Product10x is a SaaS-focused, California-based accelerator. With sixteen companies in its portfolio, out of which nine are active and two have been acquired, the company announced in August its plans to enter India. The company will be working with pre-seed, seed, and Series-A companies to help startups scale and overcome their fundraising challenges.
“We are very excited to expand to India. India has been the Land of innovation and quickly now becoming the Land of Unicorns.”
Mr. Aditya Pathak, Associate Partner at Product10x
On exploring the startup space in India, Mr. Aditya Pathak, Associate Partner at Product10x exclusively told Sociobits, “We are very excited to expand to India. India has been the Land of innovation and quickly now becoming the Land of Unicorns. Product10x has 4 partners who are immigrants to the US from India, we understand the strength and diversity India offers very well. This helps us to understand founders’ expansion plans to global markets and help them actively capture value.”
The time when Product10x chose to enter India seems perfect as SaaS startups in India have seen significant growth recently. According to a report by Bessemer Venture Partners, the industry’s market value is forecasted to increase by $50 billion in annual recurring value in 2030, which is five times the size as compared to 2020.
Apart from the perfect timing, Mr. Suresh Madhuvarsu, Founder and Partner at Product10x also shared why the company chose to bring the essence of Silicon Valley to India. He said, “Silicon Valley is not a place but a startup culture. A culture of making big bets, working hard and smart to build startups. Everyone in the valley helps each other, stays pretty close, and is not afraid to try out new technologies and processes. These are the values we believe to bring to India and help founders have the best of east and west.”
Product10x applies a unique co-creation model that a lot of accelerators don’t do. Instead of following a generic model where all the founders are treated as students and fed with lectures about basic stuff, the accelerator works with founders one-on-one and helps them build all the way up from the ground.
“Silicon Valley is not a place but a startup culture. A culture of making big bets, working hard + smart to build startups.”
– Mr. Suresh Madhuvarsu, Founder and Partner at Product10x
While India is a different ball game and a new turf for the accelerator, we asked them about something that they would focus on in India. Mr. Suresh Madhuvarsu commented, “All traditional accelerators provide cohort-based models and that’s exactly what we don’t believe in. Founders need hyper-contextual help and mentorship in their startup execution. Often, we focus too much on fundraising and how all the problems are solved after fundraising. However, it’s super important to focus on business fundamentals and that’s exactly what we help founders focus on.”
Mr. Aditya Pathak also added, “We want to hyperfocus on one on one advisory. Being an Entrepreneur is often a lonely path, we are ‘partners in growth and anxiety’ for founders. We have in the past helped our portfolio companies from India expand to US markets, and this differentiates us in the India startup ecosystem. We want to work with founders in globalizing product attributes and creating strong fundamentals for the founders. Looking forward to adding value to the ecosystem and giving back to India.”
The entry of Product10x in India will add value to the Indian Startup Ecosystem and may also prove to be a boon to founders and entrepreneurs who are striving to scale up their companies.
