The New Google Startup School India To Aid 10,000 Startups
- Business Startup
Nitin Kapur- 0
- 8 minutes read
The number of startups in India has been immensely increasing, thanks to the advent of new technology, globalization, and government aid. Further, the nation is home to above 70,000 startups making it the third largest breeding ground for startups in the entire world. Google, the tech giant, has initiated a new program to take India a step forward in the domain. The Google Startup School India (SSI) initiative, announced on July 6, 2022, is aimed at the successful establishment of 10,000 startups in Tier 2 and 3 cities of the country. Earlier, on the same day, an inaugural edition of the program was released at 11 a.m. IST.
It will be a 9-week program conducted through an online mode to reach the maximum number of startups possible. During Google Startup School India registration, the startup founders will also be entitled to choose the course modules they would like to learn about. In addition, Google leaders will be invited to share their knowledge, opinions, and facts on the startup domain. Even collaborators from some of the pioneering startups in fintech, B2B, D2C, and B2C e-commerce, will be featured. The list of speakers in the program can be found here.
Reasons For Initiating Google Startup School India
Aditya Swamy, Director, Play Partnerships, Google noted:
“Startups are no longer restricted to Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, or Hyderabad. We have multitudes of fast-growing startups headquartered in centers such as Jaipur, Indore, Gorakhpur, and more. In fact, these account for nearly 50% of all recognized startups in India today.”
This rightly indicates the reason for their choice of area to commence startups. Google is aiming to aid startups in not-so-developed sectors due to the potential it sees in them. Further, helping the already established sectors would be unfair to those who deserve such an opportunity but are deprived of it.
Swamy also pointed out that about 90% of all startups cease to operate within the initial five years of commencement. He cited the primary reasons for the downfall which include uncontrolled expenditure, faulty assessment of demand, futile feedback loops, and improper leadership. Therefore, the Google Startup School India program will target startup firms in the smaller cities and regions of the country. It will impart the required knowledge on the matter which would help them in the coming stages of their business.
Karthik Padmanabhan, Developer relations program, Manager lead, Google, highlighted that startups in their initial phase need guidance in multiple areas. Also, several startups are being initiated in distant corners of the country. To educate them about the domain it is necessary that programs are formulated which encompass all the information at one place. Therefore, the curriculum will be focused on instructional modules on the topics mentioned below.
- Effective formulation of a product strategy
- Vivid explanation of product user value
- PRD development
- Mapping the correct path for the business
- Creating digital apps for the new-age customers
The Google Startup School India will even provide startup founders an opportunity to extract impertinent insights from the discussions that circle around the subjects of being an efficient founder and how to formalize the hiring process. These add bonus points to the entire initiative since the most important areas of beginning a startup will be addressed effectively.
Startup Ecosystem Participants View
As mentioned earlier, a number of collaborators from the startup ecosystem are invited to join the virtual program. These industry participants have shared their views on the program prior to it becoming a reality. Some of these comments and statements are featured in the article for a better understanding of the subject. This is because these trailblazing participants have highlighted the necessity and significance of the Google Startup School India.
Varun Alagh, Mamaearth Co-Founder, commented:
“Google has always believed in giving back to the startup ecosystem and this initiative lives the spirit. After working with thousands of startups they truly understand the need gaps that their Startup School initiative aims to bridge.”
The Mamaearth Co-Founder strongly believes in the initiative and gave positive feedback to it. He also indicated that budding entrepreneurs can rely on it for obtaining knowledge to bridge their “need gaps”. Alagh emphasizes that the tech giant always gives back to the startup domain, which can rightly be seen by watching Google funded startups in India such as Oroowealth and BharthAri. Moreover, prior to this program, the Google for Startups Accelerator was initiated to aid the tech startups in India.
Rahul Garg, Moglix Founder, explained:
“Startup enterprises in India have been known to be innovative and nimble-footed in responding to business challenges. This is testified by the fact that Indian startup enterprises have filed 6000 patent applications in the United States, thus representing 60% of the total patent applications in the country. The combination of intellectual power, original thinking, creative application, and technology, as well as a fertile economic ground to experiment in a market full of problems and opportunities, has resulted in considerable growth of these businesses, with many of them turning into Unicorns. The Google Startup School will provide an avenue for entrepreneurs to come out of their closet and look for opportunities.”
Garg rightly highlights the fact that 60% of patents that are being filed in the United States are those of Indian startups, there, the domain has been flourishing massively. Therefore, proper guidance that too by Google would surely be beneficial to them. He believes that this initiative by Google will enable endless opportunities for startup entrepreneurs to choose from.
People have high hopes for the Google Startup School India and it is expected to revolutionalize the startup domain of India due to its goal of aiding 10,000 startups in less privileged areas of the country. It will be interesting to watch whether the program is able to fulfil its aims and the nation’s expectations or not.
