Beating down startups has become increasingly fashionable
Doing so appears to be sensible. Large ones have irresponsibly burnt money. Most are still loss-making. Many have laid off 1000s. Some are shutting down completely. A few have done outright fraud. A few years of exuberance made them think they were gods. They need to be shown their place
But doing so could harm India’s biggest $500Bn growth engine
Startups do not raise public money. Beyond founders, team members, private investors and customers, no one has anything to lose. The participation of so many in celebrating their demise is simply theatre
People love to make heroes, only to tear them down
Fraud of course deserves to be ended. As an investor, I hope the legal system takes its due course. Those who help to bring malfeasance to light deserve immense credit. But taking the same brushstroke for the entire ecosystem will be damaging
Most founders are well-meaning, talented and ambitious individuals who do not want to fail
Many teams try very hard to win, yet they fail. Raising is not easy. Building teams is not easy. Winning customers is not easy. The failure is not intentional but a combination of many reasons. A lot are outside your control. There are almost 20 big reasons startup fail, as diverse as founder fallouts to market timing. 92% of startups founded end up raising 0 money. If you decide to start a company the odds are against you
Failure is the norm, not success
Imagine starting something from 0 and hoping it beats 20-year-old giants. Most apps on your phone today didn’t even exist in 2010. All of them were startups. Around the ones that survive lies a graveyard of thousands of dead startups. Some made it to your attention. Others probably even didn’t
Courage to start something is huge
I know several founders who have had incredibly tough journeys. Being close to running out of money. Not being able to make payroll. Having to fire people. Starting a company is a deeply emotional decision. You will not be surprised to know how many founders are deeply emotional too. We are just moving out of a mindset that doesn’t look down failure
We risk going back there
If you’re a founder, or at a startup, stay strong. We’re finally seeing a really deep, and necessary, correction. These make ecosystems stronger. If you’re not and wish well for the country, try to support empathetically. Beating someone down when they are down on an already hard journey will break them
It will also dissuade countless others from taking the leap of faith
I’m very sure we will come out of this stronger. All cycles reverse. I hope we will have much less bad behaviour. I am a relentless optimist on India and its entrepreneurial talent. Reaching $5Tn, then $10Tn will be driven heavily by entrepreneurs. They say real friends are those who support during times of difficulty
This is our time to show up