the country. My aspiration is to provide a one-stop 360-degree support thru' Startup Xperts. It is a work in the making as this is always a moving target. I thank those who have provided me with the opportunity to be associated with such a vibrant and high potential startup ecosystem!