Google to help startups in smaller Indian cities, Launches educational programme

India is the third-largest base for startups in the world with nearly 70,000 startups. However, 90% of these fail within the first five years of their inception. Google has launched an initiative, Startup School India, to fill this void.

Google on Wednesday said that it is organising accumulated knowledge into a structured curriculum to enable startups in smaller Indian cities to overcome these challenges. This is crucial as the startup ecosystem is no longer restricted to metros like Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, or Hyderabad.

Nearly 50% of all recognised startups in India are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities like Jaipur, Indore, Gorakhpur, and other small towns.

The nine-week programme by Google will be virtually delivered. The initiative will bring expertise from Google leaders and collaborators from each corner of the startup system including fintech, business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce, language, social media and networking, and job search.

The Google curriculum is designed to help startups with an effective product strategy, research product user value, build apps, and drive user acquisition.

A Google blog explained that most startups fail for similar reasons like unmanaged cash burn, flawed demand assessment, ineffective feedback loops, or lack of leadership. This can be avoided if entrepreneurs could access accumulated knowledge in a structured curriculum. "The programme is designed to do precisely that as we align our efforts to support this expansion".

The blog further said the programme is aimed at "early-stage founders with a minimum viable product". It allows attendees to pick and choose the modules they'd like to tune in for. Entrepreneurs can also gain insights from discussions around what makes an effective founder and formalising hiring.