Today, technology entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon with startup ecosystems emerging world over. Startups are growing at the rate of 5x compared to 15 years ago, as per the Economic Survey 2015-2016.
Most active startup ecosystems are Silicon Valley, New York City, London, Singapore, Bangalore, Moscow, Paris, Chicago, and Berlin. Startups are one of the major drivers of job opportunities and economic growth. Venture capital-backed enterprises like Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat, Flipkart, and Xiaomi have taken the market by storm, giving rise to whole new industries determining the way we live and work today.
This growth trend is encouraged by 3 major factors:
- Private market investors are more willing to invest in high-growth startups.
- Buyers (consumers/enterprise) are more open to purchasing products from start-ups
- Multiple cost effective, selling channels platforms to reach potential buyers
Source: citylab.com
While Silicon Valley is known for entrepreneurs and startup visionaries, other regions like Sao Paulo, Brazil and Bangalore (India) have turned into successful startup hubs over the past decade. Other regions that are working towards becoming startup centers include Dublin, Shenzhen, Sweden, Vietnam, Zurich among others.
In recent years, the Indian startup ecosystem has succeeded in crafting a niche in the global market. Funding, consolidation programs, evolving technology and flourishing domestic market are the key driving factors behind this success. The number of startups in 2014 was 3100, and is projected to increase to 11500 by 2020. CityLab startup ranking also showed Bangalore as 19th within the world’s startup ecosystem that went up to 15th by 2015. In terms of funding, it ranks 6th.
‘Nasscom 10,000 Startups Report’ revealed that India is the 4th largest base for startups, after U.S. and China. Majority of startups are brainchild of successful professionals who have held /lead many MNCs and Indian Tech Companies. Some of the successful names ruling the market in India today are Flipkart, Housing.com, Redbus, Paytm, AdPushup, InMobi and Ola.
To encourage the scenario in India, Reserve Bank of India has decided to ease regulations to enable startups to raise foreign funds.
Startups are emerging in their own right, driving economic growth, creating jobs and positively impacting the economy. It is not only changing the business landscape, but also the way we work today.