India Needs ‘Indicorns’ Over Unicorns

The Rise of Indicorns: Redefining Startup Success in India’s Economic Landscape
For years, the term “unicorn” has been the gold standard in the global startup ecosystem—a mythical creature representing startups valued at over $1 billion. But in India, where the economic terrain is as diverse as its culture, Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital, is challenging this borrowed benchmark. He argues that India needs its own breed of champions: “Indicorns.” These aren’t just startups with sky-high valuations but companies built for profitability, sustainability, and long-term impact on India’s economy. With 187 homegrown Indicorns already generating over $1 billion in cumulative revenue and creating 92,000 jobs, Bahl’s vision isn’t just theoretical—it’s a movement reshaping how India measures entrepreneurial success.

Why Unicorns Don’t Always Fit the Indian Market

The unicorn model, born in Silicon Valley’s high-risk, high-reward culture, thrives on rapid scaling and aggressive fundraising. But India’s market dances to a different tune. Here, consumer behavior is fragmented, infrastructure gaps persist, and regulatory hurdles can turn growth into an obstacle course. Bahl points out that chasing unicorn status often leads startups to prioritize valuation over viability, resulting in “flipkartization”—a term cheekily coined for companies that scale fast but bleed cash, relying on foreign capital to stay afloat.
Indicorns, by contrast, are engineered for India’s realities. Take Zerodha, a bootstrapped brokerage firm that became profitable before hitting unicorn status, or Mamaearth, which focused on unit economics before expanding. These companies prove that sustainable revenue, not just valuation, should be the metric that matters. As Bahl notes, “A unicorn might dazzle investors, but an Indicorn feeds the economy.”

The Domestic Advantage: Keeping Startups Rooted in India

One of Bahl’s sharpest critiques is the trend of Indian startups incorporating overseas, often in Singapore or Delaware, to attract foreign funding. While this might ease initial fundraising, it complicates regulatory compliance and distances companies from the markets they serve. Indicorns, however, are doubling down on domestic incorporation. By staying rooted in India, they gain better access to local venture capital, simplify tax structures, and align with government initiatives like the Startup India Seed Fund.
This isn’t just about patriotism—it’s pragmatism. Consider Udaan, a B2B e-commerce platform that leveraged India’s vast informal retail network to build a asset-light, high-revenue model. Or PharmEasy, which tapped into India’s underpenetrated healthcare sector. These companies didn’t need offshore addresses to succeed; they needed deep market insight, which comes from being locally embedded.

Beyond Profit: Indicorns as Engines of Social Impact

The Indicorn model isn’t just financially savvy—it’s socially transformative. By prioritizing job creation and local value chains, these companies address two of India’s most pressing challenges: unemployment and regional inequality. For instance, rural-focused startups like Ninjacart (agri-tech) and Jai Kisan (farm financing) don’t just turn profits; they uplift underserved communities.
Sustainability is another cornerstone. While global unicorns often face criticism for environmental recklessness (think ride-hailing apps adding to congestion), Indicorns like ReNew Power (renewable energy) and Ather Electric (EVs) bake eco-consciousness into their DNA. Bahl’s argument? “A startup that solves India’s problems will always find a market—and a legacy.”

A Blueprint for a $5 Trillion Economy

India’s ambition to become a $5 trillion economy hinges on more than a handful of unicorns. It requires a robust ecosystem of scalable, profitable businesses that reduce reliance on fickle foreign capital. Indicorns offer this stability. They also combat brain drain by proving that India’s market rewards innovation as richly as Silicon Valley does.
The road ahead isn’t without potholes. Regulatory clarity, easier access to early-stage funding, and mentorship for founders are critical. But as Bahl’s 187 Indicorns show, the template works. The question isn’t whether India can produce more unicorns—it’s whether those unicorns can learn from the Indicorns already galloping ahead.
In the end, the Indicorn movement isn’t rejecting unicorns; it’s redefining success on India’s terms. It’s a call to build companies that don’t just survive but sustain—businesses that measure growth not in valuation spikes but in jobs created, problems solved, and economies strengthened. For a nation poised to shape the next decade of global commerce, that might just be the most valuable metric of all.