As startups go public, ETSA jury asks: When does a startup cease to be one?

As many Indian startups go public at early stages, the definition of startups is starting to change.

Do you consider a public market company a startup, or do those not qualify? That was the big debate when the jury met to decide the next cohort of winners for The Economic Times Startup Awards 2026.

The jury’s deliberations narrowed the field to three contenders: wealthtech platform Groww, ecommerce marketplace Meesho and space launch vehicle maker Skyroot. While all three saw strong backing from different jury members, Groww ultimately emerged ahead, with its scale, profitability and accelerating growth giving it the edge. The company won the most coveted prize at this year’s awards: The ET Startup of the Year.


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“The most challenging part of the jury meeting for me was to do with a question around who you acknowledge,” juror Ajit Mohan, chief business officer of social media company Snap, said after the jury meeting. “You have companies that are at an early stage, have some cutting-edge technology and where you can see the potential that over the next 10 or 15 years they can really scale. Then you have companies that have been around for a while; they’re startups, but they’re starting to be profitable and starting to scale,” he said.

“Both are important parts of the ecosystem. I think we got the balance right,” Mohan said.

Groww and Meesho, both of which got listed on stock exchanges in late 2025, brought significant scale to the contest. Skyroot, meanwhile, saw strong support from several jurors for its technological breakthrough in the highly competitive global space industry.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm and a jury member, said: “The jury was very friendly and curious. They deliberated deeply on every category. We also discussed a big question — who is a startup and when does one stop being a startup? That was a very interesting outcome.”

The debate centred in part on whether companies that have reached significant scale or entered the public markets should continue to be considered startups. Some jurors questioned whether an IPO marks a point at which a company moves beyond the startup phase. Others argued that going public is increasingly becoming a route for startups to raise capital, particularly at a time when private funding has become harder to access.

Juror Paras Chopra, founder of software firm Wingify and Bengaluru-based AI lab Lossfunk, said: “The debate on what qualifies as a startup was very interesting. It made us think about the definition of a startup, and I found that very enlightening. Everyone had their own opinions, and the list of startups was amazing.”