Every startup begins with a problem – not an idea. Jay Sudani (CEO, PIERC) asks every founder to list three personal reasons for starting. The reason matters because resilience comes from personal connection to the problem. A startup without a reason has no staying power. Look at your own daily frustrations, watch how people around you struggle, and find problems that are real, frequent, and painful.
Crunchy Wavez (Parul University campus startup) found that Indian snack lovers wanted authentic, sun-dried flavoured chips – not the same oily packaged options everywhere. found that retail billing queues waste customer time and cost stores revenue. Both started with a real problem observed in real life.
Step 2: Validate Before You Build
Design thinking (empathise → define → ideate → prototype → test) is the framework that prevents you from building something nobody wants. The Stanford d.school’s five-step process, taught at PIERC, forces you to talk to real users before writing a single line of code.
Conduct 20-30 face-to-face customer interviews using the 4 Golden Questions: What is your biggest problem?
- How do you currently solve it?
- What do you like/dislike about your current solution?
- How much does it affect your time, money, or stress?
validated by visiting retail stores and discovered that trust was as important as speed. Through mentorship, exposure, and practical learning, PIERC’s Incubation Program taught these founders what it truly takes to build a startup.
Step 3: Research Your Market
Before you build, understand the world you are entering. Use the TAM-SAM-SOM framework (bottom-up, never top-down): TAM = total opportunity, SAM = what your model can reach, SOM = Year 1 capture. Map competitors: direct (same solution), indirect (workarounds people use today), and emerging threats. Use primary research (your own interviews, surveys) and secondary research (industry reports, government data). Zomato did on-site visits to restaurants; Mamaearth studied published market data about the shift to natural products. Do both.
Step 4: Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Do not build the full product. Build the smallest, simplest version that solves the core problem and teaches you something. It could be a Figma mockup, a cardboard prototype, a landing page, or a basic app with one feature. Airbnb’s MVP was a simple website with photos of the founders’ apartment. Dropbox’s MVP was a video explaining the concept before the product existed.
Jay Sudani at PIERC says: build it cheap, build it fast, because if something is wrong, you need to find out now – not after six months and all your money.
Step 5: Get Your First Customers
Hardik Kharva said: building the product is only half the job – the other half is making sure the right people know it exists. Your go-to-market plan matters as much as your product plan.
Start with direct outreach to the people you interviewed during validation. Use social media, partnerships, campus networks, and local communities. Do things that do not scale initially – personal WhatsApp messages, door-to-door visits, free trials. Your first 10 customers teach you more than your next 10,000. And if you wish to master sales, marketing and communication under one roof, enrol into Parul University’s Master of Business Administration in Digital Marketing & Sales!
Step 6: Build Your Business Model
A great product without a business model is a charity. Use Strategyzer’s Business Model Canvas – boxes that map your entire business: Key Partners, Key Activities, Key Resources, Value Proposition (the heart), Customer Relationships, Channels, Customer Segments, Cost Structure, Revenue Streams. Then verify with the Value Proposition Canvas:
- Do your pain relievers match customer pains?
- Do your gain creators match customer gains?
If both sides align, you have a working business. If they do not, you have a gap to fix. This is what PIERC’s GrowthPad Program can fix for you and your customers. Delay no more and save your startup seat right away!
Step 7: Set Up Legally
CS Prachi Prajapati Lad (FCS, B.Com, LLB) deliberated that legal compliance is not a burden – it is a signal of credibility. Choose your structure: Private Limited Company is best for startups raising investment. Register for PAN, GST. Get DPIIT recognition under Startup India – this unlocks tax benefits, self-certification, and eligibility for Seed Fund and other schemes. Never mix personal and business bank accounts. Keep all receipts (required for 10 years). Taxes collected (GST) and withheld (TDS) are never your money.
Step 8: Raise Funding
Money is fuel, not the goal. You raise money to do more of what is already working. The funding ladder: SSIP 2.0 (₹2.5L non-refundable for student startups), Startup India Seed Fund (up to ₹70L – ₹20L grant + ₹50L debt), angel investors (personal capital from individuals), venture capital (institutional funds for high-growth startups). Before any investor meeting, know your unit economics: contribution margin, CAC, LTV, burn rate, break-even point. Your LTV must be significantly higher than your CAC. PIERC helps founders access SSIP, Seed Fund, SPARSH, MSME, and IPR support. They’ve built strong credibility through its association with Shark Tank India and many other globally respected stalwarts.
Step : Scale Strategically
Scale too early and you collapse. Scale too late and someone takes your market. Scaling means building systems that handle more customers without breaking – hiring, automating processes, expanding geographically, deepening product features. Track growth metrics: monthly recurring revenue (MRR), customer acquisition cost trends, churn rate, net promoter score (NPS). Hardik Kharva’s rule: build with growth in mind from the beginning, not as an afterthought. MBA Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Parul University offers the ideal platform to transform bold ideas into successful ventures through practical learning and industry exposure.
This roadmap links to every other article in the PIERC startup content series. Each step above has a dedicated deep-dive guide covering the frameworks, tools, and real examples in detail – from design thinking and customer validation to business model canvas, unit economics, pitch decks, and government funding schemes.
FAQ - How to Start a Startup in India
What is the first step to starting a startup?
Identify a real problem. Not an idea you think is cool - a problem that real people face frequently and painfully. Then validate it by talking to 20-30 potential customers before building anything.
How much money do I need to start a startup in India?
You can start with zero personal investment. The Indian government offers non-refundable grants: SSIP 2.0 (₹2.5 Lakhs for students), Startup India Seed Fund (up to ₹70 Lakhs). PIERC at Parul University helps student founders access these schemes.
Can I start a startup while studying?
Yes. PIERC at Parul University runs a 14-day incubation programme open to students across all departments. Crunchy Wavez, Fly Any Trip, and Algorian were all built by PU students.
