In conversation With Preet Sandhuu, Director, Startup Stairs, That Recently Funded 15 Emerging Startups In India

The Indian startup ecosystem is the third largest in the world and is on track to reach the top spot in the coming decade with thousands of startups joining the innovation bandwagon every year. The growth opportunity for Indian startups is immense, but in a sea of startups and rising competition, startups that accelerate at a rapid pace under the right mentorship will succeed above others. Supporting the rising Indian startup ecosystem are several players from both the public and private sectors. Among private entities, growth accelerators and incubators have helped several hundred startups achieve scale at unprecedented speed. One such growth accelerator is Startup Stairs which takes budding startups under its wings from the seed stage. 

Startup Stairs is run by industry experts who have developed a keen eye to detect potential among rising startups and transform founders into exceptional Entrepreneurs by mentoring, fostering and supporting them. The seed-stage accelerator provides assistance and mentoring services to startups and MSMEs and helps them in finding the right market, raising funds, financial consultations, business planning, and innovative strategic collaborations.

Recently, Startup Stairs chose 15 startups as the winners of their 'Growth Acceleration Program with 4i' under the aegis of NSDC supported by Startup India. The winners were chosen by an esteemed Jury and were awarded seed funding starting from Rs 25 lakhs to 5 crores. The 15 winning startups were chosen out of 150 nominations from across the country. The highest seed funding of Rs 5 crores was awarded to Kart4u. 

Funding of Rs 2 crores went to R Sai, a tech-driven aggregator platform that aims to upskill the logistics workforce with the inclusion of certified drivers and support staff. Rs 1 crore was awarded to RATH, a dedicated e-platform that acts as an aggregator of skilled and certified auto and taxi drivers via its app. Another Rs 1 crore went to Soltech, a dedicated aggregator, E-commerce platform and app for all power, battery, and solar needs of consumers and corporate houses. Another  Rs 60 lakhs were bagged by Maa boli, a tech-inclusive transparent and robust aggregator platform for the skilled workforce of media, entertainment and allied industries.

We sat down with Preet Sandhuu, Director, Startup Stairs to know more about her company's plans for the year 2023 and its path forward.

What are your plans for 2023 as an organisation?
We at Startup Stairs are focused on the upliftment of the informal sector’s workforce through tech-inclusive platforms. We look forward to incubating at least 50 startups working on uplifting the informal sector's workforce and helping 15 startups achieve unicorn status in the coming years. We intend to support them with proper mentoring and networking. In pursuance of the vision, we will be guided by our core values of Impact, Inclusion, Innovation and Integrity. Our strategy to deliver the above value propositions relies on two pillars; trust and discovery. 

Startup Stairs encourages entrepreneurs to include digital skilling in their business model to build a trustworthy portfolio among the Service Providers and Vendors comprising Proof of Identity, Proof of Education, Proof of Skills, Proof of Work, and Proof of Reputation by aggregating the above attributes from sovereign registries, digitally verifiable credentials from trusted issuers, and self-credentials aggregated over blockchain platform ensuring trust and transparency through immutability.

How are you looking to promote the selected startups? What are some targets you have in mind? 
We will be promoting the selected startups through a wide range of PR and digital marketing activities, connecting them with our network for expansion, and providing them with the smart capital they need in the form of manpower, compliance resources, technology and infrastructure, and digital outreach.

Are you planning further investments in the ecosystem in 2023?
Yes, we have innovative ideas for uplifting the informal sector's workforce and intend to mentor, support, and empower 50 startups working in this field by 2025. We associated with 150 startups through the 'Growth Acceleration Program’ and will be mentoring the 15 selected startups for the next year to help them reach their full potential. We also aim to associate with 30 more startups in 2024 and create a Startup Stair portfolio of successful and scalable 50 startups by 2025.

How big is the startup stairs team and are you looking to hire in 2023?
We are a growing pool of industry experts with rich entrepreneurial and professional experience in areas spanning management consulting, project management, wealth management, financial advisory and much more. We have plans to hire talented professionals for various roles in 2023.

Which industries according to you will become the sunshine industries of 2023?
While 2019-2020 witnessed the rise of Edtech startups in India, Fintechs have taken the lead in the last two years, bringing in much-needed disruption, especially for consumers and MSMEs. In 2023, I believe, sectors such as Agrotech, Electric Vehicles, Media & Entertainment, OTT, Handicrafts, Legaltech, and ADtech will outperform other sectors, the reason being, that these emerging sectors offer a wide playing field for experimentation and innovation to be introduced, that not only address an existing need but also anticipate what the end users might want in the future and work towards making it happen.

Please explain why you founded Startup Stairs. What is your vision for the company?
One of my biggest motivators to found Startup Stairs was to uplift the workforce from informal sectors through tech inclusive ways. We aim to bridge the gap between startups and the country's skill ecosystem. Our singular purpose is to support and empower the evolution of startups and MSMEs so that they can generate employment, and wealth, and build a resilient economy.