Tech start-ups to transform SMEs With the growing need of mid-market enterprises to do tech innovation and bring digital transformation on the customer front, an increasing number of tech start-ups are set to focus on bringing about SME transformation.

The Zen Learning to "Change the way you see to see the change you want" may sound clichéd but it is perhaps the most relevant cliché in today's time. It is especially most true with tech businesses which are more volatile and prone to change than the non-tech ones. The current tech scene is now more attuned to B2B tech or enterprise tech as compared to consumer internet about a year or two ago. With the growing need of mid-market enterprises to do tech innovation and bring digital transformation on the customer front, an increasing number of tech start-ups are set to focus on bringing about SME transformation. The business model is itself gravitating more towards B2B2C for most start-ups to save the burn that B2C models inherently possess. For young start-ups, a growing need is being felt for private labelling to manage their revenues and growth by acquiring customers. In hindsight, this would mean more unicorns that would be born in the next couple of years. Last month, when I was speaking at RISE summit in Hong Kong, I could clearly feel the flavour of corporate innovation and tech enterprise bonding becoming bigger than ever before with change in equal measures being felt by the SME community. However, the scene in India is still slow as compared to the rest of Asia as SMEs are tight on innovation spending with current regulatory regimes, which once in place would lead to major technology upheavals for all kinds of businesses in the country.

More recently, the annual "Entrepreneur 2019' convention that concluded was a real feast for all entrepreneurs and start-ups looking to learn the new blocks of building businesses. Two things came to the fore. First, start-ups are now getting into round two where the founder will alone not have the commitment to ensure the success of the organisation but there will be a rise of more intrapreneurs in companies. Early day co-founders will be seen exiting the system and professional teams will take over. Secondly, it is how unicorn start-ups are aligning their teams to the reality of the work. If the work is on ground, the teams need to be rooted too and not looking for a fancy environment or perks. Sectorwise, electric vehicles and their ancillary businesses have got all the eyeballs right now with government commitment to see the sector becoming big. We have shared highlights of the events whilst giving you some insights on key discussions.

Our current issue is focused on creative entrepreneurs and how they devised a new cult that led to a new way of doing things. However, creativity isn't just about coming up with ideas, rather it is about being able to adapt to new circumstances, navigate uncertainty and find solutions as problems arise. Our current set of creative entrepreneurs come from different realms, but disruption bred from their creativity. Their creativity isn't just a flash of inspiration, rather it is an asset and in our issue it applies to designers, artists and even retailers in equal measures. Our issue also talks about the growth of food service business in India and its growth through franchising.

Ritu Marya
Editor in Chief

E-mail me at:
rmarya@entrepreneurindia.com

(This article was first published in the August 2019 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here)