Focus on 'unicornism' in India 'overhyped', says Rishad Premji

Wipro Executive chairman Rishad Premji on Thursday said that the whole focus on "unicornism" in the country is "overhyped" and being celebrated too much.

"You want to focus on building businesses that sustain and then ultimately value will come. You cannot start your journey saying I want to (have) a value of X, Y and Z. That is very turning off. And so, I think it is the first red sign that pops up," he said when asked about the growing trend of startups looking to achieve Unicorn status within a few months of coming into being.

Stating that people talk about valuation as opposed to building valuable businesses, he said, "We have overhyped in our country this whole focus on unicornism and we celebrate that too much. There are thousands of other companies that don't make it, but serve a need and are successful, but they don't make unicorn valuation and it doesn't make them non-successful companies, he said.


A CII report, in collaboration with McKinsey & Co earlier this year said that new unicorns are likely to add USD 1 trillion to the Indian economy, which would reach USD 7 trillion size by 2030, and add 50 million new jobs.

Startup firms valued over USD 1 billion are categorised as unicorns.

The first unicorn was seen in India in 2011, and after a decade, India has crossed the mark of 100 unicorns.

According to the findings of the CII report, India's 100-plus unicorns and about 100,000 startups have contributed a significant 10 to 15 per cent to GDP growth between 2016 and 2023.