BusinessTech

Top 7 Successful Startups in India

India is rapidly developing, therefore it is unsurprising that it has produced several of the most successful startup success stories in the last decade. Indian startups are continuing to attract investors from all over the world as business opportunities are rising. Thus, the government of India is also helping by funding the startups, and due to this, job opportunities are increasing. 

The rise in the number of new enterprises forming in India can be attributed to the country’s technological and structural advancements.

Need for Startups in India

India is a developing country, and more entrepreneurs are needed to propel the Indian market forward. What do you believe the cause behind India’s need for more startups is? There are a variety of causes behind this.

First, the major need for startups in India is job opportunities, if there are more startups then it will directly lead to more job opportunities, and also it will become the reason for economic growth.

Indians need to be innovative and one should avoid copying ideas from others. There are a vast number of Venture Capitalists in India who wish to invest in startups but due to the lack of an entirely new idea, they fail to find one.

Our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi thinks that startups are crucial to cross the gaps to improve the growth and advancement of the country on numerous fronts. 

Thus, in basic terms, we may argue that startups are required in India for the country’s development. If there are more rivals in the Indian market, the country will be able to avoid monopolies in certain areas.

Benefits to Startups by Indian Government

Now, let’s drive our attention to some of the advantages provided by the government of India.

Startups are being highly motivated by the government and nowadays startups are coming to be very popular in India.

Also, under the supervision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has launched Startup India. Here, we will discern some of the benefits given to entrepreneurs for establishing startups for the better growth of the Indian economy.

  • Easy Process
  • Easy Access to Funds
  • Apply for Tenders
  • Reduction in cost
  • Tax Holidays for 3 Years
  • R&D Facilities
  • Tax Savings for Investors
  • Choose your Investor
  • Easy Exit
  • No Time Consuming Compliances

Top 7 Successful Indian Startups

1. Paytm-Fintech

paytm startups
Source: EconomicTimes

While Paytm began as a digital wallet, it has morphed and taken on new verticals within payments many times over the years. To its credit, Paytm has managed to keep its services relevant and compliant to the changing regulatory and fintech trends. It claims to have more than 130 Mn active users today and besides individual payments and transactions, customers can pay bills for utilities, transfer funds to other bank accounts, book flights, trains and movie tickets and more.

Paytm’s turning point came with the demonetisation of high-value currency notes in November 2016. Its user base grew from 125 Mn users before demonetisation to 185 Mn three months after. Since then, it has continued to grow, hitting the 300 Mn mark in 2018. It has also diversified to incorporate six new entities — Paytm Financial Services, Paytm Entertainment, Paytm Money, Paytm Mall, and Paytm Insurance Corporation, and more.

2. CRED

CRED Startups
Source: YourStack

Founded in 2018, CRED is a platform where you can pay your credit card bills and get rewarded for it. The platform has created a new model where users get “CRED coins” when they pay their bills through the CRED app. These coins can later be redeemed for buying any product, entering into a contest, or joining any workshop. The startup is Bangalore based and provides a range of services like credit and premium catalogue of products to the customers. The startup believes to incentivise people in order to improve their financial behaviour. 

According to TechCrunch, CRED is the youngest Indian startup to be valued at around $2.2 billion. This 2-year-old startup has more than 6 million customers and about 22% of all the credit card holders. As per the founder and CEO, Kunal Shah, the company is targeting affluent customers and has become one of the most talked-about startups.  

Very few companies focus on the high-end base and continue strong growth over the years. CRED is also planning to introduce a feature where CRED coins can be used by over a thousand merchants. The startup is also planning to own an eCommerce store. It is clearly visible that the startup is planning a lot more than just providing reward coins to its customers. 

3. PharmEasy

Pharmeasy Startups
Source: appedus

PharmEasy is an online pharmacy and medical store in India which specialises in OTC products, diagnostic tests, and medical instruments. The company was founded in 2015 in Mumbai, Maharashtra and has seen incredible growth since then.  It is an online pharmacy with every product you could ever imagine in an offline medical store. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has become an essential service that has contributed to its growth. The competitors of PharmEasy in India are 1mg and Netmeds. This health tech startup has raised a massive $350 million, becoming the first Epharmacy unicorn in India.

The investors of PharmEasy are the ones who also invested in the startups like Swiggy and Byju’s. The founders Dharmil Sheth and Dr Dhaval Shah have planned to reach over 100,000 pharmacies in the next 12 months in the new geographical markets of India. 

4. GROWW


Source: GROWW

Groww is an investing platform that allows its customers to invest in stocks, ETFs, Mutual funds, IPOs and more using its platform. The platform works on both mobile applications and the web. The company was founded in 2016 by 4 ex-Flipkart employees who noticed how difficult it is to invest in India. This realisation made them start Groww which has more than 15 million users registered till now. According to Groww, more than 60% of the company belongs to smaller cities of India that have never invested before. As per one of the founders, Lalit Keshre, Groww is used across India and not just in metro cities. The users are spread across all the major cities of the nation who are working class, young and want to invest their hard-earned money. 

The company raised $83 million in 2021 and entered into the Unicorn club. Groww is looking forward to investing this amount in new products, recruiting new talent, and building education platforms for the investors. 

5. Dream11 – Media and Entertainment


Source: Sportzcraazy

Nobody thought India would have a gaming startup that will earn global acclaim. But Dream11 has done just that and largely because of its association with the biggest cricketers in the world, and its focus on capturing the market around tournaments such as Indian Premier League as well as customising fantasy football gaming for the Indian market.

It took the company three years to hit its first million users, and soon after that, it crossed 3 Mn users in less than two months. Today, Dream11 boasts of 50 Mn users and sports-related websites regularly cover fantasy game predictions as they would cover actual cricket matches.

6. Ola – Mobility

OLA Startups
Source: YourStack

Bhavish Aggarwal was on his way from Bengaluru to Bandipur when his cab driver abandoned him en route to his destination due to a failed deal renegotiation. Aggarwal was inspired to create cab aggregation service Ola after being stranded in the middle of nowhere.

He enlisted cofounder Ankit Bhati, and Ola was created in 2010 following rigorous market research. It now operates in 50 cities across India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. With over 1.5 million drivers, the corporation promises to perform over a billion rides every year.

Ola’s services include online booking of auto-rickshaws and bikes as well as vehicles. It has also come up with a connected car platform called Ola Play and recently ventured into the self-driving market with Ola Drive. It’s also betting big on electric vehicles with Ola Electric, which became India’s fastest unicorn earlier this year.

Beyond mobility, the company has entered the food delivery and cloud kitchen business as well with the launch of Ola Khichdi Experiment.

7. BYJU’s


Source: YourStack

In 2015, Indian educational technology launched a learning app named Byju’s. It has 50 million registered learners and 3.5 million paid subscriptions.

They offer highly personalized and productive understanding programs for classes one to twelve. They will also make you ready for several competitive exams.

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