"India didn’t do anything special for startups": Flipkart Co-founder

Binny Bansal, the co-founder of Flipkart and a prolific angel investor, recently visited South Park Commons Venture Fund for an exclusive fireside chat about the future of the Indian technology ecosystem. 

During the event, Binny and SPC Partner Aditya Agarwal discussed the past, present, and future of the local Indian tech ecosystem and the emergence of Indian technology companies and leaders on a global scale. 

Binny Bansal believes India's policy and regulation environment has been "pretty solid and strong." 

However, he also stated that there's nothing particularly unique about India regarding the government's involvement in the growth of Indian startups. 

Bansal expressed that he doesn't believe the government has taken any specific actions for the startup ecosystem, but they also haven't done anything to hinder its growth. 

He views the government's approach as a light touch on both sides, which he considers to be a favourable situation. 

"I don't think government has done anything especially for startup ecosystem but they haven't also done anything which comes in the way," Bansal said. 

He added: "It's a light touch on both sides...which isn't a bad place to be...It's been more good than bad," 

In his opinion, it has been more positive than negative.

What Inspired Binny Bansal To Become An Entrepreneur?

When asked about what inspired him to become an entrepreneur, he mentioned that his journey began when Google didn't offer him a job after he finished college in 2005. 

Despite working in Bangalore and interviewing with Google twice, he ended up joining Amazon. 

While at Amazon, he found the workload manageable but felt a desire to make a more meaningful impact. 

This led him to start researching startups. 

His co-founder, Sachin Bansal, who was on the same team at Amazon, shared his ambitions, and they decided to start their own business together.