National Startup Day: Founders Reflect and Share the One Piece of Advice They Wish They Had When Starting Out
National Startup Day
January 16 is observed as National Startup Day in India, celebrating the country’s growing startup scene and its role in boosting the economy and innovation. It’s a day to recognise the hard work of entrepreneurs and the challenges they face while building businesses that make a difference.
From innovations like UPI to solving everyday problems, Indian startups are changing many industries. On this special day, StartupTalky asked some of India’s amazing entrepreneurs and business leaders to share the one piece of advice they wish they had when starting their journeys.
Their candid insights and experiences offer valuable lessons for anyone thinking of starting a business. Here’s what they had to say.
Viraj Bahl, Founder and Managing Director of VRB Consumer Products (Veeba)
For me, the most profound lesson has been that success doesn’t come from chasing trends but from execution and staying true to your vision. On Indian Startup Day, I salute every founder who’s dared to take that first leap of faith. Together, we’re shaping not just companies but the future of a nation.
From pioneering fintech innovations like UPI, which revolutionized digital payments globally, to building frugal solutions that empower underserved markets, Indian startups are showcasing how resourcefulness can drive transformation. This isn’t just about growth; it’s about creating impact for change. On Indian Startup Day, we celebrate the vision and resilience of entrepreneurs shaping a new global narrative from India.
Ankit Anand, Founding Partner at Riceberg Ventures
Founding and running a startup is inherently challenging and high-risk. Everything often takes longer than anticipated. The paradox is that if we truly understood how tough and time-consuming it would be, we might never start.
Given these challenges, the only way to sustain this journey is to pursue something we are deeply passionate about—something we would gladly dedicate our lives to, even without immediate rewards or incentives. While the media highlights quick successes and rapid growth, it often overlooks the relentless hustle and perseverance that happen behind the scenes.
However, the most important thing to remember is that, even though it’s incredibly hard, the journey is undoubtedly worth it. The impact we create, the lessons we learn, and the growth we experience make it one of the most fun and fulfilling paths we can take.
Navkaran Singh Sethi, MD and Co-Founder of EnerG Lubricants
Looking back, one piece of advice I wish I had when starting is the importance of building strategic partnerships early. From the outset, collaborating with industry leaders like we did with ExxonMobil in 1999 played a pivotal role in our growth. These partnerships provided access to world-class technology, global best practices, and expanded market reach. For aspiring entrepreneurs today, forming strong relationships with key players and seeking collaborations can open doors to new opportunities, resources, and credibility. It’s not just about innovation but also about leveraging external expertise and networks to accelerate success in a competitive market.
Muskaan Kapoor
Animesh Samuel, Co-Founder and CEO of E42.ai
Focus equally on technology and market alignment. Initially, E42 concentrated heavily on tech innovation but realized the importance of building a partner and client ecosystem early on. For aspiring entrepreneurs, this highlights the need to balance product development with creating a robust go-to-market strategy, ensuring scalability and sustained growth while adapting to dynamic market needs.
Srinivas Shekar, Co-Founder and CEO, Pantherun Technologies
One piece of advice I wish I had when starting out is to embrace uncertainty and focus on adaptability. As an entrepreneur, things rarely go as planned, and being flexible in your approach can turn unexpected challenges into opportunities. It’s important to keep an open mind, learn from setbacks, and never lose sight of what customers need.
I also realized the value of building a strong support network early on. Surrounding yourself with mentors, peers, and team members who share your vision can provide valuable insights and encouragement when times get tough.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, understanding that the journey will be unpredictable but rewarding is key. Stay resilient, seek advice, and remember that success is built on learning and evolving every step of the way.
Gaurav Dagaonkar, Co-founder & CEO of Hoopr
If I could go back and give my younger entrepreneurial self one piece of advice, it would be: "Focus relentlessly on building genuine, long-term relationships with your customers." In the early days, it's easy to get caught up in chasing growth and hitting targets. However, over time I have realised that building a strong foundation of trust and loyalty with your customers is far more valuable in the long run. This advice is more relevant than ever in today's hyper-competitive business landscape where loyalty cannot be taken for granted.
