Introduction
I read the Prime Minister's recent call to the startup ecosystem with a mix of encouragement and urgency — the message was clear: courage is the first condition for enterprise, and now is the time for startups to make bold moves in manufacturing, AI and deep-tech.Courage is crucial: PM prods startups to make bold moves
This struck a chord with me because I have been writing about similar themes for years — the need for startups to scale beyond ideation and become creators of jobs, mentors and industrial capability for the nation.PM Modi Calls Upon Successful Startups to Mentor Youth, Support New Ideas and Start Ups say : Get out of our Way
Why courage matters now
Startups are celebrated for agility and imagination, but celebration alone doesn't produce strategic depth. Courage matters because:
- It converts ideas into manufacturing — building hardware, chips, and supply chains takes persistence and a willingness to tolerate long horizons.
- It compels teams to re-prioritise: move from chasing short-term product-market fads to investing in foundational capabilities (compute, data, IP).
- It enables hard choices: pruning product lines, restructuring teams, or re-aligning with national technological priorities — decisions that are uncomfortable but necessary.
The Prime Minister's emphasis on making India a leader in AI, semiconductors, green hydrogen and data centres is not a call for symbolic gestures; it is a call for courageous, patient entrepreneurship that backs national capability with real engineering and manufacturing bets.Courage is crucial: PM prods startups to make bold moves
Where courage looks like action (practical moves)
If you lead or work in a startup, courage shows up as executable discipline. Here are paths I believe matter now:
- Build for India, but plan global scale: design products that solve local constraints (connectivity, cost, trust) and make them exportable.
- Invest in tech stack sovereignty: use government programmes and shared resources (like national AI initiatives and GPU access) to lower the cost of entry into deep-tech.
- Partner with manufacturing and supply-chain veterans: combine startup speed with industrial know-how to make physical products at scale.
- Mentor and mentor back: share knowledge with newer founders, and accept mentorship from experienced operators — ecosystem courage is contagious.
- Be honest with metrics: have the courage to kill what doesn't work quickly and double down where unit economics and customer love align.
The leadership test
I have always believed — and written — that policy nudges alone won't create an ecosystem of durable companies. Founders must internalise a different time horizon: from growth-for-growth's-sake to capability-for-autonomy. That shift requires leadership that can hold a long view and take short-term heat.
In my past posts I urged successful startups to mentor the next wave and for the ecosystem to design funding and knowledge flows so that innovation becomes inclusive and industrial.PM Modi Calls Upon Successful Startups to Mentor Youth, Support New Ideas
A note to founders: small moves that show courage
- Run hard experiments on manufacturing partners for a single component — fail fast, learn faster.
- Allocate a small, dedicated runway to building an AI-enabled capability that differentiates your product for the next 3–5 years.
- Open-source non-core integrations to attract community and partners instead of guarding every line of code.
- Create a two-way mentoring programme with local universities or mid-sized manufacturers — teach and learn.
Courage is not being reckless; it's choosing the important hard thing, repeatedly.
Closing — why I remain optimistic
The Prime Minister's push is a timely reminder that policy and private ambition must co-evolve. I remain optimistic because I see entrepreneurs who are no longer content with incremental growth: they want to own markets, technologies and manufacturing capabilities. That hunger, backed by disciplined courage, will define the next decade.
If you've been building quietly, this is your moment to make a brave, deliberate move.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
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