Mumbai, 22 February 2025: “The founder and the team around is what makes an idea unique. It is about understanding the founder and his journey. We tried understanding the use cases of the businesses.”, said Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, Founder of Stride Ventures and StrideOne, said at ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025, at the session, titled ‘Mining the Future: Start-ups, Demographic Dividend, and Sustainability’.
On being asked about the decline in investment in India, Ishpreet added, “Sometimes investors community also has some herd mentality. Post pandemic, everyone thought technology was the answer to all challenges and would revolutionize all sectors including agriculture, edtech, etc. This was a global trend. Then came the aspect of profitability and business model. The thumb rule profitability-first business model proven approach returned.” Patient capital is just the word, founder’s capital is the real thing.”
Sharing about his entrepreneurial journey, Sneh R Vaswani, Co-Founder and CEO of Miko, said, “For the first two and half years, we had zero revenue, 23 product pilots with 50,000 children. Incrementally, our product became better. Beyond a point only execution matters. I have observed a common pattern in all investors who have invested in us, which showed they had entrepreneurial experience and could relate to our business journey.”
Highlighting Sneh’s accomplishments and belief, Ishpreet said, “He started out in 2015, with zero revenues in the first two years. By manufacturing robots in India, he recorded a sales of 300 Cr.”
Anurag Kedia, Co-Founder, Pilgrim, said, “I believe execution is more important than idea. There should be the willingness to learn all the time for a founder. We are in the golden age of start-ups. This is probably the best time to build business in India. Honesty is very important when you pitch to investors. We should be transparent in disclosing our business details to investors and updating them regularly.”
On the steps that will help the industry grow, Anurag Kedia added, “We import active ingredients. Real value creation is in developing active ingredients in India. Government support would help the industry.”
ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025, centred around the theme ‘Humanity’s Next Frontier’, will bring together thought leaders and innovators to explore the challenges and opportunities presented by India’s rise in a rapidly changing world. In the face of climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and technological advancements such as AI, the summit delved into India’s role as both an ancient civilisation and a demographic powerhouse in shaping the future. The two-day summit gathers a confluence of ideas from global thought leaders, intellectuals, and change makers, covering transformative possibilities in science, medicine, social contracts, and global leadership, with experts from diverse fields offering bold visions for a better, more sustainable world for all.
