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Do More Faster India

       David Cohen and Brad Feld

       David is Managing Partner of Techstars and Brad is Managing Partner of Foundry Group.

      When we started Techstars in 2006 we were focused on helping entrepreneurs succeed in one location, Boulder, Colorado. Do More Faster was first published in 2011 and this newly revised edition will appear in 2019. Since our founding, Techstars has grown to become the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. We scaled Startup Week, Startup Weekend, and Startup Accelerators that collectively have created tens of billions of dollars in value and tens of thousands of jobs. Startup Weekend takes place in 630 cities in 110 countries with over 70,000 attendees annually. Startup Week is provided in 147 cities in 16 countries with over 100,000 participants annually. And our three‐month Startup Accelerators operate in more than 30 cities in 15 countries and have helped more than 1,700 companies.

      Meanwhile, India has witnessed a remarkable transformation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in that same time frame. In 2005, PayTM started, followed by Flipkart and Inmobi in 2007. Quikr and Yourstory emerged in 2008, MobiKwik and Mydala in 2009, and Ola Cabs, Freshworks, and Snapdeal in 2010. Multiple other startups, like Big Basket and Delhivery, have followed and since 2005, 18 Indian startups reached valuations over $1 billion. Flipkart was purchased by Walmart for $16 billion in 2018, marking the first major exit of an Indian startup.

This list barely scratches the surface of the vibrancy of India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and we believe that thousands, millions, or tens of millions of Indians with an idea will be creating startups. Many will fail, of course, but we believe the lessons in this book, tested and repeated over a decade, will help startup founders understand what has worked for others and apply those learnings to their own situation.

      We believe Techstars can make a significant contribution to the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem. We have found that by helping entrepreneurs we also help increase employment opportunities and that helps people and communities provide more services and benefits to others. The vast population of India means that Techstars can indirectly impact hundreds of millions of people and communities and elevate the standard of living for many people.

      We have also experienced firsthand the incredibly high levels of technical expertise in India, and in fact the technical skills of Indian engineers, computer software developers, and others surpass the levels of skill in other parts of the world. But because of the complexity and diversity of India, the ability to turn superior technologies into marketable products, to develop business models that align with the market, is daunting. That’s where this book and our accelerators come in. The chapters in Do More Faster India highlight the experiences of diverse people who have either participated in our Techstars accelerator program or been a mentor to the program. Some of these people have been wildly successful while others have failed. We think readers can learn something important from both the successful and unsuccessful people. And our hope is that the lessons in this book will motivate entrepreneurs to develop networks and communities and seek out mentors to catalyze India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

      The challenges in India are significant and unlike any other country in the world. But for Techstars, India is not just one country with limited influence. With its scale, diversity, and constraints, India is a crucible and gateway for five billion people living in emerging economies. The ideas developed in Do More Faster India will work well in other parts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Techstars believes that entrepreneurs create the future, and the future is truly one global family.