India’s startup movement has grown from a handful of early adopters to over two lakh registered startups in just a decade. Yet, scale has not always translated into structural strength. In this candid conversation with Indian Startup Times, Vijay Bawra, Former Senior Director at T-Hub and a long-time ecosystem enabler associated with NASSCOM 10,000 Startups, reflects on what India has built right, where it has fallen short, and what needs to change next.
With over 15 years spanning engineering, business development, entrepreneurship and ecosystem leadership, Vijay speaks plainly about “event-driven innovation,” the illusion of metrics, weak institutional systems, and why infrastructure without accountability is failing founders.
From Founder to Ecosystem Builder
Vijay’s journey began conventionally: engineering, followed by an MBA at the University of Bradford in the UK. But an entrepreneurship assignment shifted his thinking.
Instead of pursuing a predictable job, he returned to India to build startups in 2011–12. What he encountered was a harsh reality. Outside Bengaluru, there was little structured support. Investor networks were thin. Practical help was minimal.
That gap led him into ecosystem building.
Through early engagement with NASSCOM’s startup initiatives and later T-Hub, he witnessed the formalization of India’s startup support structures. But he also noticed something deeper: India never had a talent shortage. It had an access problem.
Access to capital.
Access to markets.
Access to structured support.
That realization marked his transition from founder to startup evangelist.
The “Event Era” and Its Blind Spots
Looking back at the 2015–16 phase, Vijay describes a time when hackathons, demo days and pitch events dominated the ecosystem narrative.
These were necessary in the beginning. Early ecosystems require aggregation. You need corporations, students, researchers and founders in one room. Input metrics matter at birth.
But as the ecosystem matured, the questions changed.
- How many startups survived three years?
- How many raised follow-on capital?
- How many expanded beyond their home geography?
- How many jobs were created?
The systems to answer these questions were missing.
“Infrastructure is visible. Impact is invisible,” he says. And invisible work is harder.
What Separates Activity from Outcomes?
When Vijay evaluates a new ecosystem today, he looks for three signals:
- Leadership Vision – Does the government officer or institutional head have a long-term view, or are they chasing headline events?
- Systems Thinking – Are measurable frameworks in place?
- Capital Strategy – Is there a plan to bring in local wealth pools, diaspora investors or structured funding pipelines?
He points to states like Andhra Pradesh, which have strong diaspora wealth, as examples of untapped capital networks.
Enthusiasm without structure, he argues, leads to noise without impact.
The Incubator Paradox: 1,100 Centers, 8% Penetration
India today has over 1,100 incubators. Yet only around 8.2% of startups pass through structured incubation.
Where is the disconnect?
According to Vijay, most incubators have prioritized:
- Physical infrastructure
- Desk space
- Events
- Government grants
But neglected:
- Customer introductions
- Market access
- Follow-on capital pathways
- Mentor depth
- Founder accountability
Top performers like IIT Madras Research Park and SINE IIT Bombay succeed because they ensure access to money, markets and meaningful mentorship.
Many others built buildings. They did not build systems.
Universities: Buildings vs Commercialization
Vijay draws a sharp contrast between Indian universities and institutions like Stanford University and MIT.
The difference is not infrastructure. It is incentives.
In leading global universities:
- Professors are encouraged to commercialize IP
- Flexible IP ownership models exist
- Faculty can take entrepreneurial leave
- Alumni actively fund startups
- Seed funds are professionally managed
In India, IP often remains on shelves. Faculty incentives are limited. Incubation leadership is frequently administrative rather than specialized.
“Entrepreneurship cannot be treated as an extracurricular activity,” he emphasizes.
If redesigning a university from scratch, he would prioritize:
- 80% practical exposure
- 20% theoretical instruction
- Mandatory industry immersion
- Startup credits for students
- Professional fund management structures
Lessons from the U.S. Ecosystem
During his participation in the International Visitor Leadership Program in the United States, Vijay observed strong structural loops:
- Alumni-backed seed pools
- University-venture fund partnerships
- Corporate innovation teams with decision-making power
- Philanthropic capital willing to take risk
- Public dashboards tracking outcomes
What stood out most was structured collaboration.
In India, collaboration is rarely incentivized. Ecosystems operate as silos. Success is claimed by many, but responsibility for early-stage nurturing is thinly distributed.
Open Innovation: Beyond the Buzzword
Vijay believes open innovation is widely misunderstood.
For corporates, it means:
- Structured startup scouting
- Clear problem statements
- Budgeted pilot pathways
- Fast-track procurement processes
- Internal champions accountable for startup success
He notes that large Indian corporations have evolved significantly over the last decade, moving beyond pure vendor-client relationships. Yet systemic integration still needs strengthening.
The Collaboration Deficit
One of his strongest criticisms is the absence of collaboration incentives.
Even national ranking frameworks rarely reward ecosystem cooperation. Incubators compete for visibility instead of pooling resources.
He points out that while India has over 1,100 incubators, only a fraction actively participate in coordinated networks like ISBA.
Without shared dashboards, common metrics or validation mechanisms, ecosystems risk overstating impact.
The Road Ahead: From Optics to Accountability
For Vijay, India’s startup story is far from weak. It is simply incomplete.
The first decade was about awareness and aggregation. The next decade must be about systems, accountability and measurable outcomes.
His core belief remains consistent:
- Talent is not India’s problem.
- Access is.
- Infrastructure is not impact.
- Events are not execution.
- And ecosystems must move from input metrics to outcome metrics.
As India enters a more mature startup phase, his call is clear: build invisible systems that create visible results.
Conclusion
Vijay Bawra’s journey mirrors India’s startup evolution itself — from experimentation to institutionalization, from noise to nuance.
His critique is not cynical. It is structural.
India has built scale. The next leap requires discipline. Universities must commercialize research. Incubators must track outcomes. Corporates must operationalize open innovation. Governments must reward collaboration.
The era of event-driven optimism is over.
The era of accountable ecosystem building has begun.
-Interview conducted by Sandhya Bharti
