Rahul Khanna, Managing Director, Canaan Partners, a venture capital firm.

He answers questions from Vaibhav Bindroo, an II year student at IIM-B.

Do you think the Indian start-up ecosystem has reached a state where it can produce world-class product companies?

Yes, with the combination of returnee talent, venture capital and a large internet enabled market, it’s only a matter of time before India gets on the global product map.

This is also more likely given the drive towards mobile first/mobile only businesses as India has largely gotten on the internet through mobile devices and has a wealth of experience in the mobile domain.

Early signs of globally competitive companies are players such as InMobi and Zomato, which built their initial offerings for the Indian market, but have gone on to scaling significantly outside of India.

What are the three most important things you would suggest to a young graduate who wants to be an entrepreneur?

I would suggest that he or she reflect deeply on his or her own skills, personality and experience before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.

The first is risk-taking appetite. Going down the entrepreneurial path is risky as many start-ups are likely to fail.

We tend to have a bias and only remember the winners but it's safe to say that many more companies fail than succeed.

The second is ability to sell. Starting a company requires one to sell to many constituents — employees, customers, partners and even family to get their support.

Being able to motivate and carry others along is a key element of success, especially in the early days of a business.

The third is stamina. Building a business is hard work and usually takes much longer than you think.

Many successful companies in India have only achieved critical success after investing 7-10 years in building the business.

Perseverance is a key virtue in India.

Which sector in India would be the next innovation frontier and VC-darling?

If we look at some of the success stories of the past such as Naukri, MakeMyTrip and JustDial, they were solving real-life problems around jobs, travel and communication as opposed to breakthrough innovations.

Innovation must be in the context of the market and significant gaps that exist with the current solutions.

Verticals such as education, healthcare and energy continue to be capacity challenged so it would be very interesting to see how entrepreneurs innovate to build breakthrough companies in these areas.

(This column features a panel of experts — angel investors, seed fund partners and venture capitalists — that will answer questions from B school students on issues relating to starting ventures and taking forward an idea. Questions can be sent by email to > emergingentrepreneurs@thehindu.co.in, clearly mentioning your name, educational institution, course of study and email address.)

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