MAM

What are the main early challenges for a startup in India?

Published

6 years ago

December 30, 2019

The challenges of starting a business are roughly the same anywhere, and are not unique to India or anywhere else in the world. All startups are of two kinds: those that plan to make upgrades to ideas that already exist, and those that spearhead new ideas. Regardless of the nature of your business, the basics of its challenges and operations will remain the same.

If you are facing challenges, you are not alone. In fact, a recent study from the Kauffman Foundation reveals that 33% of cofounders of tech firms in the United States, for instance, are Indian – but many Indians are still afraid to venture out and start their own enterprises, because of the fear of upcoming challenges. Here are some hurdles you will need to overcome if you are thinking of starting a business in India.

Building a proper team

When it comes to Indian mindsets, they dictate that once you get a big job, you will improve your career trajectory, compared to when you are starting a business. While this is partially true, because having a salaried job brings more financial security, owning a business is also great; especially when you have a solid team behind you.

Always keep in mind that you cannot succeed in managing business alone – but you need to have a proper team. If the team you have is an inefficient or the wrong one, then it leads to communication gaps between the team and management, having poor hiring systems, and little or no work on the product and whether it fits the market.

It is actually better to have over communication in your team, instead of under communication – as well as management taking responsibility over all the decisions it makes for the business.

Funding issues

Funding is among the biggest issues many startups in India face – in fact, a study by Venture Intelligence, an India-based firm, reveal that 64 startups received $242 million in the last year alone, but that is not enough for many enterprises. In addition, the long processes to even get venture capital mean that many business owners resort to their own pockets, as well as family and friends.

Regardless of the greatness of your idea, you need to remember there are tons of financial responsibilities you need to take care of, and it is hard to succeed financially until you break even. Not only are you handling the financial aspects of the product, but also handling marketing agencies, paying dues to your employees, and clearing any bills that come up in the business. This was even highlighted by Akhilesh Singh, the Co-founder of Stylecaret, who said, “it is hard for many businesses to break even in the first year, so it is vital that entrepreneurs set aside money that allows them to operate comfortably.”

Therefore, take the time to keep track of your accounts, building your possible financial networks, and working closely with your team to make sure the funds are always secured.

It is hard to sell

If you are trying to sell a consumer product, you will find it very hard to break into the market – not to mention the stiff level of competition. Many people are sensitive to price changes, and there are likely many businesses that sell the same things you do; making it very hard to stand out.

As we mentioned earlier, your business is not operating in a vacuum – so there is bound to be competition. That means you cannot afford to be lazy when it comes to marketing your products, making more people aware of your business and what you offer, and doing other activities such as influencer marketing, and so on.

In addition, when you decide to do a B2B sale for instance, a customer can take a very long time to make a final decision – it can even take some months. An instance is selling software to banks or a large organization, and you might get a negative response in the end, mainly because many companies resort to a ‘play it safe’ attitude that holds them back.

Law problems and regulations

You might underestimate the reason why legal implications are important in encouraging business startups, until you begin a business yourself. If there are too many laws in place that entrepreneurs do not understand, it becomes difficult to start and sustain a business – that even includes financial and taxation laws, and the time it takes to registering your business – which in India, takes a minimum time of 2-6 months.

There is some good news though, as the startup environment is improving considerably as time goes by. This is also encouraging many entrepreneurs, both current and potential, to be bold enough to venture out and start their own businesses.

Poor product experience

As we mentioned earlier, your business is not operating in a vacuum – so there is bound to be competition. That means you cannot afford to be lazy when it comes to making your products to enhance the user experience.

Taking the example of email preferences, people are used to good interfaces from the big companies – such as Gmail. Even in social media, Twitter and Instagram are very popular, and continue to improve their products for their users.

Take that as a lesson: if your product is poor, then users will not like it anyway because of their negative experiences with it, or they will not differentiate it from other similar products in the market. To stand out and succeed, it is important to make sure that your product stands out from other similar products, as well as the value it gives to them; especially considering that your business is not operating in a vacuum.

Conclusion

Operating a business in India is not the easiest task, but it is fulfilling when you do it well. that involves numerous things, but also involves knowing the challenges that your business can face, as they hold back your progress – so overcoming them is important to ensure the growth of the enterprise.

Related Topics:Akhilesh Singh All startups Kauffman Foundation

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Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.