Want to be a True Blue Entrepreneur? Be Start up Wise

What are the fundamental differences between a startup and a business? Please elaborate and cite a couple of examples if possible.

Startups focus on innovating absolutely new products or adding new features that enhance an existing product in the market. Unlike traditional businesses, startups are set up for accelerated growth and expand geographically within a very short time. The need to scale faster makes startups more susceptible to risk-taking, unlike traditional businesses that do not necessarily focus on innovation or fast expansion. Furthermore, startups are largely backed by venture capital organizations, wherein they are required to state the growth indications and demonstrate how the investment will foster the startup's value. Given the risks involved and being largely asset light, banks mostly avoid giving loans to the startups. Funding for traditional businesses, on the other hand, comes largely from banks or different lenders.

The two most apt examples of startups are Ola and Oyo. Ola offers app-based cab services in more than 250 cities in India and beyond without owning any cab. Oyo, on the other hand, became the world's second largest hotel chain in just 6 years in 2019, with 1.2 million rooms across four continents without owning a single hotel.

What are the various processes/ stages entailed in the incubation of a startup? Are there any distinct differences in the incubation processes of startups pertaining to different domains? For instance will the incubation process of a technological startup be different from a financial startup?

Startup incubation process is predominantly designed for early stage startups. These programs usually span across 6-12 months where they are provided extensive support to build their product and make themselves ready for the market.At Assam Startup, the startups are incubated for a period of 6 months (extendable based on the maturity of the startups), with an option to use the state-of-the-art co-working space at The Nest. They receive business mentoring from the best-in-class mentors from IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, helping them build a robust business model so that their products/services are aligned perfectly aligned with the market. While the monthly capacity building sessions give the startups general insights into the business nitty gritty, each startup is assigned a dedicated mentor who helps them navigate the challenges effectively. We also providethe startups with key networking opportunities so that they could explore funding and collaboration possibilities, and find access to new markets. Meanwhile, we try and connect them to various technical institutes for product development and testing, as well as to CA firms and legal agencies to take care of company registration and various licensing legalities. The incubation process culminates with a Demo Day, wherein the top performers pitch before investors of national and international repute.

Given that incubation predominantly focusses on building the business, there isn't much of a difference in the incubation process for startups from different sectors.

A broad observation is that startups have a strong reliance on technology. Can you explain how and why this is happening? On a parallel vein would you agree that the proliferation of technology and smart phone penetration has propelled the startup culture both in the state and the country as a whole? Please share your thoughts.

Startup and technology go hand and glove. In fact, the concept of startup was laid during the dot com boom in the Silicon Valley in the mid-90s. Ever since, startup innovations have been popularly associated with technology.

A startup may not necessarily offer a technology product. But it definitely leverages technology to make their products/services better or reach a wider market in no time.

Given the disruptive nature of a startup, they have to rely heavily on technology. Technological infusions help the startups to grow faster, reach wider and acquire more customers at breakneck speed.

Startups and technology share a symbiotic relationship. If technology has propelled the startup culture, the startups have also been instrumental in the technology evolution in the 21st century.

Are sustainability and social impact the key hallmarks of a good startup? Are there any other hallmarks?

Innovation and scalability are the hallmarks of a good startup. By dint of their innovative and scalable offerings, the startups are lending a huge hand in generating livelihood opportunities and reducing economic disparity. More and more startups are aligning themselves with the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the UN. These goals are aimed towards poverty eradication and economic inclusion, mitigating environmental hazards and exhaustion of natural resources, and addressing myriad impacts of climate change. Meeting these goals further helps the startups effectively tackle the challenges related to scarce natural resources, weak financial markets, limited buying power and dearth of qualified talent.

Talking about social impact exclusively, the world has witnessed the rise of a new breed of for-profit startups who are focused on striving consciously, systemically and sustainably to solve a local or global community need. These are specifically termed as social impact startups.

In your view what are some of the key personality traits that a person requires to start and sustain a successful startup? What are some key 'dos' and 'don'ts' for startup entrepreneurs?

The first and foremost quality of an entrepreneur is problem-solving mindset. Case studies of successful startup founders demonstrate their deep power of observation and knack at identifying problems that direly need solutions. They are focused on solving a problem rather than obsessing over their own innovation.

Successful entrepreneurs are driven by a sense of curiosity rather than assumptions based on their previous learnings. They are never tired of seeking new opportunities and are ever adaptive to change. They effortlessly marry dynamism with perseverance. A successful startup founder is never bogged down by lean patches.They are ready to take risk, act fast in their decisions and find innovative ways to tackle the challenges.

They are masters at tracking their competitors, minutely observing the latter's strategies, and accordingly tailor their own business strategies to stay ahead in the game.

A good entrepreneur knows exactly the kind of team he/she wants to drive the venture towards success, and hires accordingly. He/she also networks extensively. They know that entrepreneurs thrive because of the people they know rather than what they know.

Last but not the least, a successful entrepreneur is always abreast with technology and never shies away from leveraging it to increase efficiency.

