India is changing rapidly. The population is flooding online and numerous businesses are springing up to service them. Some will succeed and some will fail. But maybe those who can conquer this fast expanding virtual India really can take on the world. We look at 10 promising companies across the country.

1. The Indian
Startup Scene
10 Young Companies
We Think Are Worth Watching
India is changing rapidly. The population is flooding online and numerous businesses
are springing up to service them. Some will succeed and some will fail. But maybe
those who can conquer this fast expanding virtual India really can take on the world.
We look at 10 promising companies across the country.

2. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
More continent than country, India ranges from the frozen summits of the Himalayas in the north to the
verdant coconut groves of Kerala in the south. While the people that span this sprawling 1.3 million square
mile land mass are just as varied. Now as this vast, disparate population moves online, hosts of companies
are leaping forward to offer every service they need.
These run from the eCommerce giants rising up to provide goods, to the tide of payment and delivery
companies which make all this possible. They cover the new organisations that are helping to empower
the previously disenfranchised. And they include innovative individuals who are spotting business and
consumer gaps in the market and trying to plug them as fast as possible. For any commercial organisation,
there is everything to play for, because those who can take on the complexities of India, may well be
equipped to tackle the world.
When social media marketing company, ViralMint, launched in 2011 the initial plan was to move out of India
within seven months. Instead, the market acted like a funnel: eCommerce companies sprung up left, right
and centre and a constant stream of new customers flowed in.“There is a lot happening in this space and
there is a lot of innovation that goes on,”says CEO & Founder Rohan Dighe.“It is a great market, at least at
this point in time.”
Indian eCommerce is beginning to generate serious
interest from wealthy bodies around the world.
In February the Economic Times of India wrote:
“For nearly a year now, some of the world’s most
renowned investors have poured in big money to
get a slice of the action in India, one of the fastest-
growing markets for eCommerce.” VCCEdge, a deals
tracker, has already recorded 10 transactions worth
$288 million in the space within Q1 of this year.
Yet William Pearce, who moved from the UK to India
to launch a series of online businesses for German giant Rocket Internet, is cautious.“I think, fundamentally,
the winners in Indian eCommerce at the top end are going to be the guys with the deepest pockets. There
are a lot of set up costs and operating costs associated with servicing your audience – your logistics are
expensive, your warehousing is expensive and the trouble is, it is not going to get cheaper.”
“The reason it is not going to get cheaper,”he continues,“is that people are flooding online over the next
five years and they’re all going to start shopping online. And they’re all going to start shopping at the
absolute bottom end of the product range.”
“They’re reluctant, they need to establish their trust and so when someone spends 500 rupees (8 USD) on
your site you lose money on it. They have to shop three or four times before you make money and because
there is so much competition they won’t do that because they’ll shop once on Jabong, once on Flipkart,
once on SnapDeal…”
Introduction
Indian eCommerce
I think fundamentally the winners in Indian eCommerce at the top end are going to be the guys
with the deepest pockets. William Pearce“
Source: Assocham survey December 2013
2012 2013 2023
$8.5m $16m $56m
eCommerce worth:

3. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
What Makes India Unique?
The Times of India reported in November:“Internet penetration in the country may not have crossed 16%
of the population yet, but in absolute numbers this percentage works out to nearly 10 times the population
of Australia.”Based on findings from the Internet and Mobile Association of India, this provides a powerful
indication of the potential of consumer growth to come.
The lack of credit cards and bank accounts being used by consumers, especially in rural India, has proved
a bit of a problem. Yet mobile phones are being used to push people into banking channels. “It is a quiet
revolution happening,”says Aditya Mishra a co-Founder of Headstart .“I don’t think most people, even in
India, realise how tech savvy these people are.”However, a piece in the New Yorker titled“Will bank accounts
catch on in India?”took a slightly more sceptical view.
The vogue at present is for“cash on delivery”which enables buyers to avoid paying online. And a large
number of companies have appeared in the space to cater for the disconnect between offline and online
commerce. PriceBaba, for example, allows individuals to compare prices of mobile phones online, so they
can go on to purchase them in physical stores.
“The buying behaviour in India is different from other countries,”
explains Annkur P Agarwal, co-Founder at PriceBaba,“but has a
lot in common with other emerging markets. What I saw during
my stay in the US is that people go to physical stores and then
look at how they can buy it cheaper online. What I’ve seen in
India is that people look at a product online and then they want
to figure out,‘how can I get this near me?’”
At the other end of the spectrum there has been a clear rise in the number of online payment systems
available, such as mobile wallet companies Y-Cash and Instamojo. Deepak Kanakaraju, who founded
BikeAdvice.in for example, gave Instamojo a glowing review on his site last October. This has been“a
godsend for people like me who sell training programs online through internet and usually in small
volumes.”
Yet for many new businesses, the sheer size and disparity of the country makes India as much of a challenge
as it is an opportunity.“If you look at some of the European countries,”says Amit Mehra, CEO of Reuters
Market Light (RML),“they are smaller in population than some Indian states. When people ask what would
be the challenge to take it to other parts of the world, I say it will be a language difference, a cultural
difference, agro-climatic difference, but, guess what, this is exactly what we had to do when we moved from
one state to two states in India.”
If you look at some of the
European countries - they are
smaller in population than some
Indian states.
Amit Mehra
“
The buying behaviour in
India is different from other
countries.
Annkur P Agarwal
“

4. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
Headstart is an organisation that runs events and talks across India to help build the startup ecosystem and
since its inception in 2006/7 it has seen numerous positive developments. Aditya Mishra, the co-founder,
lists them as follows: Firstly, the quality of startups has gone up. Secondly, the people he encounters have
more real world experience, which makes their entrepreneurial ambitions more viable. Thirdly, there is now
more media focus on the startup scene, which has placed a spotlight on entrepreneurship as a career path.
Serial entrepreneur Ravi Jagannathan, MD & CEO of Y-Cash Software Solutions, who counts previous
successes in eMudhra and Taxsmile, adds that outside of government intervention there has been a lot of
change in the way growing organisations are supported:
“[Whether] it is money related, or incubation centre related, infrastructure related, mentoring related,
[there are now] so many services available within the system. Over the last few years there has been
encouragement at the college level, encouragement from institutions, support available from investors and
incubation centres. It is [all] very conducive for a startup to grow.”
On the consumer side the growth in mobile and internet
has seen the level of customer acceptance for startups
grow. There has also been a lot more openness in terms
of large companies partnering with startups. “Large
companies [always] use their scale to their advantage,”
says Mishra.“[But] in comparison to the UK or US, a
large company here gets away with more than it might
elsewhere. [And] while that has changed it has not
changed enough.”
“India is a lucrative market. More capital investment is around. However, it is at nowhere near the level it
might be in other markets,”he adds.“Fundraising is still difficult in India compared to other parts of the
world. But compared to what it was five years back it has become a lot easier.”
Unfortunately, developments in the consumer space don’t necessarily translate to benefits in the business
arena. “On the enterprise side, people are more open to looking at startups in terms of actually doing
business there,”says Mishra.“[But] if I am running an IT enterprise technology startup I will find it easier to
pitch it to an American CIO than to an Indian CIO. That continues to be a challenge.”
Mishra feels this is because“an American CIO sees that [his/her]
next wave of growth is going to come through technological
innovation. But a large company in India knows that growth is
going to come by expanding reach. So, if I am able to grow 30%/
40% without doing anything innovative why do I need to do
that?”In essence, technology is not seen as necessary expenditure
because it has not been the same driver for growth as consumer
spending.
Mishra has no doubts that the startup scene will only become more advanced.“There are very smart people
starting very smart things. Once that starts happening money will follow. Success is typically a combination
of three things: opportunity, talent and capital. [Of course] I don’t expect the capital to change overnight;
they will probably remain the same for the next year or two, but so many people with experience are
starting interesting things, I expect a lot more interesting startups.”
The State of the Indian Startup Scene
If I am running an IT enterprise
technology startup I will find it
easier to pitch it to an American
CIO than to an Indian CIO. That
continues to be a challenge.
Aditya Mishra
“
There are very smart people
starting very smart things.
Once that starts happening
money will follow.
Aditya Mishra
“

5. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
Many people believe the challenges faced by Indian companies make for long-term benefits elsewhere.
“[We want to] start by cracking India,”says Arwal.“The idea is to catch a niche, dominate it, then expand
around it. We’re still two years away from moving out of India.”
“We see a lot of traction in Thailand, Singapore and after that Australia is a major place,”says ViralMint’s
Rohan Dighe.“One of the main factors for growth is, when you enter a new market, not to stick to what
people are doing globally. If you consider SaaS, everyone will tell you having a monthly subscription is the
way to go and that is the only way you can do the billing. But, in some local businesses, flexibility is better.
Adapting to the market really is the crux of the whole thing and that is what has worked in our favour.”
“If you’re able to innovate despite the challenges, you are able to figure out something immensely replicable
all over the world,”concludes Mishra.“One of the things we talk about is – if I can pull this off here in India –
doing it in the rest of the world is going to be so much easier.”
If I can pull this off here in India doing it in the rest of the world is going to be so much easier.
Aditya Mishra“

6. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
10 Indian Startups That Could Be Worth Watching
Over the course of the past few months IDG Connect has been interviewing a wide variety of Indian
startups in a cross-section of different fields. Some of these have been bootstrapped companies, some
have been early-stage funding and some have been a lot more established. They include both B2B and B2C
organisations. However, on one level or another, they all seem to tap into the new potential of online India.
Below, listed in alphabetical order, are 10 that we think might be worth watching.
Doctor Oxy Healthcare Solutions
What it does: delivers an app which joins the dots
between hospitals, doctors and patients. This means
that health records and patient conditions can be
managed holistically and therefore more effectively.
Why it is interesting: similar applications are
available in other countries, but the challenge with
any health system is that it must tie in with the
local market. Doctor Oxy is extremely India-specific
and founder, Kamalesh Jayaraman, has a deep
understanding of the issues concerned as his family
are all doctors. The company has already spread from
Namil Nadu, up through the southern states of India
and is looking to advance further north.
Read interview with Founder,
Kamalesh Jayaraman
Launched: Late 2012
Website:
www.doctoroxy.com
Formcept
What it does: provides a unified analytics platform
which takes data from multiple sources and presents
it in a way that makes sense to the end user.
Why it is interesting: there are a lot of companies
competing in this arena but Suresh Srinivasan and
his co-founder Anuj Kumar both have a strong Oracle
background and received instant recognition for
their idea from the Economic Times of India. Their
differentiator occurs when the data is being sourced.
This enables analytical modelling from any structured
or unstructured information. Their plan is to validate
the product in India then roll it out internationally.
Read interview with co-Founder,
Suresh Srinivasan
Launched: Early 2013
Website:
www.formcept.com

7. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
Instamojo
What it does: provides a simple to use, complete
platform, which makes it possible for people to sell
online by just sharing a link.
Why it is interesting: Instamojo does not fit into any
neat category. It is not a marketplace like eBay and
it straddles a few different areas: on the one hand, a
platform like Shopify could be competitor, yet on the
other, so could a company like PayPal. What makes
this valuable within an Indian context is that credit
card usage is low, but it allows for a few different
methods of payment and simplifies the process of
selling to an online community.
Read interview with co-Founder,
Akash Ghani
Launched: Mid 2013
Website:
www.instamojo.com
Pcloudy
What it does: connects Android developers with a
range of devices to test their apps in the cloud.
Why it is interesting: the four co-founders met whilst
working at Nokia in Bangalore. They all come from
a developer and a testing background and wanted
to produce something that would help the entire
developer ecosystem. Android devices are ubiquitous
across Asia and as more consumers move online,
more apps are needed to meet local requirements.
No other company within India is offering this service
and it is especially valuable to the small companies
and individuals which make up a large part of the
growing developer community.
Read interview with co-Founder,
Nilesh Tarale
Launched: Late 2013
Website:
www.pcloudy.com

8. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
PriceBaba
What it does: offers online mobile phone price
comparison for offline shops across six Indian cities.
Why it is interesting: the buying behaviour in India is
different from many other countries. This is because it
is extremely tactile and price driven and there is a big
vogue for cash on delivery as few people use credit
cards. This means that whilst in the West people go to
physical stores and then look to buy it cheaper online,
India tends to work the other way round. PriceBaba
began initially in Mumbai but has already expanded
into five other cities. The next step is to move into
different niche verticals, such as sunglasses and other
coveted consumer goods, and keep on expanding
outwards.
Read interview with, co-Founder,
Annkur P Agarwal
Launched: Early 2012
Website:
pricebaba.com
ProjectHeena
What it does: offers a LinkedIn style network for
people who want to give something back to society.
This covers volunteering skills through to donating
goods and aims to provide a two-way portal between
NGOs and individuals.
Why it is interesting: the CSR mandate in India now
stipulates that organisations must give 2% of profits
back to society. This puts the need for volunteering
and other charity work firmly on the radar of many
big companies. If this platform becomes a popular
hub for this type of work it has the potential for rapid
growth. This site aims to: facilitate feedback, allow
people to search by relevant skill and fundamentally
streamline the whole volunteering process for
everyone concerned.
Read interview with co-Founder,
Himanshu Chanda:
Launched: Mid 2013
Website:
projectheena.com

9. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
RML
What it does: mobile-led information service for rural
farmers.
Why it is interesting: this is an extremely different
company from the others on the list. It initially
launched through Reuters in 2007, is multi-award
winning and already used as a business school case
study. Yet it is the ultimate case book for an Indian
company that suffers from all the inherent difficulties
of the Indian market. In its recent phase of growth
it has built a new communication portal to engage
farmers, yet these individuals need to be spoken to by
telephone in order to roll them into the system. The
company aims to both address social problems and
make money. Everything is in place to do so and if it
succeeds in the near future it will have a real blueprint
for other emerging countries around the globe.
Read interview with Founder
and CEO, Amit Mehra
Launched: Went independent
from Reuters mid 2013
Website:
www.reutersmarketlight.com
SrushtiSoft
What it does: offers technological products for
higher education institutions which cover the
intersection between admin and academia. The most
notable of these is Examinater which delivers a thesis
tracking and evaluation system for postgraduate
courses.
Why it is interesting: at present there is online
academia covered by teaching and examining
systems. Then there are administrative problems
which are tackled by various bespoke solutions. Yet
these two different areas never meet. SrushtiSoft
aims to bridge that gap with one single solution
that can be applied to any university anywhere. The
majority of its business comes from within India at
the moment. But the plan is to popularise the product
within India then roll it out internationally.
Read interview with CEO and
Founder, Pavan Gayakwad
Launched: Mid 2012
Website:
www.srushti-soft.com

10. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
ViralMint
What it does: this is a social media marketing
company that offers products rather than services.
The aim is to replicate offline word-of-mouth
marketing in the online space to help brands gain ROI
from social media and drive sales.
Why it is interesting: eCommerce has grown
extremely quickly across India as great swathes of
consumers have flooded online. This means that
a string of other businesses have emerged in the
slipstream. ViralMint offers a very Indian marketing
service as it seeks to take advantage of the extremely
social, price driven marketplace to give value to
its clients. It thrives on flexibility and while other
companies certainly occupy the space it does not
have any exact competitors.
Read interview with CEO &
Founder Rohan Dighe
Launched: Late 2011
Website:
www.viralmint.com
Wishberg
What it does: creates a community where people
can share their wishes.
Why it is interesting: co-founder Pravin Jadhav used
to work in advertising trying to second guess what
people wanted until he decided to just ask them. The
company is not making any money at the moment,
but it is building a community where people share
their wishes across the spectrum. These range from
short term materialistic desires through to larger
ambitions where other people on the site can provide
advice on how to realise them.
Read interview with co-Founder,
Pravin Jadhav
Launched: Late 2012
Website:
www.wishberg.com

11. The Indian Startup Scene IDG Connect
India is in a state of flux. The consumer population is moving online and needs to be catered for. Whilst the
business community is looking to move away from a static, services model in order to become competitive.
The startup scene is gradually emerging to fill the gap.
Yet the ecosystem is still not advanced. It is much better than it was a few years ago, but it still has a long
way to go to reach maturity. This makes getting a business off the ground yet another stepping stone in
the many trials to conquering the Indian market. However, this a great big opportunity and those that are
successful now, could do very well indeed in the years ahead.
The companies we selected here are a tiny fraction of the hundreds of growing businesses that could
have been included in the list. Yet the reason we chose them is they all offer something interesting and in
their own individual ways, all seem to offer something uniquely Indian. These range from the answers to
specifically Indian problems, to Indian answers to a general questions. On top of this, they all appear to have
something which might make them successful in the future.
There are 1.27 billion people in India. This is second only to China and not even 16% of the population is
online yet. Maybe those companies that can tackle the unique challenges of this vast, varied region, really
will be ready for anything?
Conclusion
IDG Connect is the demand generation division of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest
technology media company. Established in 2005, it utilises access to 38 million business decision makers’
details to unite technology marketers with relevant targets from any country in the world. Committed
to engaging a disparate global IT audience with truly localised messaging, IDG Connect also publishes
market specific thought leadership papers on behalf of its clients, and produces research for B2B marketers
worldwide. For more information visit: www.idgconnectmarketers.com
About IDG Connect