Outlook Business Magazine - November 2023

In this issue

START-UP OUT PERFORMERS 2023

THE MARKET LEADER

Our rankings begin with profiles of the best performing growth-stage start-ups in five major sectors. We also put the spotlight on three emerging sectors. Through company financials and other data, we analyse why these are the hottest start-ups

3 mins

Entrepreneur's Balance

The entrepreneurial roller coaster can often get turbulent and the lesson I have learned over the years is that the delicate balance between unit economics and growth can calm the choppiness.

4 mins

It is Never Too Early to Pay Attention to Unit Economics

India's start-up ecosystem, comprising founders, investors and experienced start-up professionals, has lived through multiple phases in its journey. It has seen the euphoria of high growth and rising valuations. It has also battled the challenges of high cash burn and funding squeeze.

4 mins

The Start-Up World between IITs and IIMs

Is it necessary for a founder to be an alumnus of India's elite institutes, such as IIT's or IIMs? One way of analysing this question is by re-orienting it to look at the outcomes: \"Will an education from an elite institution make me an elite founder?\" Or, to consider another problem-solving paradigm: \"Is a founder really a founder unless they have received the stamp and branding of these institutions?\" Or a more accurate one: \"What is it about becoming an entrepreneur that requires such credentials?\"

3 mins

The Peril of Prioritising Start-Up Expansion over Positive Cash Flow

Show me the money!\" screamed the character played by Cuba Gooding Jr in the Hollywood hit movie Jerry McGuire. He may as well have been saying this to start-ups. It encapsulates a fundamental principle in the valuation of businesses: the importance of positive cash flow.

4 mins

Behind Every Successful Start-Up, There is a Diligent Mentor

In today's entrepreneurial landscape, launching a start-up has become more accessible than ever before. With more and more incubators, micro-VCs and seed funds making capital accessible, the rise of low-code and no-code tools and availability of early adopters, be it consumers or businesses, the journey from ideation to initial product development has become easier.

4 mins

A TALE OF 5 CITIES

The lure of reigning start-up hubs, like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi NCT, Chennai and Gurgaon, remains strong even as several Tier II and III cities vie for a larger share in the growth pie. A conducive environment, built by availability of wider talent pool, infrastructure incubators, mentors, investors, etc., lures new and aspiring founders to these cities

5 mins

Rise of the NEXT RUNG

Cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Noida+Greater Noida are attracting entrepreneurs and investors looking for alternatives to Top 5

4 mins

HOW CITY CLUSTERS MOVE START-UP GROWTH STORY

THE OUTLOOK START-UP Outperformers 2023 identified eight city clusters for the purpose of ranking the best start-up ecosystems in India. The Delhi NCR cluster, which includes Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida, tops the list.

2 mins

Symbiosis in Start-Up Why City Ecosystem: Clusters Matter

In the bustling avenues of Shenzhen, a group of innovators huddle together in a co-working space, creating the next big product in the \"Silicon Valley of Hardware\".

3 mins

'Our Start-Ups Will Navigate through Global Challenges'

As a minister of state holding the dual portfolio of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar holds a vantage point in viewing the rise of tech-enabled start-ups in India. In an interview with Abdul Haleem Sherif, he delves into the dynamic growth journey of India's innovation ecosystem and the pivotal role that the Central government is playing in shaping its trajectory. Edited excerpts:

4 mins

ARJUN MOHAN: Edtech suddenly became everyone's favourite whipping child

Behind the fall of the edtech sector is a string of factors, like drop in demand due to reopening of offline classes, failure of start-up founders to adapt to the post-Covid market requirements, mounting losses, etc. In fact, the fall of edtech unicorn Byju's from grace happened during this period. Arjun Mohan, who has worked extensively in the edtech sector, fears that all the negative narrative around it might affect the perception about online education, one reason why he decided to write a book about the sector

5 mins

ORGANIC USER GROWTH: The Slow and Steady Approach to Success

In a booming economy like India, where high-speed internet penetration has reached almost all of the 1.5 billion people, it is only natural for start-ups to go after a large user base from the getgo. But, as we have seen in many cases, the cost of user acquisition in business-to-consumer start-ups can often outweigh the potential revenue brought into the fold by new users who stay. This is especially true when companies are trying to establish new business models.

3 mins

Missing Social Enterprises in the Larger Picture

When both the market and the state fail to clear the demand for certain services and products, the intervention of civil society organisations and social enterprises becomes inevitable. Whether such enterprises will indeed emerge depends upon the ability of local disadvantaged communities to articulate their unmet needs into some form of demand. They can also arise if the existing enterprises or new start-ups recognise these unmet needs and decide to meet them affordably and inclusively with or without third-party funding.

4 mins

Rome Was Not Built in a Day

An article in The Economist, written early in 2020, was somewhat pessimistic about the country's start-up story. This pessimism, while possibly well-meant, was perhaps a little too harsh. India has demonstrated unimaginable resilience in the face of adversity-whether it be in adhering to its cultural moorings through millenniums of migrations and invasions or in surprising a world sceptical of its success as a democracy. There is little doubt that its budding start-up story would be equally, if not more, resilient.

4 mins

WHAT LED TO URJIT PATEL'S RESIGNATION? AN INSIDER EXPLAINS

There have been resignations in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but governor Urjit Patel's in 2018 over policy differences was a rare event in the history of the central bank, writes former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in his book. He details the frustration of the government with the RBI under Patel and the circumstances that eventually culminated into the latter posting his resignation on the RBI website

4 mins

THE FARMER ON A LONG DRIVE

Venkatram Mamillapalle, country CEO and MD of, Renault India Operations, is passionate about horticulture he has a farm with more than 300 varieties of fruit trees. He is equally passionate about travelling and reading

2 mins

HIGH FIVE: 'IT IS IMPORTANT FOR BRANDS TO BUILD REAL CONVERSATIONS'

Advertising has its own dos and don'ts. Rajdeepak Das, chief executive officer and chief creative officer of advertising and marketing company Leo Burnett for South Asia and chairman of the South Asia creative council at multinational advertising company Publicis Groupe, talks about the five most common advertising mistakes made by Indian companies

1 min

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