ETSA 2021: IPOs still very much on top startups’ menu

Bengaluru: Prime-tier Indian startups with sturdy fundamentals will proceed to take the IPO route at the same time as the general public markets keep risky and there may be elevated regulatory scrutiny of new-age firms, stated policymakers, founders and traders on the seventh version of The Economic Times Startup Awards, probably the most coveted accolade for the nation’s thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Round 175 visitors gathered in a bodily setting after two years, in what turned out to be a high-energy coming collectively of a star-studded group from India’s startup world. On the grand ceremony on Saturday in Bengaluru, on-line food-delivery and restaurant discovery platform Zomato
won the prestigious Startup of the Year award.

Additionally Learn:
This big-bang year belongs to Zomato

Within the presence of visitors of honour Piyush Goyal, minister for commerce and business, shopper affairs, textiles and meals & public distribution, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister for railways, communications, electronics and knowledge expertise, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for talent improvement and entrepreneurship and electronics and knowledge expertise, the who’s who of the business gathered to laud winners throughout 9 classes.

Following the broader theme of the Awards this yr, the elite jury picked Zomato for paving the way in which for technology-led firms to checklist on Indian bourses with its bumper public subject. Nykaa, Policybazaar and Paytm had adopted go well with, creating unprecedented curiosity amongst first-time retail traders in these IPOs. Zomato joins a distinguished checklist of earlier winners together with on-line brokerage agency Zerodha, logistics and provide chain companies firm Delhivery, hospitality platform Oyo Accommodations & Houses, food-delivery main Swiggy, enterprise software program maker Freshworks, and ride-hailing app Ola, which had bagged high honours within the inaugural version in 2015.

Different winners included Abhiraj Singh Bhal, cofounder and CEO at City Firm (previously Urbanclap),
whose firm was picked in the Covid-led Business Transformation category; and Sanjeev Bikhchandani, cofounder of Information Edge,
who bagged the Midas Touch Award for being an early investor in Zomato.

Lizzie Chapman, cofounder and CEO of ZestMoney,
won in the Woman Ahead category.

Probably the most hotly mentioned matter was expertise startup IPOs with founders and traders unanimously agreeing that going public continues to be on the playing cards and it’s only a matter of beneficial timing.

In a panel dialogue on The IPO Alternative: How Startups will Transition from Personal to Public Market, Delhivery cofounder & CEO Sahil Barua stated, “I feel you’ll proceed to see startups going public as a result of good firms are good firms, it’s actually so simple as that.”

Whereas Delhivery
has received a nod from the market regulator for its proposed IPO, Barua stated that, protecting in thoughts present market situations, the corporate has determined to attend it out.

Whereas the general public market readjusts to the valuations of tech firms globally, funding in startups just isn’t going to stagnate as a result of capital continues to move in, stated BigBasket cofounder and CEO Hari Menon. “However I feel you will note numerous the frenzy calm down,” he stated. “You will notice corrections in valuation however cash won’t dry up.”

As in earlier editions, this yr too, ETSA emerged as a platform for facilitating dialogue between policymakers and the startup neighborhood. A number of ongoing hot-button points within the business had been highlighted on the sidelines of the ceremony.

Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy stated the ET Startup Awards rejoice the spirit of entrepreneurship, renewed vitality and enthusiasm.

“Not simply to rejoice the winners, but additionally as a result of it was held in-person, which allowed for deeper conversations and join… Interacting with honourable ministers Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, was insightful as at all times,” he stated. “We mentioned how we will proceed to bolster entrepreneurship and create an setting that continues to be supportive of enterprise.”

Shashank Kumar, cofounder of Razorpay, stated the awards “offered an important alternative to satisfy and join with startup founders in particular person after a really very long time”.

“The give attention to celebrating the success in addition to speaking about the way forward for the business…makes it a holistic and all-round nice occasion,” he stated.

The Financial Instances Startup Awards 2021 is introduced by IDFC First Financial institution. These supporting the occasion embrace data associate Tracxn, hospitality associate The Leela Palace, Bengaluru, and telecast associate ET Now.