Google announced the launch of Startup School India (SSI) as part of the Google for Startups initiative. This is a platform under which Google will bring together investors, successful entrepreneurs and programmers that startups from the smaller cities can to tap into and learn from the best.
The idea of creating the Startup School India is to reach out to more and more startups in India. Google aims to reach out to at least 10,000 startups with this programme.
The SSI will be a nine-week program, delivered virtually, will feature fireside chats between Google leaders and trailblazing collaborators from across the startup ecosystem spanning fintech, D2C, B2B and B2C e-commerce, language, social media & networking, job search and many more.
With close to 70,000 startups, India is the third largest birthing ground for startups in the world. And as more Indian founders lead their companies successfully to IPOs or unicorn status, it has set off a virtuous cycle wherein their success has ignited aspirations among young Indians across the length and breadth of the country.
90 per cent of all startups fail within the first five years of their journey – mostly for the same key reasons – unmanaged cash burn, flawed demand assessment, ineffective feedback loops or lack of leadership.
The programme is aimed for startups that come from smaller cities and are looking for some knowledge sharing that will help them in their next stage. As startups come up in farther corners of the country, there is a need for programs which can organize this knowledge into a structured curriculum and deliver it across a wide footprint.