Startups in India

Constant flow of information, multiple formats of media, thousands of startups mushrooming in a short span of time—in this dizzy environment, startups need the right communication to help them catch eyeballs and stand apart. With reports stating that 40% of startups are shutting shop and not many others reaching the heights of success, one area that bears scrutiny is the lack of communication. If a company isn’t known for what it does, all its efforts are in vain. While it is known and accepted that a well-established company investing in a sustained public relations (PR) effort bears fruits in terms of high value and ROI, investing in PR for a startup becomes even more essential. The Indian startup landscape is cluttered and the media is spoilt for choice. A startup needs to be built right from the ground up and it requires a deeper understanding with the right messaging to highlight the brand ideology and concept. With a strategic plan put into play, PR not only helps to cr...

February 23rd, 2017 How communication adds value to startups in their entrepreneurial journey “If I was down to the last dollar of my marketing budget I’d spend it on PR!” – Bill Gates A startup is the brain-child of a visionary at heart and an entrepreneur in mind. It is built from the ground up with immense amount of passion and belief. In the face of a highly competent and cluttered market, shining out seems like a herculean task. This is where communication steps in and creates a pathway for awareness, recall and trust. With the birth of a new idea, a new business model emerges and it is important to understand how communication can fundamentally affect the success of a startup. As John D Rockefeller says, “Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.” To avoid remaining unknown and unrecognised, a startup should invest in a proper communication strategy, as it creates the image, controls the reputati...

A start-up is a brainchild of a visionary who has a creative idea that the entrepreneur firmly believes in. Unless that idea is communicated effectively to clients, employees and vendors, it won’t reach its logical purpose. For most start-ups, however,this is a challenge. What’s the benefit proposition It’s a good time to be a start-up today, but with the number of start-ups today increasing every minute, you need to stand apart from the crowd. For that, above all, you need to communicate the right idea in the right manner. Most start-up founders, especially those working in tech, pay too much attention to the technical aspect of their product, working under the impression that people will be able to understand their product the same way they do. This approach needs to be corrected because for a layperson, the technology behind the idea is of no consequence—it’s the benefit that matters. And that benefit needs to be communicated in the simplest way. Research, then communica...

The journey of a startup is just like a Bollywood film—you go through every emotion on your way to becoming a known enterprise. Usually, you start off with a few friends and acquaintances because those are the ones who have laid their trust and capital in your startup business idea of creating something BIG. To ensure that the dreams and aspirations of this close-knit team is not put down by the challenges and competition lying in the way, you need to have your arms and armours in place. The industry When we talk about entrepreneurs, the arms and armours refer to their knowledge and creativity or uniqueness. While creativity is your weapon and it is what will make you a successful business idea, your knowledge acts as an amour in taking it ahead protectively. It is important for an entrepreneur to increase his or her knowledge in terms of the industry they want to enter. Everything in a startup’s industry that happens outside of their business will affect their company. The m...

Start-ups. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about them is our own lives. We begin as young babies, take baby-steps, and grow old; unless it’s the life of Benjamin Button. That’s how brands grow as well. They begin their journey as start-ups, take babysteps, and grow old and credible. The only difference—very few start-ups find the road to adulthood. And more so in a place like India, which is buzzing with entrepreneurs today. India is at the threshold of accelerated growth and it is believed that this growth will be led by the new set of young and vibrant entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial landscape has been a consistent contributor towards the development of the country and is amongst the most significant growth drivers of the economy. Start-up ecosystem seems to be growing exponentially. However, what this has done is to lead to clutter, with the mushrooming of hundreds of start-ups every day. Therefore it’s important for each start-up to create a niche fo...

In the last decade, we have seen a rapid rise in startups in India. They have been grabbing a lot of attention and have been viewed with curiosity. Individuals are thinking seriously on ideas that could be turned into a successful business models. The media recently has seen startups emerging as an independent beat with regular reports on the progress and the industry in general. With so many interested audiences and potential, there are two important learnings that start-ups need to keep in mind. Follow trends  First would be to know how to piggyback on stories to show case your start-up. It is important for a startup to analyze which is the most trending story in the industry and then piggyback on the popular idea. Either the spokesperson could speak on the trend, showcasing their industry expertise or could comment lending an opinion to the larger audiences. It is not always possible to generate news. But there are trends identified on a weekly basis. Being present...