2016 saw founders and investors took time to grasp the gravity of the rapidly changing funding environment. Two significant reasons for slowdown in funding were: • Investors were not able to exit from their previous investments. Only when they get a gainful return from these investments will they pour money elsewhere. • The not up to the mark valuations expected by investors plus non performance of milestones and profitability challenges by the startups is another reason for the crunch in funding.

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Check Out What’s In-Store For Startups
in 2017
2016 saw founders and investors took time to grasp the gravity
of the rapidly changing funding environment. Two significant
reasons for slowdown in funding were:
 Investors were not able to exit from their previous
investments. Only when they get a gainful return from
these investments will they pour money elsewhere.
 The not up to the mark valuations expected by investors
plus non performance of milestones and profitability
challenges by the startups is another reason for the
crunch in funding.
Now that the worst of the upheaval is behind us, we can look
forward to this New Year. Here are some events to watch out in
the Startup space in 2017.

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Flipkart’s and Ola’s fund-raising efforts
 Last year, Flipkart saw its valuation markdown from $15
billion to $5.54 billion by five of its investors. The price at
which Flipkart raises its next round will move the needle
towards an easing of the funding slowdown or a
tightening.
 Also, Ola is one of the few unicorns which have the heft to
affect the future of the start-up ecosystem. Amount of
funding it raises will help provide a clue as to whether
investor sentiment towards Indian start-ups is improving
or not.
Alibaba’s imminent entry
 China’s Alibaba Group has been weighing an entry into
India’s e-commerce either through its own platform or
through an acquisition. This could be the year for its long
awaited entry.
Big Billion Days sale in October 2017
 Last year saw a neck-to-neck battle between Flipkart and
Amazon. Flipkart outsold Amazon India in 2016’s all-
important BBD. The control of the world’s last big Internet
market is at stake. So, all eyes will be on who wins the
2017 round.
Focus on exits
 Venture capitalists (VC) in India have struggled to get
exits. Now the patience of their investors, called limited
partners, is running thin.

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 VCs will be open heartedly looking to get returns possibly
through initial public offerings.
Rise of Crypto-currency
With the government’s leap towards a cashless economy this
year, new ventures exploring alternate currencies such as crypto-
currency are likely to interest investors.
Focus on Sectors: Innovation around healthcare, retail and
fintech
The health care piece is so large that we saw plenty of action in
the space and we will continue to see activity this year. The
advancement in the space has been centered on new devices and
using technology to bring in a new dimension to care giving.
Similarly, startups and innovations around retail has moved from
ecommerce to using artificial intelligence, personalization and on-
demand customization of fashion to come up with the next set of
solutions. Also, an increasing number of startups this year
focused on brick and mortar retail stores and tackling
inefficiencies in the physical format by opting an omni-channel
strategy for retail business.
Govt. Reforms
The government's planned move in this year's budget has to be
seen in this backdrop. For the deal momentum to accelerate
going forward, the government has to take definitive steps to
help the startups to tide over the disruption created by
demonetization. One was taken couple days back when centre
announced the overhaul of Rs 10,000 crore for startup.

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Conclusion
Startups are likely to get an impetus this year with a focus on
funding and with the planned implementation of GST.