How Powerful Entrepreneurship in India is Today [2022]

Entrepreneurship in India is booming today, and how. Only a decade ago, this word meant something to a handful of people; the others had neither heard about it nor found it worthy of their time and effort. You cannot blame those people because that mindset was a part of the Indian start-up ecosystem.

There was a dark road to entrepreneurship without proper guidance and mentorship. No incubators were available, and there was little or no government support. Those who even thought of venturing on this treacherous road dreaded what was to come.

Well, there is news. Those roads have been lit, cleaned up and prepped to welcome entrepreneurs and their zeal with open arms. Those on the welcome committee are the likes of the government, thought leaders and leading entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship in India Today

As per an article published by economic times, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognises 61,400 startups as of 2022. Only a decade back, this number was less than 1000 startups! Point in case, there has been an enormous growth in the Indian Startup story, most of which has happened in the IT industry. 

You can find a similar growth trajectory regarding angel or VC funding, IPOs, incubator units, or activities to boost Entrepreneurship in India. When these entrepreneurs succeed in building a unicorn from scratch, it leaves an impact on the budding entrepreneurs.

You will also agree that mass media channels like Television significantly impact the Indian audience, and reality shows like Shark Tank India have brought entrepreneurship into homes. More importantly, it teaches people to think like entrepreneurs, imbibe an open mindset, and achieve their dreams. It tells you and me that everything is possible.

Why Entrepreneurship is Important

I think this one is a no-brainer, but I will still give a crack at it for you. Remember the good old days when you heard stories from your uncles, distant relatives and dad’s friends that they have forever worked for one company and eventually retired? They took pride in it, and society patted them on their backs for their loyalty, stability and the blah. Better yet, matrimonial mergers and acquisitions took place because the fellow had a government job (that would last an eternity).

Fast-forward to Covid 2019 (I’m not too fond of this word, and neither are you); we learnt first-hand what overnight changes could mean. People lost jobs, were locked out of their homes and were forced to look at alternatives. Then covid-preneurs were born out of necessity. Guess what? Most liked their newfound freedom, work, business or self-employed state. Everything between the one-job for life till Covid was stable growth in entrepreneurship; only the pandemic fuelled it like fire.

Are you still asking why entrepreneurship is important? Let me be blunter. Remember the number 61,400 startups? Imagine each of these created only one job per startup. That would be 61,400 new jobs in the economy. Now imagine if 1% or 61 startups became a unicorn, and each one of them created 5000 jobs. You do the math yourself, and I am not spoon-feeding you the number. Let us also not forget the job creation that happens as a byproduct of these startups in ancillary industries. (I have not even used the word GDP so far).

Talking about the non-monetary impact of entrepreneurship, it solves consumers’ problems and makes their lives easy. Entrepreneurship teaches us to be self-sustained, creative and resourceful. It improves our standard of living and helps increase our purchasing power. (I think I am taking this towards economics, stop me) Lastly, while it is great to expect the government to create jobs for us, what if that doesn’t happen? What are we doing for ourselves and our family? (time-out)

The Business Environment

If you compare India to other countries, we still have a long way to go in terms of ease of doing business. Per a world bank report in 2019, we stood at an embarrassing 63 or 62 places behind the top destination. Before you decide that the above statement contradicts my whole article here, let me ask you to pause for a moment. Yes, we have a long way to go, but remember, we have also come a long way from where we were.

If my memory serves me right, we were at 140+ years ago. Bazinga! Now 63 from 140 is a significant improvement. Context is everything, my dear future entrepreneurs. This 50% drop towards betterment hasn’t happened overnight, and it has occurred due to the buzzing entrepreneurial environment and spirit around us.

Today, there is a dedicated government initiative called StartupIndia. This initiative aims to mentor young minds and, mold them, sharpen their business acumen through innovation and design. It seeks to hand-hold and steer the Indian startup ecosystem towards success. 

Some of the Current Schemes

There are various government schemes to cater to multiple areas of entrepreneurship – for example, the MeitY Scheme (PDF) aims to give a bigger platform to startups who have demonstrated a proof of concept and already have a proven solution. This scheme’s key objective is accelerating product-based startups to achieve scale. 

If you are a non-tech, small-scale startup in a traditional business, for example, manufacturing, then fret not. A dedicated Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) helps such units scale in India. All you need to do is find the category under which your business falls (micro, small or medium enterprise) and avail of the benefits. For example, auto-loan approval of up to x amount, admin and government charges waive-off, and so on.

If you are looking to bypass the government schemes and merely looking for an angel investor, try Indian Angel Network (IAN). This group of leaders aims to invest in startups that can scale, have a high barrier to entry and have a management team that can bring relevant skills to the table. If you think this is you, then you have found your investor. (almost)

Apart from these schemes and platforms, there are various other ways the current environment can support you. All you need to do is determine whether your business is eligible by default. For example, if your startup is about promoting Indian toys, then you can benefit from the Atmanirbhar program of the government. It is a more significant part of the Make in India Campaign.

Entrepreneurship as a Career ​

How can entrepreneurship be a career option? Does this mean you have to “work” as an entrepreneur for the rest of your professional life? Does it mean you have to own a business or a startup at all times? Hold on to those thoughts and keep asking. I won’t answer, nada! (kidding)

Well, one can be an entrepreneur all their life and work in an organisation too. In short, entrepreneurship is more of a mindset than a go-to physical destination or a position. For example, some people take complete ownership of their work at their organisations, and these could be leaders of a department or partners at a firm like the Big Four. However, for your sake, let me share with you more options.

Entrepreneurship in India so far has been about creating new businesses from scratch and solving problems. And that is how it happens worldwide mostly. However, if you wish to pursue entrepreneurship as a career, you can choose from one of the below roles.