My second advice would be to build a driven and like-minded leadership early on so that scale and growth become compounded in the first 3-5 years of your business.
Nemin Vora, Founder and CEO of Odysse Electric Vehicles
Looking back, one piece of advice I wish I had when starting out is to focus more on building a strong and adaptable network and team from the very beginning. While having a clear vision and a great product is crucial, having access to a diverse group of mentors, industry experts, and potential partners can provide invaluable insights, open doors to new opportunities, and help navigate the inevitable challenges that arise.
For aspiring entrepreneurs today, I would emphasize the importance of surrounding yourself with people who bring different perspectives, skills, and experiences. This network can help you anticipate market shifts, provide constructive feedback, and offer support during tough times. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing are powerful tools for growth, especially in an evolving industry like ours. Building these relationships early on can significantly accelerate both personal and business growth.
Arpit Mittal, Founder and CEO of SpeakX
Early on, I spent too much time trying to perfect every detail before launching. What I have learned is that feedback from users is invaluable—real-world input often highlights areas you might not have considered. For anyone starting out, focus on solving a genuine problem, create a functional solution, and improve as you go. The goal is not to have everything perfect on day one but to keep evolving based on what your audience truly needs.
Reshbha Munjal, Co-Founder of KorinMi
If I could go back, one piece of advice I’d give myself is to, above all, have unwavering conviction in yourself and your idea. You need to believe it’s right, even when others don’t. Confidence in your vision is key, and it’s essential to identify the gaps in the market that your product is filling. Success comes not just from having a great product, idea, or service, but from addressing a real need. As an entrepreneur, focus on the value you’re providing and the problems you’re solving. When you’re fulfilling a need, everything else falls into place.
Abhishek Dua, CEO and Co-Founder of Showroom B2B
One key piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to stay laser-focused on solving a clear and specific problem. Success often stems from understanding your target audience deeply and addressing their needs with precision and efficiency. Leverage data and insights to guide decisions, remain agile to changing trends and execute your vision with strategic intent.
By building solutions that directly tackle the pain points of your industry, you can establish a strong foundation and deliver real value. Building trust with stakeholders and delivering consistent value will position your business for sustainable growth.
Varun Tangri, Founder and CEO of QueueBuster
One piece of advice I wish I had when starting out is the importance of resilience. Entrepreneurship is a journey filled with challenges, and staying resilient in the face of setbacks is crucial for long-term success. Additionally, being active on social media and regularly talking about your products can help build visibility and engage with your audience directly. Remember, you are not just a custodian of your startup but also its biggest and most reliable brand ambassador. Staying connected with customers is equally important—while founders often engage with customers early on, this connection tends to fade as businesses scale. However, understanding their needs and feedback allows for continuous product evolution, ensuring better service and fostering business growth.
Padmakumar Nair, CEO and Founder of Ennoventure Inc.
Looking back, I wish I had prioritised early collaboration and stakeholder engagement. We faced challenges educating the market about our technology and struggled to gain traction. Building strong partnerships with brands and manufacturers from the outset would have accelerated adoption.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, I emphasize the importance of deep customer engagement. Understand their needs firsthand, involve them in the development process, and build a community around your solution. This collaborative approach fosters trust and ensures your solution truly addresses their challenges.
Vikrant Agrawal, Co-Founder of Care.fi
A piece of advice that would have been invaluable at the outset is: Start with a deep focus on understanding your target audience's pain points. While it’s tempting to dive into product development, success often hinges on how well you align your solutions with the real-world challenges of your audience.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly in niche sectors like healthcare fintech, it’s critical to prioritize empathy-driven innovation. Engaging directly with stakeholders provides insights that can refine your offerings.
