The path Indian Startups led to the Investors
Some founders saw the pandemic ‘Covid-19’ as an opportunity. Different startups were founded and investors were eager to invest in their startups. In fact, the investors couldn’t wait to meet and invest in entrepreneurs who won the pandemic.
The year 2020 brought a dynamic change in terms of both the Indian Startup and investor ecosystem. The investors were hesitant and cautioned with their investment. For them, the month of April and May were challenging when they had to take a step back to calibrate their investable income during the pandemic Covid-19. This was a struggling phase. At first, the stock market declined and the investors who had spent their own large business has little left to spend. But, the situation changed in the second half of the year, investments bounced back.
The year 2020 had several milestones, Reliance Jio raised funding from global conglomerates like Facebook and Google. There was a surge in the growth of sectors like healthcare, edtech, fintech, online gaming and various others. Indian startup ecosystem witnessed nine new entries to the unicorn club. The pandemic also emphasized business with strong fundamentals.
There was a shift in investors across sectors this year. The top sectors witnessed a deterioration in their deals. For example, across the Q1-Q4 average, the deals secured by fintech and the financial services sector strike down by about 28 percent. But on the other hand, some sectors observed promising growth and gained an investor's interest. These sectors include HR tech, cleantech, retail tech, online gaming, enterprise software, agritech and deep-tech.
Many investors believed that for some entrepreneurs Covid-19 is an opportunity to grab on and stand aloof from the crowd. The pandemic crisis brought many torments to people. Many startups were founded to relieve people from different obstacles. It brings the solution to the real problem and thus has made the country ‘aatmanirbhar’ and the world is now looking upon India.
While the demand is causing some hope in many sectors, investors should be cautioned to face any uncertainty. The pandemic has caused many troubles to people all over the world, but on the brighter side, it has opened doors for opportunities in the business world. Investors have to be willing to take some risk and invest in these opportunities and support new ideas.
Rohit Goyal, Managing Partner, Windrose Capital and Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures Advisors Private Limited said, “It’s time for investors to have a more aggressive outlook in terms of investing and enabling innovations operated by disproportionately mission-driven founders. Also, due guidance on the nuances that will make a difference in the long run. The right strategy for operations and sustainability will be imparted to them that are essential for brand development. Knowledge exchange is key to the success of any venture.”
