Sabeer Bhatia, the co-founder of tech giants like Hotmail and ShowReel, has recently slammed the Indian startup ecosystem, blaming bureaucratic rigidity and a risk-averse culture that derails transformative ideas.
While speaking on a podcast, he said India had everything it needed to build a platform that could overshadow WhatsApp, but bureaucracy got in the way. He made this statement while recalling one of his ventures, which was restricted by the TRAI.
He further stated, “We didn’t break any rules, but an official’s interpretation killed it. That wouldn’t have happened in the U.S., it would’ve scaled.”
India Rewards Rule-Following Over Innovation-Bhatia
Adding to his criticism, he stated that in India, one needs to follow the rule book to get rewarded rather than being innovative, as the startup ecosystem believes in conformity, not originality.
Supporting his statement, he took the example of Uber’s success, despite breaking all the taxi norms and said, “Uber broke every taxi regulation on the planet. Could that company have come from India? Zero chance.”
Bhatia says India’s biggest challenge isn’t just policy, it’s mindset, and the culture is to blame for it. “New business models require new thinking, but here, the instinct is to shut things down. People don’t ask, ‘What if this works?’ They say, ‘It won’t work,’ and walk away,” he added.
From what he’s seen firsthand, Bhatia believes out-of-the-box thinking doesn’t stand a chance in India’s current system. Giving the example of Silicon Valley, he said, “In the Valley, if a kid has an idea, everyone helps them build on it. Here, 20 people will tell you, ‘Not possible.’ And we’re obsessed with money, not purpose. When we built Hotmail, we didn’t know if it would make money. We just wanted to solve a problem.”
Indian Education System is ‘Raddi’- Bhatia
Taking his podcast conversation further, he spoke about the Indian education system, calling it outdated and ineffective, and made a very strong statement calling it ‘Raddi’.
Sixty-five thousand kids go to Kota every year just to crack JEE. Are they becoming entrepreneurs or killing their brain cells?” and added, “Even our brightest IIT grads end up chasing jobs at JP Morgan. Where’s the critical thinking?,” he questioned.
Read More: Sabeer Bhatia Warns Against Media Trials Amid BluSmart Allegations
