印度蓄势引爆创业潮

    印度的初创型企业在种子期过后获取资金的难度更大。创业者迪普•卡拉说：“资金缺口出现了位移。现在公司和投资方都在问：‘这些创业者得到了起步阶段资金，他们发展的还不够吗？’”卡拉在2000年建立了旅游预约网站MakeMyTrip。他是获得成功的创业者之一，但他的经历并非一帆风顺。2010年，这家公司在纳斯达克市场上市。此后，纳斯达克市场再也没有出现过其他印度科技公司的身影，MakeMyTrip也因为印度航空业急剧滑坡而陷入了困境。

    卡拉说，和他刚开始创业时相比，印度的创业环境已经成熟了很多。现在，卡拉是一名活跃的天使投资人，从事非旅游类风险投资。他还是创业者组织TiE的印度分部负责人。但印度还有很长的路要走。卡拉说，印度的问题在很大程度上来自于“预期错配”。投资者期望看到本国的初创型企业像美国同类公司那样实现飞速增长。但在印度，由于基础设施匮乏，增长需要更长的时间。他指出：“在印度，一家公司发展成型需要10年时间，而在美国也许只要5年。”

    但至少媒体都在聆听创业者的声音。施拉德哈•夏尔马曾是一名新闻记者，她在2008年建立了网站YourStory.in，以创业者的事迹为主要内容。夏尔马放弃了电视台的工作，开始专门撰写新兴企业故事。她还从孟买搬到了印度的IT行业中心班加罗尔。

    目前，她把YourStory描述为一家“舒适、可以持续发展”的公司，拥有25名员工。他们的网站每天介绍10到15家初创型企业。4月份他们举办了一次人才招聘会。据他们自己所说，这是“印度第一个初创型企业招聘会”。约50家公司参加了招聘，每家交费5万印度卢比（约6177元人民币）。这次招聘会吸引了近4000名求职者，几乎超过了会场的容纳能力。

    夏马尔说：“当时的场面很疯狂。”目前她正打算在其他地方举办同样的招聘会。至少，对初创型公司的热情是如此的高涨，以至于这种热情几乎已经变成了一种常态。“在班加罗尔，人们都说在每幢租出去的房子里都能找到拥有初创型企业或者所创立的公司已经开始运转的人。它已经成为一个主流现象。”（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie  

    The bigger problem for Indian startups is securing the funding that comes after the seed round. "The chasm has shifted," says entrepreneur Deep Kalra. "Now companies and funds are saying, 'These guys got early stage [funding], but have they grown enough?'" In 2000, Kalra founded MakeMyTrip, an online travel reservation site. He's one of the success stories, but it hasn't been easy. The company had its IPO on the Nasdaq in 2010. Since then, no other Indian tech company has had a Nasdaq IPO, but MakeMyTrip struggled after a dramatic downturn in the Indian airline industry.

    Kalra says the startup world is much more mature than it was when he started -- he is now an active angel investor in non-travel ventures and heads the Indian chapter of TiE, an organization for entrepreneurs. But India has a long way to go. Much of the problem, he says, lies in an "expectation mismatch." Investors expect to see the sharp growth that they see among American startups. In India, a lack of infrastructure means growth takes longer. "In India, it takes 10 years to grow a business that might take five years in the U.S.," he says.

    But at least the media are listening. Shradha Sharma, a former journalist, founded YourStory.in in 2008 to feature the tales of entrepreneurs. She quit her job with a TV channel and started writing about new businesses full-time. She moved from Mumbai to India's IT hub, Bangalore.

    Today, she describes YourStory as a "comfortable, sustainable" business with 25 employees. Their site profiles 10 to 15 startups daily, and in April they held what they called "India's first startup job fair." Around 50 companies paid Rs. 50,000 each (~$1000) for a spot at the fair. Nearly 4,000 job seekers showed up, threatening to overwhelm the venue.

    "It was insane," says Sharma, who's now looking to recreate the event elsewhere. The enthusiasm for startups, at least, is so intense that it's almost become mundane. "In Bangalore, we say that in every second house you'll find someone who has a startup or has started up. It's become mainstream."