If you want to build a $100B Indian company, stop being proud of jugaad.” -Amit Singhal

#Discussion(Startup) [ via IoTForIndiaGroup ]

Unless you ask yourself troubling questions and stumble across troubling answers, you will not build a long-lasting company that will outlive you.” noted Amit Singhal, a renowned researcher, engineer, and philanthropist as he addressed the gathering at Kalaari’s Annual Summit 2019

The dangers of jugaad
Based on his vantage point of having seen companies across the globe, Amit believes that technology stacks are somewhat lacking in India. He believes that there is a big need for India to build better technology stacks or we will face problems five years down the road. Amit noted that one of the key barriers holding India back is our love for ‘jugaad’. He said,
“We are still living in an era of the 60s and 70s where resources were low, and we have not yet liberated our brains from that low resource economy. The intriguing thing about India of today is that culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We are(still) proud that we are a jugaad culture.”

The need to go global and the Israel-China chasm
While there is a big need for Indian startups to think global, Amit currently sees Indian companies stuck between what he like to call the ‘Israel-China chasm’. With an estimated population of under ten million people and the limited growth opportunity in their domestic market, startups in Israel have been forced to go global from day one. On the other hand, China has GDP of almost $9,000 per capita and a population the size of India allowing it to build several companies worth $50 to $100+ Billion valuation. Amit noted,

So, Amit believes that many startups in India overestimate the addressable size of the Indian market and hence don’t have global ambitions. The conservative number of the Indian population that can spend on luxuries today is most likely between 50–100 million.

To build a truly valuable company, a strong tech stack must be followed by great distribution channels. Amit cited the example of the capital and effort a startup will need to reach 10 million app installs. An app install through Google or FB can cost anywhere between $1- $5. On average, the retention after 30 days for most apps is 10%. Imagine how much funding a company will need to get to 10 million users inorganically. Amit said,
“Hence, distribution is King, and founders need to have strategies for scaling…. It will be hard to build $100B Indian companies without focusing on excellence and going global.”

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