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What Are The Various Stages Of A Startup?
One of the most fulfilling journeys anyone can undertake is to begin a startup. There are a lot of stories about how a startup makes it big in the market and reading them can inspire oneself to undertake a similar journey. However, beginning a startup and scaling it up is easier said than done as there are multiple stages to running a startup. Identifying a problem and coming up with a solution is not the only thing which matters when it comes to founding a startup but there are multiple other parameters which need to be considered along the journey. By looking at the multiple startups which succeeded and the big picture, a startup’s journey can be quantified into stages. Skipping any of these stages and moving on to the next stage would surely be a setup for a failure.
Read along to find out the various stages in the journey of a startup.
1) Problem discovery
Anybody can come up with an idea but the most important thing is to come up with an idea which solves a particular problem. This stage is about discovering bottlenecks and problems faced by customers in a market. This is the stage where a startup needs to focus on what the customer wants rather than what a startup needs to do. This is where startups need to interview customers to find out the problems they are facing and come up with a solution. For example, Uber discovered that customers need a simple way to hail a cab and came up with their platform which connects cabs with customers.
2) Ideating
The next stage is to find a value proposition for customers. This begins by ideating to find opportunities and create good solutions. There are high chances for good ideas to come up in the discovery stage during the customer interviews as they might provide their own insights and ideas. By the end of this stage, a startup should be able to come up with a solution which solves a problem by providing a solution which an existing competitor would not provide.
3) Problem/Solution fit
There is a high likelihood of the first solution not being the right solution. The initial plans might not work out and therefore Plan A should never be assumed as the right solution. Sometimes the immediate solution will not nudge a customer to make a purchase. This stage exists to make multiple iterations and if possible pivots into different product models. During this stage, a startup needs to introduce a product design, clickable prototypes, or product features which the customers can interact with physically. The initial problem could be solved if customers show interest and prepay for the product or have taken a certain set of actions that you can define based on your product, target and market. For instance, in the case of freemium models actionables could mean completing a long survey, joining a waitlist and referring X number of people or applying to become a user.
ALSO READ: What Is Seed Funding And What Are The Sources For Seed Funding For Startups
4) Product/market fit
In order to go for a product/market fit, a startup would need data like customer acquisition costs (CAC) and customer lifetime value. This could only be done with a launched product which is in use. One of the best indicators for a good product/market fit is acquiring customers at a lower acquisition cost. A CAC can be calculated by dividing all the costs spent on acquiring more customers (marketing expenses) by the number of customers acquired in the period the money was spent. For example, if a company spent INR 100 on marketing in a year and acquired 100 customers in the same year, their CAC is INR 1. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is one of the easiest ways to measure product/market fit. Net Promoter Score is the percentage of customers rating their likelihood to recommend a company, a product, or a service to a friend or colleague on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highly likely and 1 being highly unlikely.
5) Scaling up
This is the stage where a startup needs to focus on diversifying their product offerings. This is where a startup needs to iterate what is working and put in processes which make these workflows faster. This is the stage where a company could think of hiring more resources, opening a larger office space and expanding in different areas. For example when the hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo began, it was limited to Bengaluru. However, Dunzo soon expanded to other metropolitan cities to expand their operations and scale up.
Many startups and entrepreneurs focus on scaling up rapidly without going through the proper startup lifecycle and often end up in losses. Building a startup could be fun but it is important to pay attention to each of these steps throughout its journey.
Leaving behind a high-paying job at JPMorgan, an Indian entrepreneur embraced a 70% salary cut to pursue true purpose and passion in the startup world. Disenchanted with what he described as a “robotic” corporate routine, he sought meaningful work that made a real impact. This pivotal decision marked the beginning of his new journey, one focused on value creation rather than titles and corporate perks.
Powered by resilience and fresh perspective, the entrepreneur launched his own startup, prioritizing innovation and hands-on solutions. The road was challenging, but his vision resonated with the market: the startup quickly gained traction and raised $6 million—an impressive acknowledgement of its potential in a competitive landscape. Every hard lesson from early setbacks and bootstrapping paid off in real customer growth and investor confidence.
Today, his journey stands as an inspiring example for professionals seeking authentic success outside the corporate grind. By trading comfort for creative freedom, he grew a venture that solves important problems, generates jobs, and builds wealth beyond just salary. For ambitious founders, his story highlights the power of risk-taking, adaptability, and relentless focus on impact in India’s thriving startup ecosystem.
Larry Page is a visionary technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Google, one of the world’s most influential companies. Born in 1973 in Michigan, Page grew up surrounded by computer technology, which inspired his passion for innovation from an early age. He studied computer engineering at the University of Michigan and later pursued his PhD at Stanford University, where he developed the revolutionary PageRank algorithm with Sergey Brin. This technology fundamentally changed the way search engines rank websites, making Google the most accurate and popular search engine globally.
The journey of Larry Page and Google began in 1998 when they officially launched the search engine from a small garage. Leveraging their unique algorithm, Google quickly surpassed competitors due to its ability to deliver highly relevant search results, transforming internet search forever. Under Larry Page’s leadership as CEO, Google expanded beyond search to launch groundbreaking products including YouTube, Gmail, and Google Maps, turning it into a global tech powerhouse that shapes how we access and interact with information online.
Larry Page later became the CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., driving innovation and investment in next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and healthcare solutions. His visionary leadership and commitment to technological advancement have cemented his legacy as one of the most influential figures in the tech industry. Today, Larry Page remains a key influencer in shaping the future of technology and digital innovation worldwide.
Bharti Airtel has launched the innovative “Airtel-Perplexity Blueprint,” partnering with Perplexity to provide over 360 million customers free access to Perplexity Pro for a year—a benefit valued at ₹17,000 ($200). This collaboration enables Airtel users across mobile, broadband, and digital TV to harness advanced capabilities in generative AI, including leading AI models like GPT 4.1, Claude, and Gemini, along with up to 300 Pro searches daily, image generation, document analysis, and personalized planning services. The move is seen as a milestone for telecom innovation and the democratization of AI in India, making powerful research and productivity tools accessible to a massive user base.
This strategic partnership positions Airtel as an “AI-first” telecom provider, allowing it to gain key insights into user interactions with artificial intelligence and adapt its networks for growing digital demands. For Perplexity, the tie-up grants exclusive access to India’s vast telecom audience, rapidly propelling the app to the No. 1 spot on the Indian App Store, surpassing global competitors like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Airtel customers can activate their complimentary subscription seamlessly through the Airtel Thanks App, under the Rewards and OTTs section, reinforcing Airtel’s commitment to digital customer empowerment.
The broader Indian startup ecosystem reflects both breakthrough innovation and hard-earned lessons, illustrated by the recent shutdown of Ohm Mobility, an EV financing startup. Despite multiple pivots and industry-leading investors, Ohm Mobility struggled to achieve a sustainable business model—a reminder of the challenges in market fit and adaptability. As AI adoption accelerates and startup realities evolve, industry leaders like Airtel and Perplexity are setting new standards, while others, like Ohm Mobility, offer valuable insights on resilience and the importance of business model flexibility in India’s dynamic tech landscape.
Google Launches Startup Hub in Hyderabad to Boost India’s Innovation Ecosystem
Indian Man Quits JPMorgan, Takes 70% Pay Cut to Launch $6 Million Startup
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