How to Start a Startup in India: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Start a Startup in India?

How to Start a Startup in India – This is a big question in every aspiring entrepreneur's mind.
Starting a startup – this is still a black box in India. In this article, I will try to give you a roadmap to start a startup in India. Let’s go ahead.

India is emerging as one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing startup ecosystems in the world. With advancements in technology, AI, and social media, starting up is more accessible than before. India has a huge number of opportunities, and today, more and more people want to own their own business. You can start your own startup literally with a phone in your hand, passion in your heart, and an idea in your mind. 

Through this article, I will guide you through the process of starting a startup in India, from coming up with an idea to validation to securing funding and much more.

How to Start a Startup in India: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Start with finding a Business Idea 

The very first step to starting a startup in India or anywhere in the world is to have an idea. There are different ways to get a startup idea that actually sells. Here is a tip: rather than trying to look for an idea, look for problems and build a solution around them. An idea that solves a real problem has a high chance of succeeding.

Before finalising the idea, make sure you have done proper market research. A good business idea has the following traits – 

1. Strong Founder-Market fit – You should have good experience or deep knowledge of the problem you are trying to solve. The deeper your expertise in that area or industry, the higher your chances of success. To start a startup in India, if you do not have expertise in the area, make sure to first spend time and gain good knowledge. It will help you make better decisions and solve the problem better.
2. <b>Uniqueness/Competitive Advantage – You should do a deep competition analysis of your idea and study the existing players. You should know their offerings, pricing, and strategy. This will make you well aware of the gaps. You should have a clear idea of how you are better than your competitors, and if a user is given the option to choose between yours and your competitor’s product/service, they will choose yours.
3. Market Size – Do a deep analysis of the market to understand how big the market is. It is definitely recommended to start small, do not try to capture a big market in one go – it is not possible, and you end up wasting time, money, and resources. Having said that, you should know that going ahead how big the market is going to be.

style="font-weight: 400;">>Do not get into the trap of getting the perfect idea from Day 1. Ideas are made perfect over time by taking feedback from customers and continuously iterating till you hit the right market and right product

2. The next step is to validate your Idea 

>Once founders have an idea, many founders jump into making really big product plans. It would take them months and years to execute. Before you invest money or plan to raise investment from external investors, you need to validate your idea with real users.

>You need to do lots of User Interviews. Build a Minimum Viable Product, and take it to the users. You should take their feedback and keep iterating till you get the right product market fit.
>After validating your idea, you can choose to raise external funds, raise from friends or family,  or put in your own money.

There are different stages of funding – Bootstrap, Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, B, C, till IPO. If you choose to raise external funds from an investor, you can try different ways to get an angel investor. You can go ahead and put in your own money as well to gain more traction and then go for funding.

3. Make sure to create a Business Plan

>Whether you plan to raise funding or put in your own money, it is very important to have a roadmap for your business. A business plan gives a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how much time, cost, and resources it will take you to reach that goal.  It will help you stay focused, and you will achieve your goals faster. Your business plan should cover the following areas:

1. Vision & Mission: What do you want to achieve, and how will you make it happen?
   
2. Revenue Model: How do you plan to make the money? You might have the best product in the world, but if no one wants to pay for it, you won’t be able to make a sustainable business. It takes some time to figure out the right revenue model, but to start off with. You should know why your customers will pay and how much they can pay. 
3. Financial Projections: You might be new to making financial projections, and it might be overwhelming for yo,u but you can start making it as simple as possible. Decide on the timeline for which you are making the projections. It can be 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years. Start with 1 year. You need to write down all the expenses – Infrastructure, Employees and their salaries, Tools, Marketing Cost, Branding Cost, Delivery Cost, Laptop cost, etc, along with targeted revenue. The attributes might vary depending on the business, but the basics remain the same