India's wave of entrepreneurs might be gaining momentum, but it has some way to catch up. One chart presented by Marcellus Investment Managers reflects starkly contrasting differences in the number of new businesses established per year in India and the US. In 2023, the US registered around 5 million new businesses, compared with less than 200,000 in India.
The disparity is glaring, particularly considering the population size of India and the increasing digital ecosystem underpinning startups. The information relies on the US Census Bureau and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of India and indicates that the US significantly leads India by a large margin in new business formation, even when population size disparities and divergences in the level of economic development are factored in.
The trend has reignited debate around the cultural and structural issues which still keep Indian entrepreneurship from accelerating.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Marcellus Investment Managers founder Saurabh Mukherjea noted that India's middle class continues to hang on to the notion of stable, salaried employment. "With stable, salaried employments a thing of the past," he wrote, "the core of the Indian middle class needs altitudinal returning if it is to capitalize on the economic opportunities posed by this huge, underdeveloped free market economy."
To assist would-be entrepreneurs with making this transition, Mukherjea enumerated "The 10 Commandments of Entrepreneurship in India." They are:
Take risks
Simplify your life
Be patient
Embrace failure
Be happy 'standing out'
Be caring
Be curious, keep learning, ignore credentialling
Relax and recharge (don't reflect)
Establish trust through relationships and experiences beyond your comfort zone
Nurture the next generation
These recommendations are beyond the normal course of business suggestions. They refer to a greater cultural transformation that perhaps must take place if entrepreneurship is going to succeed in India. As an example, his argument of looking past "credentialling" confronts the historically pervasive preoccupation with diplomas and degrees. Rather, he promotes learning by doing and entrepreneurship through experimentations and trust-based development.
Mukherjea's remarks also square with general observations regarding India's startup ecosystem. India has created unicorns and gained the attention of global venture capital, yet the number of new companies is low. Experts tend to cite regulatory complexity, access to capital, and a fear of failure as obstacles.
But the attitudinal elements Mukherjea writes about can be equally crucial. Entrepreneurship, he posits, isn't merely opportunity—it's also perseverance, attitude, and social support. Inspiring individuals to venture out of the security of known livelihoods and gamble on creating something new might make more happen than reforms ever could.
For India to close the gap with countries like the US, it may require more than just startup incubators and ease-of-doing-business reforms. It may require a cultural reset—one of risk-taking, failure, and youth nurtured to create their own trajectories.
