The year is coming to a close. And a lot of energy has already been spent on trying to understand what really happened this year and whether or not these trends will continue in 2017. There are plenty of threads to pull on to understand this. So, let’s make it bigly.
Ready?
Another helping of Unicorns, please
India doesn’t have enough Unicorns. Let’s look at it. The country has just eight companies valued at $1 billion and higher. CB Insights lists 180 companies across the world, which have crossed that landmark valuation and India comes in third. Just 4% of global unicorns are from India. It would have been nine, but Mu Sigma lists itself as an American company. The United States of America has 97 and China has over 30. It doesn’t make for pleasant reading. To make things worse, the ecosystem added just two companies to the unicorn list this year: Hike and Shopclues. We need more unicorns. And not just for the swag that comes along with it. “Unicorns are a light in the distance. They are not a source of warmth but they create development in the ecosystem. It also encourages foreign capital to take bigger bets in the country creating more value and more companies. It automatically, creates more jobs and solves bigger problems,” says Ajeet Khurana, formerly of Mumbai angels. How about the companies in the, so called, second tier who can fill in the gaps?
| Half-Unicorn List | |||
| Company Name | Investment($M) | Investors | Valuation (Rs Cr) |
| BillDesk | 171 | General Atlantic, Temasek | 4,030 |
| Bookmyshow | 82 | SAIF, Accel | 3,200 |
| Practo | 90 | Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners | 3,188 |
| Oyo Rooms | 62 | SoftBank | 3,055 |
| Freshdesk | 50 | Tiger Global, Accel India | 3,000 |
Source: Tracxn
All these companies are in varying stages of maturity. The likes of BillDesk and BookMyShow have been around for over a decade and while the scope for growth is high, their journey has been slow and measured. It is unlikely, that either of these will appreciate in value two times next year.
The likes of Practo have an interesting fight on their hands, especially with the fact that 85% of its revenue can be sourced back to the company billing its overseas entities for services.
