With a 6.8 percent unemployment rate, as indicated by CMIE data, there seems to a dearth of job for the youths in West Bengal. However, to tackle the ever-growing issue of unemployment, Kolkata seems to be resorting to its only option – start-ups.

The first call for startup came from ex chief minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya. Mamta Banerjee, the current CM is following the footsteps of her predecessor. She underlined that the government will offer strong support to budding entrepreneurs. She was quoted saying,

“We want to encourage start-ups, but we must ensure the money does not reach only a select few. We want young entrepreneurs to come up and work for the betterment of the people.”

Kolkata is start-up friendly

With the influx of investors, technology entrepreneurs and young businessmen, Kolkata is witnessing a change in the ecosystem, which has turned start-up friendly.

Traditionally, Bengalis were satisfied with comfortable government job but the dearth of jobs in the city also forced many locals to venture into businesses. Hence, it was gradually visible that the overall scenario of the working culture in Bengal was witnessing a change.

As per Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) data, Kolkata ranks way behind states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Punjab. However, it has surpassed other states like Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.

Manoj Mishra, Chairman of the Postgraduate Programmes, EDII, stated,

“West Bengal is up by four notches in entrepreneurship as per government data.”

He added that premier campuses like IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta have cells for entrepreneurship development.

NASSCOM supports startups in Kolkata

NASSCOM had started a Startup Warehouse programme. In this programme, startups and entrepreneurs can exchange ideas and experiences and work together in a co-working setting. The first startup warehouse was set up in Bangalore by NASSCOM, which was followed by Kolkata in collaboration with the government of West Bengal. At present there are eight web and mobile based app developers running operations out of NASSCOM’s Kolkata facility. It has won the support of Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

IIM Calcutta to develop 100 start-ups by 2020

IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP), a company backed by IIM-Calcutta, plans to incubate over 100 startups in Kolkata by 2020. IIMCIP in 2016 supported six start-ups in sectors like education, technology, healthcare by investing around INR 1 crore. Under this initiative, IIM plans to support startups in the eastern region with funding, mentoring, network services and distribution of knowledge. This will ensure that the fresh formed businesses will elevate to next level. Some startups that were supported by the IIMCP being MyPrivateTutor, Bodhi Health Education, Edwell Solutions, Magasool, Appeti, Organic thali.

WB Govt fosters New Business Development Support

The government is also endeavoring to promote the state as a hub of startup activities. It is urging the youth of the city to start working as entrepreneurs. Special startup incubation centers were set up by the government in order to educate young individuals to set up their own business. In addition, the government is also mulling over the construction of a seed capital amounting to 100 crores for funding startup businesses. It should be noted that all startup schemes including the IT ones qualify to be part of the government of Bengal’s startup incubation programme.

Huge Investors fund startups in Kolkata

Calcutta Angels Network (CAN), a platform for budding entrepreneurs nurtures emerging start-ups and help them to turn their ideas into products and products ultimately into ventures. The goal of CAN is to create a culture of entrepreneurship in Kolkata and build an ecosystem for young entrepreneurs. In 2016 it has invested around INR 4 crores in city-based startups. The numbers of investors keen to inject capital in the city based startups are soaring. In this regard, Raghav Kanoria, Pradyumna Dalmia, and Apurva Salarpuria, the founders of CAN, expressed extreme positivism on the growth of startups in the city. It should be noted that Indian Angel Network (IAN), the parent company of Calcutta Angels Network, invested around 10 crores in WOW! Momo, a food startup which was set up by two Kolkata-based graduates.

Promising start-ups in Kolkata

Surgerica

An innovative health platform which helps users finds the best doctors and hospitals in India. The company aims to infuse transparency into the Indian healthcare industry and has been featured in BBC News, India Today, Silicon India, Business Insider. Around 5000 doctors across India are listed in their databank.

TaxMantra

Alok Patnia, an expert in handling taxation issues is founder of this startup. Today it offers services in 100 cities across the country and worldwide. The company provides an array of services for businesses and individuals ranging from online return-filing services and tax planning, to business maintenance services.

