‘Indian Entrepreneurs are crippled by Archaic Laws’.
It has been roughly two weeks after Binny Bansal’s exit from Flipkart, and as per a report by Moneycontrol, the board of the company is expected to meet in London soon. The surprise exit of Binny Bansal has yet again triggered the #MeToo firestorm, one that has been sweeping through the American business community for more than a year. While Bansal denies any wrongdoing, and people investigating didn’t find any evidence of assault, the process revealed ‘lapses in judgment’ — a term that is vague.
An independent agency probed that the founder of Flipkart, Binny Bansal had a consensual relationship with the woman who accused him of sexual harassment. Further report by the agency states that the two had a relationship back in 2016, and matters came to the forefront only in 2018, just after the acquisition of Flipkart by US-based Walmart. To quote Walmart, “While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation. Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign.” LAPSES IN JUDGEMENT, yet again.
‘The Quint’s’ Editor in Chief, Raghav Bahl says that Binny Bansal’s exit from Flipkart was inevitable. He went on to say that India’s first generation founders are the most endangered species in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. The reason, he said is not too far to seek. Indian startup founders, during their startup phase battle a hostile state, until they are digitally colonized by America and China. This results in ultimately ending their journey, when they are literally knocked out by newly inducted majority investors.
So, logically speaking, India is a barren land for entrepreneurs. Let me justify my statement. To cite Raghav Bahl again, India’s digital economy has been pillaged by those in policy and power. At present, there are 8 startups valued at over $1 billion in India, out of which 7 have shifted overseas; where the founding fathers have ended up as managers, and their hands are tied (as they are denied any voting rights).
Bahl further said that Indian entrepreneurs are crippled by our archaic laws. They are not given Differential Voting Shares, non-voting stock, and banned from issuing and pricing cross border equity and debt structure. Now, all that I mentioned previously is disheartening indeed. India is the world’s third largest startup hub, and everyday some innovation is happening in some form or the other. For instance, we have startups to curb air pollution and store water that is being wasted. All their efforts should not go futile.
Some kind of autonomy is required here indeed.
