Startups must play the ‘value creation game,’ not the ‘valuation game’, says Anupam Mittal of Shark Tank India at ET Soonicorns Summit

India’s new-age companies must prioritize value creation over valuation and chase ‘profit pools’ rather than ‘capital pools’ as they scale, said entrepreneur and startup investor Anupam Mittal at the ET Soonicorns Summit, where he highlighted key startup themes that signal continued opportunities for growth.

Startups building innovations for Bharat, or for the “bottom-of-the-pyramid problems” that remain unsolved, as well as those creating tech solutions and products in India for the world are two themes that will continue to play out and provide opportunities for startups to scale, said Mittal, who is the Founder of People Group and a prominent Shark Tank India judge.

Watch the ET Soonicorns Summit LIVE on 8-9 September


To be sure, the founder of matchmaking service Shaadi.com has had a front row seat to the evolution of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem over the past two decades, during which he has made investments in over 200-odd startups, including around 30 investments through Shark Tank India.

Mittal, who continues to remain excited about the growth prospects of Indian startups, making around 25 investments a year outside of Shark Tank, also also spoke about his mission to empower a new generation of entrepreneurs through his social media funding platform, the DreamDeal initiative.

On 8-9 September, around 50 top entrepreneurs, including Mittal, as well as startup ecosystem stakeholders came together at the virtual ET Soonicorns Summit, an initiative by the EconomicTimes.com to celebrate the league of future unicorns of India and unlock their full potential.

During Mittal’s keynote interview with EconomicTimes.com’s Digital Broadcast Editor Miloni Bhatt at the ET Soonicorns Summit, powered by AWS and Intel, the seasoned entrepreneur and angel investor shared valuable learnings from his own entrepreneurial, brand-building, and startup investing journey.
Among them were lessons in keeping customers at the heart of everything, building businesses with strong fundamentals, and constantly reinventing to stay relevant in a fast-evolving market. Top of that list, though, was the message for startups to ensure value creation and build profitable institutions that last.

“I think that the era (of playing the valuation game) is behind us – at least for some time until the next bubble. And I think people are going to be forced to really become hardcore businesspersons, be extremely commercially savvy, and chase profit pools, not capital pools,” said Mittal.

In addition to his startup investment portfolio, which includes the likes of ride-hailing giant Ola, Mittal has also invested in more than 20 startups as a Shark Tank India judge and recently launched the DreamDeal initiative, which is a unique social media funding platform aimed at empowering aspiring young entrepreneurs with grants, funding and mentorship.

“A few decades back, nobody climbed Mount Everest, but now every second person is going to climb it. Why? What changed? Everybody started believing they could do it because somebody else did it. So if we can change that, I think we’ll change the nation. And that's what we're trying to do with DreamDeal,” said Mittal.

The idea to launch DreamDeal, Mittal added, was born from a need to ensure that access to the right entrepreneurial support is not limited to just a privileged few.

“What amazes me is that very few privileged people manage to access funding. Disproportionately, you will find that it's the people from the IITs and IIMs that are being funded as well as those who know how to work the crowd and get access to VCs and the VC network. But that's a small club… I believe everybody deserves a shot,” said Mittal.

To be sure, Mittal remains optimistic about the coming generation of entrepreneurs and their ability to build long-term businesses that continue to scale in a more sustainable manner, particularly as investor expectations for startup growth rates become more reasonable amidst a tough macroeconomic environment and an ongoing tech funding winter.

“The good news is, there are a lot of great solid founders out there who are not drunk on easy capital and who want to build solid, long-term businesses. The conversations I'm having with founders these days, we're talking about, what does your company look like 20 years from now. And they have a view, they have a vision and they’re talking about building institutions,” Mittal added.

Watch the full interview with Anupam Mittal here. You can also visit the ET Soonicorns Summit website to know more about the initiative.