What India’s Young Entrepreneurs Taught Me at the TiE Surat Growth Lab

On 11th March 2026, I had the opportunity to lead a session in the TiE Surat – Growth Lab Series, and I came away deeply encouraged by the experience.

What made the session especially meaningful was its format. It was not a conventional event built around speeches or presentations. It was designed as an open Growth Lab — a space for honest conversation, real questions, practical challenges, and direct discussion. That openness created a different level of engagement.

What truly impressed me was the quality of interaction from the participants.

Many of them were young, and several were students. Yet the depth of their questions, the seriousness of their inquiry, and the maturity of their thinking were remarkable. These were not superficial questions asked out of curiosity alone. They reflected genuine intent to build, solve, and create.

Some of the discussions touched on highly relevant and practical themes:

• How AI can be meaningfully used in manufacturing
• Which marketing channels may work best for an EdTech venture
• How to think about go-to-market strategy and product-market fit
• What KPIs a new venture should track from the beginning
• When the right time is to raise funds
• How much capital should be raised
• Which fundraising instruments may be suitable at different stages of growth

These are not small questions. These are founder-level questions.

What stayed with me even more than the questions themselves was the mindset behind them. Many of these young participants were not looking for shortcuts. They were thinking seriously, working consistently, and pursuing their ideas with visible commitment. Some of them had been patiently chasing their projects for a long time. That kind of focus at such an early stage of life is deeply encouraging.

It also gave me a strong sense that India’s future is bright.

We often speak about India’s demographic dividend, but what I saw in that room was more important than demographics alone. I saw aspiration backed by inquiry. I saw ambition supported by effort. I saw young people increasingly thinking not merely as job seekers, but as potential job creators.

That shift matters.

The session also reminded me of something we strongly believe in at Growth Avenues: outcomes are often shaped by behaviour before they are shaped by numbers. In investing, we call this Behaviour-First Investing — the belief that discipline, consistency, patience, and sound decision-making often matter as much as intelligence or opportunity.

In many ways, entrepreneurship is no different. Ideas matter, capital matters, strategy matters — but without the right behaviour, very little compounds meaningfully over time.

That is why the interaction was so heartening. The participants were not only asking smart questions; they were displaying the habits that often precede meaningful success.

The feeling I came away with strongly resonates with the optimism expressed by Mr. Saurabh Mukherjea about India’s long-term future. If the curiosity, seriousness, and entrepreneurial intent of our younger generation are any indication, then India’s growth story has a very strong foundation.

I am grateful to TiE Surat for creating such a valuable platform. Sessions like these do more than answer business questions. They help nurture confidence, clarity, and the mindset needed to build.

And in the long run, it is exactly this mindset that creates enterprises, opportunities, and a stronger nation.