How to Start a Startup in India: Success Secrets & Tips

Setting up a startup is a great way to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey. Do you want to learn how to start a startup that will be successful and profitable over time? Each year, in India, a lot of new businesses are formed, but only an extremely small proportion make it to the profitable stage. Research has revealed that out of all companies started up in any one year, as few as 20% remain functioning after 5 years, and just 8% carry on longer than 10 years.

To establish a long-term startup company, here’s a practical guide for you to learn how to start a startup company off the ground. From finding a good idea to developing a business plan and securing funding, all the step-by-step instructions given in this blog will help you establish your successful business venture. Whether you’re just starting or have been involved in startups before, this guide is sure to give you all the skills necessary to excel and sustain your startup company.

How to Start a Startup Company in India?

Starting and building a company can seem impossible without proper knowledge, but with these practical steps listed below, you can successfully launch your business.

1. Validate if Your Business is Achievable

The first step to starting a business is to conduct proper research to see if your business idea is relevant to the market. With adequate market research using analytical tools, you can validate and know if your business will thrive in the market or not, who your competitors are, what your target market will be, and more.

2. Draft a Business Plan

After validating your business idea with the right market research, write an effective business plan, including all the things your business hopes to achieve in the long run.

3. Determine the Type of Business Structure to Use

To effectively develop a new business, you must decide on the structure you want your organization to have. You can determine the necessary number of partners and investors to look out for by choosing a business structure.

The most common structures used by businesses are as follows:

• Sole Proprietorship
• Partnership
• Operational Team
• Administrative and Management Team
• Marketing and Sales Team
• Finance Team

By choosing the right structure, you can examine your company’s needs and make the correct decisions for its expansion.

4. Generate Funds

The ability to bring in investors is a key component of any business structure. To make this concept clearer, let us take a look at the three main types of investments that startups usually rely on. They are equity financing, debt financing, and convertible notes.

• Equity Financing: This involves selling shares of your company in exchange for capital.
• Debt Financing: It requires taking out loans from lenders, such as banks or venture capitalists.
• Convertible Notes: This will offer shareholders an option to eventually convert their investment into actual stock.

5. Register Your Business

Investors and potential investors have more faith and confidence in registered enterprises. Registering your business will enable you to apply for loans, get grants for startups, get sponsorships, etc.

6. Get Involved in Government Programs

Participating in a government program implies that you should register your business under a startup program that the government is running. A business will benefit from this and gain certain advantages, such as reduced tax payments, business promotion, and protection of business rights, among many others.

7. Build Online Visibility

In our fast-paced digital world, businesses need to be on social media platforms tailored to their growth. Also, a website can be developed in addition to social media marketing methods, as this will increase the company’s visibility and foster client confidence.

Additionally, when there is an increase in online visibility, more people will see job postings, broadening the pool of talents to hire from.

8. Get an Onsite Location

Securing a physical location is essential for business owners in the early stages of starting up, as it can promote trust among customers and give them assurance over their investments. Having an onsite presence allows potential buyers to have faith that they are making secure financial decisions when spending money.

These are some of the basic and essential steps you can take to set up your startup. If you want to better understand how business works, you can also take a business analytics course.

How to Register for a Startup in India?

In recent years, the Government of India has launched the Startup India program to bolster economic growth in the country. The goal of this special program campaign is to provide people with the tools and resources they need to set up their businesses and succeed in a market that is becoming more and more competitive.

Here is a practical guide on how to start a startup in India.

1. Get Your Business Registered

The first step to getting started with the startup program in India is business incorporation. To incorporate your business, you need to go through the necessary steps for registering it as a ‘Private Limited Company’, ‘Partnership Firm’, or ‘Limited Liability Partnership’. This includes submitting an application and obtaining the relevant Certificate of Incorporation/Partnership registration.

Additionally, make sure that all relevant laws and regulations are adhered to during this process. After the successful completion of this step, your business will be officially up and running.

2. Become a Member of Startup India

Once you have successfully incorporated your business, you can sign up and register for the startup program on the Startup in India website. To successfully register your business as a startup and create a startup profile, follow the steps listed below:

• Visit the Startup in India website.
• Click on the ’’Register’ button.
• Fill in the necessary details, such as email address and phone number, and choose a unique password.
• Hit the ‘register’ tab once you enter all the details.
• You will receive OTP in your email inbox.
• Follow the next prompt and click on the submission button.

After creating a profile on the website, startups can apply for a variety of incubator/mentorship programs and acceleration programs, as well as gain access to resources like learning and development programs, government programs, state policies for startups, and other free services.

3. Get Recognised by DPIIT

After you have created a startup profile successfully, the next step will be to register with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Startups that receive recognition from DPIIT can enjoy several benefits. These benefits include:

• Access to top-notch intellectual property services and resources.
• Reduced public procurement norms.
• Self-certification under labor and environmental laws.
• Easy dissolution process for the company.
• Access to fund and tax exemptions in three consecutive years or any time when investing more than its fair market value.

To obtain DPIIT recognition, follow these instructions:

• Sign in using your existing account details on the Startup India website.
• Select ‘Apply for DPIIT Recognition’ under the ‘Recognition’ tab.

4. Fill Out the Application for Recognition

To submit the ‘Startup Recognition Form’, you will need to provide the necessary information, such as entity details, full address (office), authorized representative, and directors/partners. You can do this by clicking on the plus (+) sign located on the right-hand side of your form, where each section can be entered accordingly.

Once all sections have been filled in correctly and the terms & conditions have been accepted, it is time to press the ‘Submit’ button.

5. Validate All Your Documents

Within two days of submission, if you correctly complete all the processes outlined above, you will receive a certificate of recognition. However, you must be extremely careful when presenting your documents, as if they are found to be inaccurate following verification, you will not receive the certificate of recognition.

Additionally, if subsequent verification reveals that your documents were faked, you would be punished with 50% of the startup’s paid-up capital, with a minimum fine of Rs. 25,000.

Conclusion

The first step in creating a successful business is understanding how to start a startup. To maintain your company’s growth, you need to implement important business strategies. Maximizing the information provided in this blog can help you begin and sustain your business venture in India. A takeaway tip for you: Read all the details on the Startup India website carefully and make a list of required documents to avoid last-minute hiccups.

Are you planning to launch your startup? Tell us in the comments if the information in this blog helped you.