Helion conducted a study among mobile entrepreneurs in India to understand the state of entrepreneurship in the segment.

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State of Mobile Entrepreneurship in India
Helion Advisors
2014
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Survey details
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• Survey includes 20 relevant questions on mobile first businesses
• Respondents include ~100 mobile entrepreneurs
• Vintage of companies ranged from <6months to >24 months
• 53% consumer-focused; 47% enterprise-focused

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Mobile first is the way to go for Indian entrepreneurs
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Do you consider yourself a mobile first business?
88%
12%
Yes
No
88% of entrepreneurs
are building mobile
first businesses and
not transitioning from
the web world

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Entrepreneurs have global aspirations and are building
mobile products for the international market
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10%
40%
18%
32% Global
US
Emerging Markets
India
68% of Indian mobile entrepreneurs have high aspirations and
are targeting markets outside India (Global 10%, US 40%,
Emerging Market 18%). Only 32% are pure domestic focused.
Which is the most relevant market for your business?

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~68% of entrepreneurs have validated their mobile
product and are now primed for a scale-up
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59%
9%
32%
Above expection
As per plan
Below expectation
• More than 2/3rd (68%) of
mobile entrepreneurs are
at the inflexion of
validation and scale-up.
They have validated their
product market fit and are
satisfied with their current
business traction, and are
now primed for take-off
• In 59% of the cases,
entrepreneurs have met
their plan and in 9% they
have exceeded their own
targets
How would you describe your user acquisition so far?

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Mobile entrepreneurs have smartly figured a quick,
efficient and lean product build model
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More than half
(56%) took 6
months to get to a
Minimum Viable
Product with
<$250K in total
capital investment
and by running a
lean ship of <20
people.
How much time did you take to build an MVP from start?
56%
28%
16%
<6 mo 6 - 12 mo >12 mo
67%
26%
7%
<$250K $250K-$1M >$1M
76%
14% 10%
`<20 `20-50 `>50
What was the total cost of product development (from start to launch)?
What is your current team size?

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Only 9% of entrepreneurs in mobile are fresh out of
college; majority of them are more experienced than
their US counterparts
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11%
30%
32%
28%
<25 yrs 25-30 yrs 30-35 yrs >35 yrs
Unlike the US where a majority of mobile startups are founded by 20-
year old college drop-outs, in India <10% are fresh out of college. About
90% have worked with a large company or have prior startup experience
(and in many cases founded a startup themselves). The average age of
Indian mobile entrepreneurs is also higher compared to the US with only
11% below the age of 25.
What is the background of founding team
members?*
What is the average age of founding
team?
Fresh out of college 9%
Previously founded a
startup
43%
Start-up employee
experience
42%
Large company
employee experience
71%
*Multiple responses

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GTM and Hiring (especially in Marketing) were
highlighted as the two main challenges in scaling up
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What are the main issues that you are facing in scaling-up (if any)?*
56%
39%
24%
8%
18%
3%
Go-to-market Hiring Product
market fit
User
experience
Other None
*Multiple responses

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Entrepreneurs have capital efficient plans to meet both
short and long term goals
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78% of entrepreneurs
expect that the next leg
of growth will require
up to $1M in capital for
the next 6 months while
getting to maturity will
take an additional $4M
in capital ( here, a wide
range from $1M to
$25M was observed
across respondents).
In your best estimate, how much capital do
you require for the next 6 months?
78%
22%
<$1M >$1M
What is your best estimate of total capital
requirement in ($M) till your company reaches
maturity?
• Average: $4.06M
• Range: $1 – 25M

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70% of entrepreneurs have immediate plans to tap
Venture Capital
10
70%
30%
Yes
No
Do you have an immediate plan to raise external capital from Venture Capitalists?