Focus should be on product-led innovation models: Meity Startup Hub CEO

During the Startup Mahakumbh, Panneerselvam Madanagopal, chief executive officer (CEO) of Meity Startup Hub, urged young founders and entrepreneurs to move beyond service-driven models

Stressing on the need to focus on research and development (R&D), Panneerselvam Madanagopal, chief executive officer (CEO) of Meity Startup Hub, on Saturday said that startups should move beyond service-driven models and prioritise building deep, product-focused businesses that foster lasting innovation.

 

Speaking at a panel at the Startup Mahakumbh, Madanagopal said, "I think it is (R&D spend) low, but what startups can do is change a little bit of a mindset. I think instant success, and growth are probably driving a lot of young startups today, but they can look at a little bit more deferred gratification and success and build for the long-term, that will drive them in the R&D-led, product-led innovation business."

 

Madanagopal said that while the count of homegrown startups is witnessing an uptick, companies should not be content with simply service-led businesses. "We have built amazing width, now it's time to build depth. I would urge the young founders and entrepreneurs to resist the temptation (of building service-led cash flow businesses), and stay focused and invested in the product-led innovation, and R&D-led company," he added.

 

India doubled its R&D spending to about Rs 127,380 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 60,000 crore in 2010-11. However, spending as a percentage of GDP is hovering around just 0.7 per cent.

 

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, while inaugurating the Startup Mahakumbh event on Thursday, also urged Indian startups to focus on deep-tech, next-gen industries, semiconductors, machine learning, and robotics and not simply hyper-fast deliveries.

 

During the panel, Arvind Gupta, CEO of the Digital India Foundation also said, "We should applaud ourselves. We have gained capital, skills, mentorship, and talent. A lot of capital has been generated by the success of Round 1 (the first phase of startups). In Round 2, we have to build on it and deep tech and R&D have a major role to play. The number of these startups should go from 4,000 to 100,000."

 

While lauding India's success in the Unified Public Interface (UPI) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), and mentioning that the country has already started its journey towards innovation of its products, Gupta added, "India is such a vast country — we have a lot of things going on. We have to celebrate all of it. In fintech, we are the leaders — 57 per cent of global real-time payments happen in India. We are the only country in the world where UPI and ONDC are being fronted by global giants. Whether it is Meta, Google, or Amazon, they all use our technology. Why should we shy away from saying we are innovation-led?"