Today is National Startup Day, which was started in 2016 to highlight the contribution of startups to India’s economic growth.

We’ve come a long way as a country in recognizing and celebrating the success and contribution of entrepreneurs who, in turn, have inspired more people to startup. For a long time, almost everyone in my life told me to get a real job when I was trading and running a business until Zerodha became popular. I think this has reduced quite a bit in metros and even smaller towns, entrepreneurship is now real and the Government initiatives & messaging have played a part as well.

One problem I have had with the Indian startup ecosystem is that most of the wealth created has happened outside India. This is because 90% of the startup investments are from VCs with foreign capital. How can a country achieve inclusive prosperity if most of the wealth created from resources in India is generated outside?

This was one thought as we started thinking more about Rainmatter. Coincidentally, the Rainmatter journey started in 2016 as well, and we’ve been partnering with and supporting Indian founders who are helping Indians do better with their health and wealth.

Our motivation was to provide patient capital for these startups to build sustainable businesses that do good for the country. I feel happy that we’ve had some role to play in the 100+ startups that we have supported. Looking back, the number of founders that we interact with and their quality have grown exponentially. The future looks bright for the Indian startup ecosystem.

We are in a position where our founders can build global products out of India. It goes without saying that this wouldn’t have happened without the international VCs taking the risk, bankrolling startups in India, and getting us here. I hope that in the next phase of our startup ecosystem, more local capital will support local entrepreneurs, and we will reduce our dependency on outside capital.

Go to link →