About 61% of startup founders in India expect pace of hiring to remain the same or dip this year: InnoVen Capital Survey
India Startup Outlook’ report from venture debt firm InnoVen Capital.
Of the more than 100 startup founders who participated in the survey, 24% were open to hiring professional CEOs in the next 2-3 years, up from 20% in 2022.
InnoVen Capital’s report is based on insights from founders of startups across stages and sectors such as fintech, SaaS, D2C, logistics, ecommerce and healthtech.
As per the report, gender diversity in leadership roles continues to be a challenge. About 75% of companies have less than 20% women in leadership roles, while 45% have less than 10% women in their leadership team.
“2023 was yet another challenging year for the start-up ecosystem, with a weak funding environment and a tough global macro,” Ashish Sharma, managing partner at InnoVen Capital India, said in a statement. “On the positive side, we are now seeing a higher appreciation for sustainable business models, more focus on unit economics/ profitability and realistic valuation expectations.”
About 68% of those who attempted to raise funds had a favorable experience in 2023, down from 71% in 2022.
According to the report, founders are more optimistic about 2024, with 78% of them expecting a favourable funding environment.
Founders continue to look at domestic IPO (initial public offering) as the most likely path of exit, with 64% choosing this mode, up from 63% in 2022 and 58% in 2021.
Preference for M&A continues a downward trajectory, falling to 22% from 28% in 2022. Overseas IPOs are also not preferred anymore.
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, 23% believe that AI will have a significant impact on their business models over