Sweethandi

This city-based venture delivers the best of Bengali sweets to their users across the country. With alliance to renowned and established sweet shops in the city, this platform enables users in far away cities in the country to search, order and get the sweet treat that Kolkata has to offer.

Santa Delivers

This food tech start-up specializes in food and beverage. It was founded by several Kolkata students. It offers services between 5pm and 3 am. Since its onset, it has witnessed huge growth. It allows users to browse area-specific menu which displays various cuisines and payments are usually by cash or card.

Zeroinfy

This is an educational platform which allows users to prepare for several exams and courses like chartered accountancy and medical entrance exams. The users prepare for exams via personal mentoring and video tutorials. It also encourages peer to peer learning by allowing students to exchange their notes. In associations with teachers across the city, this start-up is fast gaining popularity among the country’s students.

Common problems faced by start-ups

Amidst the explosion of start-ups everywhere, individuals are utilizing every opportunity to prove their worth in this thriving culture of technology and innovation. Many startups have gained success unfortunately some dwindle and disappear without a trace. The famous maxi, “Survival of the fittest” is quite apt for startups. It is clearly apparent that the road for start-ups is not smooth or easy. Hence it is imperative that the budding entrepreneurs need to implement their business idea in such a way that it yields value and merit to their existence. A 2016 survey published by Dow Jones had stated that billion dollar startups can fail in coming years. A question is often being raised, “Why do start-up fail in the first place?”

Dearth of funds

Start-ups need to have a good financial backing. With the increase in income, the expenditures also rise so startup-ups heavily rely on investors for financial support. With the onset of such scenarios, start-ups fail to manage their finances. The entrepreneurs need to have enough finds to run their operations and also simultaneously have to pay their employees. As a solution, start-ups need to alleviate their costs. They also need to secure credit in order to find out how much capital is required for their survival.

Weak Business Planning

A strict business plan is a must for startups to flourish. In this technological background, a poor planning drastically fails in the very first year as they unable to cope with challenges and pitfalls. It doesn’t matter how innovative are the ideas of the start-ups, it will definitely fail if there is no proper business plan.

Therefore, a thorough research work on suppliers, taxes and competitive prices is required. SBA business plan helps start-ups to define their business, the way it will conduct operations and how much investment is required.

No proper Marketing Strategy

Start-ups always find it challenging to figure out best tactics to bring their products and services in the market. The profits of these companies face major loss if there is no comprehensive marketing strategy.

They need to be proficient at creating marketing plans, advertisements and make people aware about the value of their services. It should devise a good marketing strategy with vision, mission, and business goals.

Competition

The most inevitable challenge start-ups face is fierce competition and even bears the brunt of two-way challenge. The first one is coming from the established businesses in the market which is making it difficult for newcomers to flourish. Second, there are innumerable start-ups with innovative ideas which are born on a daily basis in the market.

Any business will fail if there is no dedicated team. Commitment of team members is a must, otherwise it will entail frustration within the organization which will ultimately lead to disputes. The qualms of being blamed or held responsible for any failure in business by team members will not let any business succeed.

A dedicated team with diverse skills is imperative for growth of start-ups. Proper communication among team members will help to achieve success.

Road ahead

Despite myriad socio-political and resource-oriented challenges that entrepreneurs face, the city’s tech-based startups are nevertheless making a significant headway, attracting the interest of both domestic and international investors, as well as the attention of audiences who are looking to explore the next generation of products and services.

Despite all the challenges and tribulations, the city’s startups are making a headway luring domestic and global investors. The trend of startups in Kolkata sthas registered the onset of a new era which pledges to change the city into a booming hub of start-up. A flourishing start-up sector is bound to garner investors, entrepreneurs and influencer in same frame.

This will entail new employment opportunities for the youth and of the City of Joy and country at large. Whether Kolkata will secure the top rank in tech hubs in the country is yet to be seen, but the explosion of start-ups in the city is worth watching!