Tour de force

Technopreneurs—entrepreneurs who translate technology into workable business models.

- Avinash Gautam, Silvan Innovation Labs

There is no denying that India is on the cusp of an explosive era of technology-backed business enterprise that will touch and change everything beyond recognition. For the first time in over fifty years, we are on a par with [other countries] with respect to technological developments that are driving momentum in this space. What can be done in the US can be done here too—at a fraction of that cost and faster. And help is pouring in from all quarters with a proactive government wanting to engage the new India in the digital space; marquee global VCs are suddenly finding a lot more opportunities here, and a young India is wanting to step out of the comfort zone and harness the power of technology to drive in disruptive products and solutions.

The age of technopreneurs is driven by three factors—smart devices, access to internet, machine communication (IoT). We are already number two in the global internet user base (at over 450 million) and in the startup pecking order, we are at number three, just behind uK and the US (surprisingly, we beat China in this).