It almost goes without saying how the entire tech world is fueled by aggressive startups striving to bring next-generation innovations to market. On a global level, the number of tech startups in India has lingered in the middle of the pack, ahead of China and Israel, still a distant number three behind the US and UK. But, recent numbers suggest that the gap may be rapidly narrowing. The 2017 edition of the widely-regarded annual Indian Startup Ecosystem report, co-published by Indian IT trade association NASSCOM and global management consultancy Zinnov, highlights some eye-opening stats. Over 1K new tech companies joined India’s startup ecosystem in 2017, boosting the total to over 5K active tech ventures. 20% of those new startups are based in smaller Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, expanding beyond the country’s largest metro regions. Finance, healthcare, and emerging e-commerce platforms lead to year-on-year startup growth. The total number of India startups skewed 60% to B2B verticals, with 40% B2C. Thanks largely to international capital, investments in India’s top startups valued at $1B or skyrocketed 167% over the prior year.

India’s startup-friendly Government

The Government of India’s progressive Make in India initiative, which we’ve discussed, includes provisions specifically aimed at promoting new startups, namely streamlining the process of filing patents with lowered fees and subsequent tax rebates. Indian tech entrepreneurs can better fend off the copycat competition with lowered costs for protecting intellectual property while making themselves more attractive for VC investors. Another recent study, released by the IBM Institute for Business Value, surveyed Indian business leaders for their views on the economic impact of tech startups. Of 1,300 respondents, an overwhelming 76% agreed India’s proactive economic policies deliver a strong advantage to entrepreneurs and their fledgling enterprises, with majorities also citing an abundant skilled labor pool and tech-savvy domestic consumer markets as leading drivers growth.

Despite this shared optimism, that same report also polled the India venture capital community for their top concerns regarding the challenges commonly faced by startups: 77% believe many Indian startups lack true new vision, technology, or a unique solution, relying upon minor tweaks on existing successful concepts. 70% indicated startups often have difficulty assembling and scaling qualified, efficient workforces on their own. Other notable trends among VC respondents cite weaknesses of a startup company’s leadership, including concerns over inexperience or a lack of mentoring from accomplished business partners. The IBM Institute study concludes startups can more easily navigate these roadblocks and accelerate their own profitability through collaboration with established enterprises, taking full advantage of India’s robust tech ecosystems.

Ambitious Startups are Welcomed Here

To help startups, we leverage our design and engineering expertise, cost-favorable supplier relationships, and scalable manufacturing resources to enhance their path to market success. We have vast experience engaging with startups. We’ve refined initial product designs and prototypes while leveraging our robust supplier ecosystem for BOM cost optimization and developing the most efficient design for manufacturing (DFM). Our thorough testing processes ensure flawless QA, followed by custom packaging design, leading to a rapid pilot build before full-scale production and shipping for a successful product launch. Here are a few notable examples of our recent success stories for startup customers:

• Automotive Devices: DFM analysis, PCB redesign, tester development, and pilot build via mass production.
• Battery Management: Product realization for electric vehicles.
• Optical Diagnostics: Partial co-creation and product realization.
• Rehabilitation Therapies: AR/VR co-creation for a Swiss start-up.
• Smart Wearable: DFM analysis, PCB redesign, tester development, and pilot build via mass production.
• Solar Industry Product: Provide proof-of-concept support, DFM analysis, PCB redesign, thermal analysis, mechanical enclosure redesign and development, component sourcing, tester development, and pilot build.
• Travel Coffee Brewer: Co-development from the concept phase, product and board design, DFx support for PCBA and mechanical items, component sourcing, and tester design and development.
• Water Flow Meter: Product design and compliance for IEC-61010/PC-7351 standards; tested in automated test equipment; PCB design for scalable production; UL certified, waterproof casings, designed for surface mount and easy maintenance/repair.

Backed by 40 Years of Expertise

We contribute our 40 years of design and manufacturing expertise spanning multiple diverse markets. We look forward to discussing how we can deliver world-class products for OEMs across the globe. We understand our home Indian market, familiar with its vast regulatory and selling environments. We foster growth opportunities within India through our strong technology incubation ecosystem. We also assist global OEMs in entering the Indian market by leveraging the local supply chain and favorable operating environments for cost reductions.

Our flagship Chennai location opened in 2006 and lies within a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for electronics manufacturing, offering economic incentives for imports and exports. This primary facility is within 90 minutes of the Chennai seaport and 20 minutes to the international airport. Additional road and rail connectivity links to the rest of India and beyond and infrastructure advantages with faster import and export clearances. We also have labor force flexibility, both technical and manual, to scale to demand rapidly.

To learn more about this topic, please contact us.