NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JAN 26
Billionaire Gautam Adani on Monday said India is on the cusp of a start-up explosion boom that will create dozens of unicorns in the next decade on the back of the risk-taking ability and fearlessness of the youth.
In a blog ”Reflection from India’s Gabba win: The Power of Youth” on LinkedIn, Adani paid rich tributes to the Indian cricket team for its historic win against Australia saying India’s youthfulness is giving the country its real power.
My thoughts on India's Gabba Test win and it's underlying message about our nation's youth power.https://t.co/GdQB08rDNm
— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) January 25, 2021
“Our Gabba win is a testimony of a broader attitudinal change. Talent that takes risks will get to the top in a field where competition is intense. After all, to rise and shine within a population of 1.3 billion is no easy task,” he wrote.
With regular captain Virat Kohli savouring fatherhood back home, stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s injury-ravaged team last week made a record 328-run chase at the Gabba to help win the series 2-1.
Adani said the Indian start-up world now has over 27,000 start-up companies.
This makes India the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world.
“I have absolutely very little doubt that this will only further accelerate. We are sitting on the cusp of an upcoming start-up explosion boom which I expect to lead to the creation of dozens of unicorns in the decade ahead and the several cascading innovations and fund flows that this will lead to other spin-off benefits,” he said.
A unicorn is a term used in the venture capital industry to describe a privately held start-up company with a value of over USD 1 billion.
Adani, who heads India’s largest infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group, recalled India’s first World Cup championship victory in 1983, defeating West Indies that had legendary in-form players like Clive Lloyd, Vivian Richards and Gordon Greenidge, in the finals.
Adani said the Gabba win has lessons for the corporate world – give the youngsters a chance. “Pick attitude over experience. Pick passion over polish. Pick the raw power of execution over planning,” he added.
“Likewise, the Indian cricket team’s victory on January 19, 2021, at the Gabba will go down in history as one of the greatest days of Indian cricket,” he said. “My objective is not to discuss which team won – it is more to discuss the power of youthfulness that is increasingly defining India as well as much of what we see around us happening in the world.”
Heroes of the victory against Australia – Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur, and Washington Sundar – are testimony to what the new India can and will be.
“Attitude counts. Belief counts. Most of all Spirit counts. This was more than cricket. These youngsters reflected the attitude, belief, and spirit of our nation,” he said.
Adani said every single story around these youngsters was one of sacrifice, struggle, and intense dedication.
“None of them had it easy given the sheer numbers and depth of talent in Indian Cricket but because of this very reason, they demonstrated the resilience to handle the pressure.”
Getting a permanent slot in the Indian test team is increasingly getting harder and this was evident in the way these youngsters played.
“They are reflections of India’s new-found attitude that is creating an ecosystem of youngsters with tremendous resilience, and they take chances – not just in cricket – but across all fields,” he said. “These youngsters are a reflection of the fundamental principle that it is only those that are fearless about consequences and take the risks that deliver outsized results.”
The Gabba victory, he said, is a testimony of a broader attitudinal change. “Talent that takes risks will get to the top in a field where competition is intense.”