What have been the key contributions/incentives from the government of our state and country in terms of facilitating the startup ecosystem? What are some of the 'still existing challenges' and what in your view is the way forward?

There's no two thoughts about the Government of India's efforts to develop the startup ecosystem in the state. With Startup India leading the way, various state governments have launched startup initiatives with an objective to encourage and catayse startups in the respective states.

According to a report published on Startup India, 4000+ Startups have benefitted in the last year through various programs of the Central Govt. Rs. 960 crore of funding has been enabled to startups through various schemes, while Rs. 828 crore has been sanctioned for developing the infrastructure. The Central government has introduced various schemes to bolster entrepreneurship and support the startups financially. Startup India Seed Fund, Stand-Up India, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Atal Innovation Mission, Samridh, MeitY TIDE 2.0 AND NIDHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence are only a few names among the numerous schemes introduced by the Central Government to develop and encourage entrepreneurship in India.

The Government of Assam is no further lagging behind in facilitating the startup ecosystem in the state. Assam Startup is deemed as a pioneering and most ambitious initiative in NER, designed to nurture a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the state. Apart from building a world-class infrastructure for incubation – The Nest – the Government of Assam has introduced MASI (My Assam Startup ID) towards providing financial support to the startups. Startups found eligible for MASI can apply for Idea-to-POC grant of Rs. 5 Lakhs and Scale Up grants up to Rs. 50 lakhs. To date, 45 startups who had applied for financial benefits under the My Assam Startup ID (MASI) have been sanctioned monetary remunerations worth Rs. 4 crores.

If we are to point out an existing challenge, it would be devising a model to take the entrepreneurial culture to the remote towns and villages of the country. To date, the startup trend has remained largely confined to the urban centres. Nevertheless, works are in progress to address this challenge as well. For instance, the Ministry of Rural Development has launched an initiative – NRETP Incubator Program – driven by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, to provide incubation support to the SHGs and women entrepreneurs from the rural belts of Assam, Bihar and West Bengal.

Do you think that the startup culture/ecosystem can be enhanced if the school and college education system becomes more innovation centric than what it is today? What are some of the other interventions that society as a whole can embark upon to consolidate the startup ecosystem?

Absolutely. Innovation is core to a startup. And innovation does not happen overnight. The academic institutions have to play a pivotal role in honing and nurturing the innovative mindset of the youth. If we reflect upon the startup portfolio at Assam Startup, a considerable number of these startups had developed the rough version of their products in the college labs as projects. This goes on to show the role that academic institutions have to play in building an innovation-centric ecosystem. In fact, the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam recently revealing plans to set-up mid-level startup infrastructure in colleges and universities comes as a much-needed step in this regard.

The first step towards consolidating the startup ecosystem in the state would be develop a problem-solving mindset. We are often crippled by a victim mindset rather than taking things in stride to find innovative solutions to the problems. If we could train mindsets at a tender age, half of the battle would be won. A small country like Israel with population lesser than the capital city of our country is an apt example of this. Despite sitting on the hotbed of international disputes, the country decided to divert its attention to identifying and resolving problems of global intensity so much so that it has emerged as the startup capital of the world, breeding over 6000 startups that impact employment and revenue around the world.

Start-upAssam Startup is an initiative by Assam Government to create a start-up ecosystem in the state. The Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Assam, picked up the baton to formulate the Assam Startup Policy in 2017, with a motive to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and convert job-seekers into job-creators, thereby transforming Assam into a major Startup hub of the country. IIM Calcutta Innovation Park was brought on-board in September 2018 to drive the initiative as the Implementing Partner. The AIIDC bore the significant responsibility to serve as the Nodal Agency.

North East India's first state-owned marquee incubator, Assam Startup – The Nest, was inaugurated on 20 January 2019. The Mega State Level Hunt for the first incubation batch (run in a Cohort mode) was also launched on that very day. Ever since the launch, Assam Startup – The Nest has incubated 179 startups in 3 COHORT batches. The third Cohort of 103 startups are currently being incubated at The Nest.

The incubated startups from both the Cohorts have succeeded in impacting around 3.4 lakhs lives and provided 260 direct employment opportunities. 76 startups from both the Cohorts have together generated Rs. 42.6 crore revenue (FY 20-21), while 54 incubated startups from the 3 COHORTS have together raised a cumulative external funding of Rs. 30 crore. Furthermore, 20 patentable products have been innovated by the startups incubated at Assam Startup.

The Nest has, so far, carried out 74 outreach events, reaching out to over 15,000+ students, young innovators, and aspiring startups across every district of Assam. Initiating the Hub & Spoke model, Assam Startup – The Nest (Hub) has, so far, signed 45 collaboration memoranda with top universities and colleges towards the same. To date, The Nest has collaborated with a number of colleges and universities in Assam to organize 24 Hackathons and B-Plan Contests towards identifying and encouraging startup ideas in the state. 10 Spoke Incubation Centres have been launched at various academic institutions.

Going forward, we envision scaling up the Assam Startup initiative to transform Assam into a leading startup state of the country, leveraging worldwide integration, investment, facilities and technology.

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