Has The Era Of Vanity Metrics Finally Ended For Indian Startups?
The headlines have been relentless over the past year and numbers reflect this, 38 per cent decline in startup funding in 2024. Funding has slowed down, startups are down sizing or even closing down as investors are cutting back.
On the surface, it does indicate that the golden years for Indian startups are over. But peel the onion, it is a very different story out there, a story of resilience, discipline, building quietly with a clear focus, sharp execution to ensure business sustainability.
“Growth at all costs” is not the focus but building the fundamentals for a strong business is – this is surely a sign of not just “starting up” but “building a business”. It is the era of startups developing innovative solutions for real problems or align with the nation’s strategic imperatives.
B2B SaaS players, which created products for specialised needs such as optimising logistics for cold-chain supply chains or compliance automation for fintech, reported over 3x revenue growth in the past year. Consumer companies focused the business around a single “hero SKU”, rather than releasing dozens of untested products, and recorded 15–20 per cent higher customer retention rates. And they raised money and valuation discussions echoed EBITDA / PAT multiples rather than revenue multiples.