At an event last week, a panel of India’s most influential entrepreneurs gathered to talk about building startups in Bharat—a topic that felt especially relevant given the explosive growth of the Indian startup ecosystem. The conversation was supposed to focus on numbers and trends, but what unfolded was something far more personal. It quickly became clear that the founders on stage weren’t just discussing strategy. They were reflecting on the hard-earned lessons of building businesses in one of the most dynamic markets in the world.
Shanti Mohan, founder of Letsventure, started things off by addressing the elephant in the room: how has India gone from a fledgling startup scene with only a few hundred companies to one of the hottest startup ecosystems on the planet? Her answer was as unexpected as it was insightful. While the success of giants like Flipkart often gets the credit, she pointed to something else entirely—the Startup India movement in 2015. According to Shanti, that initiative didn't just give entrepreneurs resources; it created a sense of validation. "Suddenly, you felt like there was an ecosystem that would support you, even if the government stayed out of the way," she said. The audience nodded in agreement, knowing all too well the importance of that support in the early days.
And then there was Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, better known as DB, the co-founder of Zostel, who shared his story of building one of India's first backpacker hostel chains. What was remarkable wasn't just that he started Zostel in 2014, before UPI or Razorpay, but that he did it in Jodhpur—a Tier 2 city. While most founders would have seen geography as a disadvantage, DB saw opportunity. "I had a home-ground advantage," he said, drawing a comparison to sports. He knew Jodhpur, he understood the culture, and more importantly, he knew that if he could make it work there, he could scale it anywhere.
But what really captured the room was his revelation about venture capital. "VCs hated the hostel business," DB admitted with a grin. The model wasn’t scalable in the way tech startups were. It took too long to become profitable. Yet, DB stuck to his guns. He bootstrapped Zostel, growing it property by property, until it became the world’s largest backpacker hostel chain. "Sometimes, the best businesses don’t fit the VC mould," he said, a sentiment that resonated with the audience of founders who had faced similar struggles.
As the discussion progressed, the theme of profitability versus valuation surfaced, with Shanti taking a strong stand. In a world obsessed with unicorns and billion-dollar valuations, she argued, founders must keep sight of building sustainable businesses. “Venture capital is high-risk capital. It’s not for every company,” she reminded everyone. The room buzzed with the weight of that statement. She explained how backing companies like Flipkart and Swiggy wasn’t about immediate profits—it was about changing consumer behaviour. “Without capital, we wouldn’t have e-commerce in India, and our lives wouldn’t look the way they do now.”
Keshav, founder of Vananam, chimed in with his own experience. He had built his business during the so-called "funding winter," when money was drying up and only the strongest companies survived. "We were profitable from day one," Keshav said proudly. He believed that real businesses didn’t need to chase the venture-backed dream to be successful. “If you're doing business the way it's meant to be done—organically, sustainably—you’ll always get money. It might take longer, but it’ll come.”
The panel's energy shifted as they began discussing what makes now the perfect time to build in India. Shanti called this decade the "Indian Entrepreneur’s Decade." India, she said, is no longer just about potential. "We have the world's largest number of mobile data users, the fastest payment systems, and a middle class that's growing faster than anywhere else. This is the perfect storm," she said, pointing out how India’s consumption-led economy is driving innovation across industries.
DB added to this by talking about India's place on the global stage. "We’re no longer just building for India," he said. "Indian startups are taking their products global, and we’re doing it with a unique perspective that only comes from hustling in a market as challenging as this one." His words weren’t theoretical. He had recently moved Zostel into the San Francisco market, showing how Indian companies were starting to export their innovation globally.
One of the most striking moments came when Shanti touched on a key issue all founders face: capital raising. She warned against falling into the trap of raising money for the sake of it. “Most founders think they need three crores to survive for two years. But the reality is, if you don’t raise enough to meet your next business milestone, you’re just putting yourself at risk,” she said. It wasn’t about burn rates or runway—it was about understanding what your business truly needed to scale.
The discussion wrapped up with each panellist reflecting on why this moment is India’s gold mine for entrepreneurship. Shanti put it best: “India is a consumption-driven economy, and we have all the building blocks—mobile data, digital payments, and a growing middle class. The next decade belongs to us.”
As the event ended, it was clear that this wasn’t just another startup panel. It was a masterclass in building real businesses in India—from Tier 2 cities to global markets, from bootstrapped ventures to billion-dollar companies. For anyone lucky enough to be there, it was a reminder that building in Bharat is about more than just following the trends. It’s about grit, resilience, and a deep understanding of the unique opportunities this market offers.