Entrepreneurship Career Options

Start with where you are. In our company, you can seek leadership roles and learn the ropes. There will be a time when you will “own” your process. How you lead your department or individual projects will help you hone your entrepreneurial skills. You will have your budget (and you will fight for it), work on P&L and deliver results. You can start your consulting firm or work as a freelancer when you become good at it.

Another alternate career option is to join startups and use your skills to help them grow. You might think this won’t benefit you and will, you ambitious fellow. When you work for a startup, you learn a lot and do things you weren’t supposed to, exposing your skill set and stretching it further. Over a while, you better understand how different functions come together and the problems they face. You become a solution-oriented leader, and voila! – you are an entrepreneur.

When you become a seasoned entrepreneur (and I showed you how, without even starting a business), you can become a mentor to startups. You retain your newfound skills and sell them to make good money. Eventually, you may even start your startup. You see, this is what I call career progression in Entrepreneurship.

Lastly, you can become a serial entrepreneur when you have been there and done that. Many entrepreneurs identify the gap, create solutions, build a business and make an exit. They find it highly satisfying and rewarding. The idea of bringing an idea to life and seeing how it impacts people and their lives is inexplicable.

Entrepreneurship Qualities

What are some of the qualities that help you get to any of the milestones mentioned above? How come 50% of the startups fail within the first four years of their operations? How come serial entrepreneurs see success after success yet, others struggle in their first venture? It depends on the qualities the founder and the leadership team bring to the table.

Integrity is an unmissable quality for anyone but doubles up for an entrepreneur. The founder always rubs off their integrity to their leadership team and the organisation as a whole. The organisational culture helps everyone build a strong business with a thoughtful approach toward work ethic.

Often, a would-be entrepreneur spends days and months identifying their big business idea. They often look at how novel it is, its revenue potential, and how far they can scale it. What they forget is to consider their passion. There are only two ways: either do something you are passionate about or become passionate about what you do.

I will combine this one – perseverance, faith and the ability to smile at failures. It may come across as a generic combo, but I tell you, without it, your entrepreneurship journey will not be complete or successful. Unfortunately, we only see and observe success stories. But the real lessons from the failure stories (that no one publishes). You need to be an Iron man, my friend.

Entrepreneurship Skills

So, Prits, you are just dragging this now. What is the difference between qualities and skills? Aren’t they the same anyway? I am trying to answer the more significant question by addressing qualities and skills. Are entrepreneurs born or made? Cha-Ching! Don’t I always make sense? You may have the qualities of an entrepreneur that could make you a natural leader. But what if you don’t have it? Start with the necessary skills, and then build on your personality!

Here are some skills that can help you set off the right path to entrepreneurship.

Networking

Whether starting or already dusted with the nth round of funding, you should continue to hone your networking skills. You already know you win half the battle when you know the right people. Networking could help you in any part of your business, whether legal, commercial or technical, and it can help you solve problems faster and get things done.

People

Ideally, people skills should be on top of everything else. A founder who is easygoing, approachable and has hands soaked in the mud will always succeed at the end of the day. Human resourcefulness is critical internally and externally, and getting things done when they need to is no mean feat. As a founder, you want people to bet on your idea and ethos.

Solution-Orientation

You can expect to bump into ten thousand issues during the lifetime of your startup. As an entrepreneur, can you cry over spilt milk every time? Can you constantly blame others or situations for every issue you face? Do you know how it can impact your team and company? As an entrepreneur, you need to be solution-oriented, and it would help if you imbibed this with a top-down approach. This skill can help you propel your business into a unicorn sooner.

Business Ideas in India

There are many opportunities to explore today if you wish to start a business in India. Investing considerably or getting funded before you take off is unnecessary, and you do not need to arrive with a big bang (like you have always imagined). Here are some of the things that I can think of off-hand.

Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is booming in India, and at a rate that you will need to check on Google separately (laughing out loud). It requires you to invest nada; start as a lone wolf. Identify what you are good at within the discipline—for example, SEO, PPC, Content Writing, Web Analytics or Design. Get your hands dirty and become a freelancer. Eventually, you can build a team and a company around it.

Dog-Caretaker

Welcome to the West, in India. People love dogs more than others, and the new community advocates the loyal breed. Why not start a doggo-care business and become the pied-piper of Mumbai? I know couples who run a daycare for dogs. Since people are back to work now, they need someone to take accountability for their dogs.

Online Courses

Since Covid, learning and development have had an impetus online, and people are consuming knowledge like never before. Get online if you are passionate about your mojo and equally eager to see others succeed in the same field. Create engaging, fun and educational courses under your brand or for others.

Travel, Events, Wedding Specialist

I prefer to club all of these together as they are somewhere related. If you are the devil himself in the details and can work around some tight deadlines and a budget, this gig is for you. Whether you curate travel itineraries for a group, organise corporate/social events, or get people married (for good or bad), this joy in work belongs to you.

Influencer

There is no business like the influencer business these days. Though this work is not for all, you can still carve your niche. It requires no upfront costs. All you need to do is identify your strength and talent, research more on it and present the same to a target audience on a chosen social media platform. Voila!

Consulting

There was a time when the word consulting made us think of larger MNCs. But today, the good news is that one can be a consultant in any field of their choosing. One can be an independent consultant in real estate, finance, sales & business development, branding, strategy, etc. Consulting can be a thriving business where your only investment is hiring great talent for your team.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship in India today is not only powerful but empowering. It allows one to think outside the box and brings a vast mindset shift that regular employees cannot imagine. Most importantly, entrepreneurship helps you become a job creator rather than a seeker. Entrepreneurship is the most valid form of creating a solution out of the blue, from scratch, solving problems, creating jobs, and helping the economy.

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