START-UP BHARAT

Non-metro towns are fast emerging as start-up hubs as an increasing number of founders are looking at Tier II and III locations to launch their ventures. While there are challenges, the opportunities seem to be immense 

- ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

KEEROS SUPERFOODS has been in existence for a little over five years now. Based in Lucknow, the start-up makes healthy, diabetic-friendly snacks. It has even raised three rounds of funding from a mix of nearly 50 institutional and angel investors. Now, Lucknow does not feature on any map as a start-up hub. But more than 300 start-ups call it home, and investors have poured in over $1 million in ventures based in this ‘City of Nawabs’.

Sachin Sahni, Founder of Keeros Superfoods, says that the startup ecosystem in non-metros is rapidly changing due to a combination of public and private initiatives in which incubation centres also play an important role. “Even parents who earlier used to root for safe government jobs are opening up to the idea of their wards getting into business,” he says, highlighting the role being played by initiatives like ‘Start in UP’ in Uttar Pradesh, and the awareness wrought on by television series Shark Tank India.

Similarly, Mohit Nagaria, Founder and CEO of Jhansi-based Logout.Studio, believes it is very cost effective to launch a start-up from a non-metro city, and more often than not, the local network of founders, investors and vendors pitch in to scale the business. “We could run bootstrapped for a year before raising funds only because we were based in a non-metro city,” says Nagaria, sharing how he managed to negotiate a deal for funding with the Jhansi branch of a bank after the same bank’s Delhi branch refused to hear his pitch.