8 Indian startups that love being bootstrapped

Photo credit: Zach Copley

Indian startups are often accused of chasing hype instead of profitability. Part of that means they go after famous investors with deep pockets – be it Housing or TinyOwl or even a unicorn like Flipkart. But away from the spotlight, some have managed to survive for years without any external money.

They have made profits, ploughed the money back into the business, thought of creative ways to solve a crisis, and expanded at their own pace – all the while cherishing their freedom. It’s a freedom that the founders of many VC-funded companies trade for scaling up fast – only to regret it later.

That’s what bootstrapping is all about. It needs an awful lot of confidence in the product. It needs patience and financial discipline. It needs caution. In turn, it allows entrepreneurs the flexibility to make mistakes and learn from them.

Here we take a look at eight cool Indian startups that started out with their own funds and had the gumption to stay the course:

Antilog Vacations

Photo credit: David Stanley

Offering online bookings and holiday packages, this startup steps in when people want to step out. Based in Chandigarh, Antilog Vacations claims to offer the cheapest prices available for tours – offline or online. And going by the number of travelers it has bagged – 30,000 travelers over the past three years – they might be on to something.

The company was founded in 2010 by two former Infosys techies and friends, Mohit Singla and Abhishek Jaiswal. Today it operates in 17 markets, the major ones being India, France, UK, the US, Germany, and Japan.

And yes, they are happy to be bootstrapped. “Without raising any money from investors, Antilog has grown organically,” its website says. The company believes “good word of mouth makes a better impact than good advertisements.”

We Do Sky

Photo credit: Don McCullough

Want a bird’s eye view? Try Delhi-based startup We Do Sky, which sends up drones to create virtual maps.  Founded by IT graduate Jaspreet Makkar in 2014, it is in high demand among construction and mining companies.

While still in college, Jaspreet made and sold projects of use to college students. He saved this money up and decided to put it to good use – by launching a data capture startup that would keep him close to his passion, drones.

Zoho

FusionCharts

42Gears

SignEasy

Wingify

Kayako