India emerges as global startup powerhouse: Marketing leader Ajay Mangalani

Santa Clara: India has made its mark as the startup capital of the world and "Brand India" has emerged as a more mature and fearless brand than it used to be two decades ago, a top marketing leader has said.

India has made its mark in the startup nation category. So many great startup companies have come out of it and they have gone on to become mature businesses, Ajay Mangalani, a seasoned marketing leader in the rapidly evolving technology and SaaS industries, told PTI in an interview.

"Brand India is passionate. Brand India is still hungry to make things, to build things, to create things. Brand India is also much more mature now...," said Mangalani, also the chief marketing officer of TiE Silicon Valley, on the sidelines of the TiECon, the largest gathering of tech entrepreneurs in the world.

As many as 30 Indian startups participated in the recently concluded TiECon, organized by TiE Silicon Valley.

"I envision the next generation of Indian entrepreneurship will be much more focused around research and will be risk takers... That level of grit and passion that the Indian community has, I have no doubt that it is going to move in that direction of strong leadership as a startup nation," Mangalani said.

An award-winning marketing leader, Mangalani for over two decades has helped Fortune 500 giants and high-growth pre-IPO AI and B2B SaaS companies break the scale barrier, crafting data-driven marketing strategies.

Responding to a question, he said the world is taking note of India.

"The world is taking note... India has become a value driven country as we have always been in terms of standing with our core values of trust, support, honesty, insight, and all of that. The world really appreciates where we are today," Mangalani said.

India has done tremendously well under the current leadership, especially in terms of development and digital transformation on the ground, which was crucial for the growth of both startups as well as traditional companies.

Lauding Anita Manwani, the new president of TiE Silicon Valley, Mangalani said "She has a very clear vision about TiE, and she's a phenomenal operator and executor".

TiE Silicon Valley, he said, is a bridge to the knowledge, the insights, the experience, and the power that comes with it.

"... I think that the next generation of TiE is going to be focused on bringing in new blood, the new talent, the next generation of entrepreneurs and providing them the connectivity and growing them from there,” Mangalani said.