‘We missed out on innovation, but have all the ingredients to drive it up & grow’

As ‘Nurture’ looks towards start-ups, which will bring about this change, Vineet Patni, charter member and chair, TiECon Pune, and Mandar Joshi, executive director, TiE Pune, talks about the start-up ecosystem in Pune.

Excerpts from the interview: 

What are the kind of start-ups that are doing well in the city?

Vineet Patni (VP): In TiECon Pune, we have had a mixed view on this topic. But the three areas we saw were autotech, edutech and agrotech. The AI (artificial intelligence) space or data analytics have progressed and are cutting across sectors. I feel that, over time, you will start to see Pune raising a lot of start-ups that will be outside the two or three conventional areas.

Mandar Joshi (MJ): The success stories that we have seen in ‘Nurture’ also include start-ups that are working on social causes. Mobile toilets, waste management start-ups are doing well at the time because the government is looking at supporting such initiatives under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The government cannot, sometimes, reach the nook and corners so these start-ups can reach such areas. The Internet of Things (IoT) and services remain Pune’s strength.

Pune is lagging behind in the start-up sector. How has big industry contributed to this?

VP: If you look at Silicon Valley, a lot of larger companies have start-ups that end up co-solving problems with them and they start showing a significant growth. Somewhere, we missed out on the innovation but we have all the ingredients to drive it up and grow. Many large groups such as Bajaj, the Poonawallas, the Kalyanis and Kirloskar have set up here. Some of them have made it big and some of them have missed the large wave. Infosys, Tata Motors and Wipro have a large number of employees in Pune. They need start-ups to solve their problems. A lot of companies could come in, take part and themselves compete for the future growth of the market. Most big corporations and family firms in the city haven’t actually benefited from the start-up boom. My message to them is that they haven’t done enough and it is time that they jumped on the bandwagon and became a part of the future story of India.

One of the reasons Pune has lagged behind is access to funding. How do you plan to remedy this?

VP: Lack of capital is an issue. We have approached the government to invest in start-up villages. The government is already moving forward in terms of putting together a plan, but in addition to that we need to get some of the best venture capital to look at the best start-ups in Pune. TiE Pune has started engaging with capital providers at different levels, whether it is at the start-up level, angel level or the next level. This is also where the government has to play a role in getting international payers to not only invest, but also enable customers to consume the product. If we are able to get customers for start-ups, that’s the best way to get capital. Let the customer pay for the product. I think a lot of start-ups are struggling there.

One of the reasons for Pune’s slow growth is the lack of infrastructure. What is the infrastructure required?

VP: The hyper-loop project is starting to pick up. Pune needs a good quality airport. Transport, connectivity and roads are important. One of the things that is important is a concept of a start-up village, where you could have companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and KPMG. Companies that have 50 to 500 people can be there and work on shared services. So, you actually reduce the cost significantly, give them access to what services they meet and create access to clients. You also need to create multiple locations for innovation. I have been travelling overseas and have been seeing start-up villages created for healthcare, AI and other problems that people have. The response from the government to our message has been positive and we do see some quick solutions coming up in the near future. Institutions and colleges also need to provide the right platforms for driving innovation.

MJ: As the infrastructure and roads are developed and the Metro comes in, there will be some start-ups that will develop such as cleanliness and safety majors. The Poonawallas have come up in a big way into cleaning up the city. That is a CSR (corporate social responsibility) project. There will be start-ups that will require some funding as well as customers. I feel the government is itself a big customer for start-ups. Pune City Connect or Pune Smart City are actually connecting with start-ups to come up with products that will help them bring out certain infra development in a region.

What are the elements that can drive future growth?

VP: If you look at Pune’s automobile sector, you will see a massive industry. There is agrotech and we notice a huge momentum in healthcare. What do you need for a startup – talent pool, people to come in and invest, infrastructure and connectivity. From the infrastructure perspective, Pune is good but there is a lot more investment that we are asking the government to put in. There is, obviously, the proximity to Mumbai. Connectivity to the global hub is fantastic and Pune is an education hub and has the capability to provide significant talent.

How does the ‘Nurture’ programme help the market?

MJ: TiE Pune charter members come forward and commit time to mentoring start-up companies selected for the programme. We have completed seven seasons of ‘Nurture’. They take selected start-ups from point A to point B. Whatever stage a start-up is at, we help them scale up by solving problems they are facing. Of course, every stage will come with challenges for them but these seasoned entrepreneurs as mentors make a lot of difference. We are not advisers or consultants but purely mentoring with only one expectation: to enable the mentee company to grow.