Karan Arora, Co-Founder of One Health Assist
An important learning experience was the need to be always flexible and adaptive to changes, considering the quick evolution in industries like healthcare. Adjusting one's business model based on new insights or shifts in the marketplace is highly critical for any corporate setup. It is clearly evident that, as any new business owner should, what one develops with adaptability and continuous learning allows one to respond sensibly to hurdles and situate oneself ahead of trends in the field of sustainable long-term growth in dynamic and rapidly changing environments.
Rahul Nainani, CEO and Co-Founder of ReCircle
A key piece of advice is the importance of unwavering focus. Early on, it's tempting to chase every opportunity and try multiple ideas, but this can dilute efforts and distract from your core mission. While experimentation and learning from mistakes are vital, staying aligned with your original vision is crucial for long-term success. Saying "no" to distractions, especially as new trends and opportunities arise, is essential for building a strong, sustainable foundation. In a noisy startup ecosystem, focus helps prioritize resources, maintain clarity, and drive consistent growth.
Nilesh Dungarwal, Co-founder and CEO of WorkIndia
Bet on yourself unapologetically, while staying grounded.If I could go back, this would be my advice to younger me. Confidence gets you started, but perseverance and humility keep you going. You don’t need all the answers, upfront learning on the go is important. Every obstacle teaches, and every mistake shapes growth. Stay open, listen, and evolve. Betting on yourself means trusting you’ll figure it out, even when uncertain. Progress matters more than perfection. For anyone starting out: take bold risks, be humble, embrace lessons from setbacks, and keep pushing forward. That’s the journey from ambition to achievement.
Tapan Barman, Co-founder and CEO, Mihup
One piece of advice I wish I had received is: The key to success lies in understanding your users deeply and building for them, not for trends.
When starting Mihup, we initially focused on what we believed the market wanted. Over time, we learned the importance of listening closely to our customers and fine-tuning our conversation intelligence platform to address real-world challenges, such as enabling natural voice communication for multilingual and tech-phobic users. This shift was instrumental in making Mihup a trusted partner for enterprises today.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, the takeaway is clear: build solutions that address specific pain points and resonate with your target audience. Invest in user research, iterate relentlessly based on feedback, and create a strong team that believes in the mission. With these pillars, you can create impactful and sustainable innovations that stand the test of time.
Anshul Jain, Co-founder and CTO of Roadcast
When starting out, it’s easy to get caught up in chasing multiple opportunities or trying to create a product that does everything. This can dilute your efforts and slow your progress. I wish someone had emphasised the importance of laser-focusing on a single, well-defined problem and solving it better than anyone else. For aspiring entrepreneurs, my advice would be: "Focus on solving one clear problem exceptionally well before expanding your vision." By honing in on solving one problem with excellence, you’ll build a strong foundation for success and be in a much better position to scale.
Eklavya Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Recur Club
It has to be the focus. As a startup, you have limited resources and time, so it’s crucial to identify what truly matters and excel at it. It’s better to do one thing extremely well than to do ten things half-heartedly.
We live in an age of information overload, and I believe that focus will become a superpower. It’s about saying “no” more often and being deliberate about what you choose to say “yes” to.
San Banerjee, Co-Founder and CEO of ADDA
One piece of advice that I would like to share is to be clear about the core benefits that your solution is offering, focus and obsess about it, and go really deep, before trying to develop solutions for multiple different problems. For example, focussing on one aspect like clean communication and accounting helped us in getting trust and traction in the market.
Sahil Lakshmanan, Chief Business Officer of CarePal Money
Focus on building a sustainable ecosystem, not just a standalone product.” Early on, I realized that solving complex problems, like healthcare financing, requires integrating multiple solutions. For aspiring entrepreneurs, the takeaway is to think beyond immediate solutions and design for scalability and long-term impact from the start.
Manish Panwar, Business Head at Xumane
As Business Head, my advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, leaders and strategists today would be:
- Iterate relentlessly, take feedback seriously, and be prepared to pivot.
- Embrace failure as a lesson, and stay adaptable.
- Build a network of advisors, mentors, and partners who can help guide your decisions.
By staying adaptable and focused on continuous improvement, you’ll be in a stronger position to turn your vision into a successful reality.
Muskaan Kapoor
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