Nikesh Arora at Start-Up India meet said that in India, there is lot of funding in services but not enough in deep technology or product.
The Chief Operating Officer of Softbank Nikesh Arora said that one must not focus on funding, rather focus on solving a problem and money will follow. He was speaking at the government's Start-Up India meet.
Here are the highlights of his address:- Our entry into India coincided with a change in government, more spirit for entrepreneurship and a huge uptick in smartphones.
- I have no memory of anything bad happening in my career. I think that's how you can go ahead.
- Most important for entrepreneurs to think about the end user. What problem am I solving? How am I making their lives better?
- The moment you start prioritising funding, you lose focus. Solve a problem. Money will find you.
- We have to be very ruthless about our time. How we use it.
- One of the areas where I haven't seen a solution at scale is education. Today with so much technology application, we can reshape education.
- India's startup scene still very nascent, we will see a few accidents in 2016. Start-ups will have to deliver.
- In India, there is lot of funding in services but not enough in deep technology or products.
- In 30 years the computing, communication power will go up a million times. So we are very interested in artificial intelligence.
- On the question of companies offering deep discounts to compete and not making profits - In 2015 we saw tremendous funding going to companies, but it also created a shakeup, and consolidation. Our message to investee companies is focus on experience and quality, and let the consumer decide. Don't try and buy the consumer with deep discounts.