Hyderabad: For all its 2,000 start-ups, Hyderabad does not have a single Unicorn start-up – not one with a value of over $1 billion (Rs 6,800 crore).
The start-up ecosystem in the city is well-entrenched and took roots long before the Telangana start-up initiative, T-Hub, came about, yet a Unicorn start-up spinning out of Hyderabad seems far-fetched and hard to get as the mythical Unicorn itself.
Experts opine that an entrepreneur can be considered successful, without the start-up being a Unicorn, in terms of the amount of investment and revenues as business figures are relative. However, the start-up ecosystem has benchmark for a start-up to get the Unicorn status and Telangana is well on the way of getting some.
According to Ms Devireddy Sreedevi, executive director of TiE Hyderabad, “The Hyderabad ecosystem needs to mature. We need a proper set of mentors and investors and start-ups themselves need to be well-informed about the entrepreneurship journey. Most of the entrepreneurs are not doing research profoundly before jumping into the business. There is a need for a structured handholding in mentorships. Venture capitalists’ pool and investor circle, which is mature in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, is not yet fully evolved in Hyderabad. We are on the right path owing to the push from the government.”
Unicorns are aggressive -- they grow swiftly and hire employees exponentially. “Start-ups in TS are aggressive and will get more so with time. In general, people of TS and AP are inclined towards jobs more than entrepreneurial activity.
Consequently, our entrepreneurs are not yet well-versed with the finer entrepreneurial nuances. But gradually things are changing for the better and entrepreneurs are getting into that mode,” Ms Sreedevi said.
Adding to that, cities like Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai also stole the march during the three years of Telangana agitation. During those three years, start-ups in other cities grew fast.
However, Hyderabad has got back in favour with venture capitalists in last two and a half years, say experts.
In fact, experts believe that Hyderabad has an edge over the others as the government is pro-active on that front and a lot of reverse brain-drain of Telugu techies is happening currently.
Techies from the US are returning or investing in the Hyderabad ecosystem. Telugu techies are the most numerous in companies abroad, hence the two Telugu states are the beneficiaries of such investments.
The city is also one of those few metros that can expect a favourable demographic dividend from its numerous qualified youth. All this put together makes for the right ‘climate’ for at least a few Unicorns to pop up here.
