Over the years, India has emerged as the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world, earning itself the reputation of being the emerging land for delivering unicorns. It has become one of the most attractive regions in the world for initiating and scaling up new business ideas. Many venture capitalists have invested in India's start-up ecosystem, and the government has also launched a variety of schemes to promote this growth. Indian organisations have become more competitive, making their global presence felt and expanding their reach into new industries and sectors.

What factors have been pivotal for the growth of Indian start-ups? How did the Indian ecosystem evolve to fuel this growth? Is the role of leadership in start-ups more crucial than in other organisations?

This book, through its diverse range of chapters, not only provides answers to the above questions, but also makes sincere efforts to highlight the innovative potential that start-ups carry and the leadership that is required to sail them through global competition. The book also provides an insight on the race of unicorns and how Indian start-ups have been extremely successful in bagging this coveted title. This edited book is a must-read for budding entrepreneurs and researchers who aim to understand and conduct research on Indian start-ups and their ecosystem support.

Contents:

• SMEs and Start-Ups: The Growth Engine of India (Léo-Paul Dana and Naman Sharma)


• The SME Exchange: Issues and Challenges Faced by Entrepreneurs and Measures to Overcome Them (Renu Bala)


• Innovative Technologies' Adoption in Indian Start-Ups and SMEs (Megha Sharma and V K Singh)


• Export Performance and Resource Capabilities of Indian Manufacturing MSMEs (Areej Aftab Siddiqui and Kashika Arora)


• Leadership and Entrepreneurial Skills for SMEs: A Case of RP Inc. (Nidhi Gupta and Ragini Tyagi)


• Does Entrepreneurial Orientation Predict Small and Medium Enterprise Alliance Formation? Evidence from the Indian Manufacturing Sector (Rohit Prabhudesai, Ch V V S N V Prasad, Nitin Pangarkar, Abhishek Kumar Sinha and Akshay Bhat)


• COVID-19 and Learning Experiences of Women Entrepreneurial Leaders: An Indian Context (Meghna Chhabra and Monika Agarwal)


• Nurturing Dynamic Competencies: An Innovative Approach for SMEs' Sustainable Growth (Swati Sharma and Jugal Kishor)


• EdTech Start-Ups: A Mode of Transformation in Teaching Learning (Prateek Khanna, Reetika Sehgal, Mayank Malviya, Anukaran Khanna and Ashish Mohan Dubey)


• Digital Health Innovation: Emergence of Digital Medical Consumer (DMC) and Holistic Digital Health Start-Ups (HDHSs) (Girish R Kulkarni, Daxesh M Patel, Supriya Singh and Punit Saurabh)


• A Study of Perspectives on the Growth, Strategy and Branding in Indian MSMEs (Amol Randive, Jayashree Vispute and Shailendra Goswami)


• Factors Influencing Social Media Adoption by MSMEs: Using the UTAUT Model (Piali Haldar)


• Free and Open-Source Software as an Innovation Stimulus for SMEs: An Indian perspective (Ruchi Jain and Ruchika Jeswal)


• With Love for Loved Ones (WLFLO): A Start-Up Creating Value and Opportunities (Supriya Singh, Punit Saurabh, Pradeep Kautish and Girish R Kulkarni)


• Systematic Literature Review on Retention in Entrepreneurial Firms: A Step Towards Sustainable Development (Shivangi Saxena and Divya Goel)


• Entrepreneurial Leadership and Designing Industry 4.0 Business Models: Towards an Innovative and Sustainable Future for India (Slimane Ed-Dafali, Muhammad Mohiuddin, Md Samim Al Azad and Aidin Salamzadeh)

Readership: Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in entrepreneurship classes or programmes, and researchers specialising in the field. Budding entrepreneurs who are starting their journey and would like to learn more.

Key Features:

• Focuses on the achievements and further potential of small Indian businesses and start-ups


• In-depth examination of original case studies, quantitative studies and qualitative research on a wide array of sectors (both traditional and technology-driven)


• Offers new insights on how small business owners and budding entrepreneurs should pursue innovations through purposeful and driven leadership


• Showcases some of India's biggest unicorns and their journey to highlight the strategy that upcoming start-ups can look towards