Recently I was at a Starbucks coffee shop in Gurgaon’s Cyberciti and was flanked on either side by a group of young men. On my right, the group was discussing the pros of a proposal for attracting investment while the group on my left were busy signing joint bank account opening forms. Both groups were undoubtedly either early stage startups or in the thick of startup formalities.
These coffee shop group soirees are a common scene across Bangalore, Mumbai, Gurgaon and other major startup hubs where there is a thriving startup ecosystem. This ecosystem includes startup accelerators and incubators, a budding entrepreneurial atmosphere and a well established network of founders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists and mentors. We look at some of these hubs across the country where entrepreneurship thrives thanks to an enabling ecosystem.
Powai – Mumbai
This sleepy, lakeside town belies the frenzied activity of young men and women building their ideas into new startups. The encouraging entrepreneurial environment at IIT Bombay in Powai has undoubtedly given rise to a teeming startup ecosystem which also benefits from having a very cosmopolitan crowd thanks to the many foreign MNCs who have their operations in Powai. The challenges faced by the growing tribe of entrepreneurs has led to the creation of groups like Powai Lake Ventures which helps founders build their companies and provides crucial support. Zishaan Hayath of Toppr fame, is one of the early founders to have emerged from what was once a sleepy educational suburb. In recent times this hotbed of activity has birthed startups like Housing.com, Flyrobe, Chaayos, Nexgear and many more. Powai’s startup ecosystem is the entrepreneurial nursery for the engineering talent emerging from IIT-B
Bangalore
Bangalore is where most to-be-founders dream of starting their first venture. The city, touted as the Silicon Valley of India is buzzing with talent, grit, immense will and large dreams. In 2015, US-based Compass ranked Bangalore 15th in a global Startup Ecosystem Ranking for 2015. It has a concentration of almost 26% of the startups in the country
which is understandable since the city is also home to incubators, accelerators and venture funds like Sequoia Capital, Kalaari Capital, Accel Partners, IDG Ventures and many more. They have mentored and invested in companies across e-commerce, analytics, hyperlocal and consumer services.
Additionally. the city has many enabling factors like co-working spaces, hack spaces, event spaces and meeting/hangout zones which are also popular for networking. Koramangala is one of the hotbeds of startup activity in Bangalore. Well known startups to have come out of Bangalore’s startup ecosystem include Little Eye Labs, Zoomcar, HackerEarth and many more.
Hyderabad
Chandrababu Naidu’s dream of making Hyderabad the country’s biggest IT hub was on track till Telangana happened. Despite this setback, however, the seeds sown in the early days are still bearing fruit in terms of a vibrant startup ecosystem. While global biggies Facebook and Microsoft set up their main campus in Hyderabad back in the day, others like Uber and Amazon are now flocking to the city of nawabs.
The city boasts of well educated youth coming out of institutes like BITS Pilani, IIT Hyderabad, Osmania University, University of Hyderabad and many more. It is also home to accelerators like Catalyzer Startup, European startup accelerator Spark10, and T-Hub, a unique initiative between the government of Telangana, 3 of India’s premier academic institutes (IIIT-H, ISB & NALSAR) and key private sector leaders. Along with vibrant coworking spaces, events and hackathons, these combine to create a rich setting for entrepreneurs to take the plunge in starting up. Mapmygenome, AppVirality, MartMobi are some famous startups who call Hyderabad home.
Pune
What started out as a satellite sister township to Mumbai, Pune has slowly but steadily come into its own. Massive residential and commercial developments have resulted in an influx of both, a multicultural population as well as international companies setting up operations in Pune. Many of those employed in these companies have left to start their own businesses which has led to a thriving startup culture and ecosystem. A number of entrepreneurs are choosing Pune over Bangalore due to more affordable facilities and amenities and a very vibrant culture and community. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis recently lauded the city and suggested Pune’s startup ecosystem could beat Bangalore’s.
This much praised startup ecosystem includes VCs like Nexus, Qualcomm Ventures, Blume Ventures who have sizeable stakes in Pune startups. Organisations like TiE, Nasscom, Pune Open Coffee Club organise regular networking events, conferences and workshops. Well known startups to have emerged from Pune include MindTickle, AdSparx, CarIQ, AirStream, Mobikon and many more.
Kerala
Most people will easily associate Kerala with its beautiful, endless, white sand beaches, serene backwaters and boating races; a buzzing startup culture is the last thought about Kerala. Yet, with initiatives like Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and Kerala Startup Village in Kochi, Kerala has become more than just a much loved tourist destination. In August 2015, Kerala CM Oommen Chandy announced investing upto US $ 1 bn to develop a startup hub and community in Kerala. VC Circle had its TechCircle Startup 2016 Kerala edition earlier this month and upcoming events include Cyber Security Innovation & Research Contest and a Hackathon at CyberPark, Kozhikode.
Beside KSUM and Startup Village, The National Institute of Technology Calicut and Nasscom Startup Warehouse are some of the other incubators. Some notable startups from Kerala are Mobio, ITraveller, DIY Hacking, JiffStore among others.
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