What Is Google’s Startup School and How Can You Be a Part of It?

In the matter of a few years, India is seeing tremendous growth of startups and unicorns. If we talk about the growth of startups, it is not something that has happened overnight. Due to the lack of proper funding and investor network, the startup culture in India took its own sweet time to grow.

Although, the concept began over four decades ago. Through those years, there have been significant numbers of many industries, which have restored the Indian economy. It is now that the idea of a startup has garnered a lot of attention. The world of startups and unicorns is not just in the USA anymore.

Today, India is number three in terms of having the highest number of startups. In 2020, when the world came to a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, indeed there were tensions around but in reality, it has accelerated the growth of startups not only in India but around the world.

Recently, Google announced that they have launched a platform called 'Google Startup School India" to help around 10,000 startups in India, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

Before we dig into what is Google Startup school, let's first understand what a startup actually is.

What Is a Startup?
What Is Google Startup School?
Response of Indian Entrepreneurs to Google Startup School
The Agenda of the Google Startup School Initiative: Why Is It Happening Now?
How Can You Be a Part of the Google Startup School?

What Is a Startup?

A startup is a company that is in its beginning and development stage. It is started in order to provide unique solutions to problems that have never been solved before or to provide much better solutions to recreate in a more efficient manner for the already existing problems.

Earlier, the idea of startup was linked to Silicon Valley in the U.S as we all saw the peak of many startups like Facebook, Microsoft, and many others. As a result of globalisation, and privatisation, the dynamics have changed in India, when the government encouraged people to set up their own businesses. This day, Bangalore in India is the startup hub.

What Is Google Startup School?

In 2011, Google launched a program called Google for Startups. The idea behind this initiative is to partner up with local startup communities to help them by providing tools and workshops for the local startup companies. They also have Google Campus, which is a co-working space for young tech entrepreneurs.

On July 6, 2022, Google made an announcement of its new program called Startup School India (SSI) as a part of the Google for Startups initiative intending to build a systematic curriculum to help 10,000 startups in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in the country.

This initiative by Google Startup School is a nine-week virtual platform where investors, successful entrepreneurs, and programmers from across the startup ecosystem will join together for discussions and sharing of ideas.

Google's main focus is to reach out to the huge network of startups in India through this ambition. Google saw the potential of Indian startups as the country homes nearly 70,000 startups. Not in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, or Mumbai, there are fast-growing companies in cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Indore too.

According to survey experts, 90% of startups fail in their first five years all because of a lack of knowledge, unorganised cash flow, lack of leadership, and insufficient funding.

Response of Indian Entrepreneurs to Google Startup School

Some Indian entrepreneurs think that this initiative will be a good start for many Indian startups. Hear their thoughts about this:

Rahul Garg, Founder of Moglix says,

"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 to entrepreneurs to come out of their closet and look for opportunities.”

Varun Alagh, Co-founder of Mamaearth says,

"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 which their Startup School initiative aims to bridge.”

The said programme will feature various instructional modules on how to shape an effective strategy, road mapping to building apps for users in India, and such. Besides these modules, the agenda will also provide opportunities for founders to have an understanding from discussions given in the platform as to what makes an effective founder and creator and much more.

The Agenda of the Google Startup School Initiative: Why Is It Happening Now?

India is booming with young entrepreneurs, which is why Google is here to offer these entrepreneurs the technical skills to build a startup. They aim to train 10,000 startups in small cities.

With the help of this programme, the participants can develop their entrepreneurial skills and professional skills, and boost their confidence which will ultimately allow them to perform the role of a manager in a better way and increase their earning potential as well.

The course will provide hands-on training and projects for startup founders. They will be equipped with tools and workshops that are needed for them to succeed in creating a tech startup. The programme will be led by many Google experts, founders, and VCs, who will share their knowledge and experience through live classes.

How Can You Be a Part of the Google Startup School?

If you are a budding entrepreneur from tier 2 and tier 3 city, who is looking for knowledge on how to start a tech company, then this course is for you.

You can simply register on their website by signing up with your Gmail account. You can sign up for any specific event of your choice. After successful registration, you will receive an email confirmation with all the details about the event.

Although the course is open to everyone, it is mainly focused on startup founders only with an exclusive space where they can interact and ask relevant questions.

Conclusion

India has many talented minds but the gap between them in reaching their goals is hindered because of a lack of meaningful guidance. Google's initiative is going to fill the gap and act as a bridge for them by training them at an early stage so that they can be a better version of the entrepreneur they want, that our country is looking for and deserves to have.

FAQs

Does Google invest in startups?

Yes, Google has a venture capital investment arm, Google Ventures which has invested in 500 companies.

What does Google for startups do?

Google for startups helps entrepreneurs meet the right people and supports thriving startups to grow.