Start-Up Governance – Is It Time to Put an End to ‘Fake It till You Make It’?

Abstract

The past few years have witnessed a change in the start-up landscape of India. The year 2021 saw an exceptional surge in the number of unicorns. A few unicorns also went public. Government initiatives like Start-up India, Make in India, and Digital India have given further fillip to the wave of entrepreneurship and start-ups in India. Start-ups have contributed to employment generation and economic growth. However, the tremendous growth is coupled with ethical and governance issues. Instances of success stories of start-ups tainted with unethical practices and mismanagement are well-known. It is important to ensure that start-ups do not resort to undesirable practices to achieve/showcase growth. As the start-up landscape is growing and evolving in India, there is a need to strike a balance between incentives to promote start-ups and regulatory architecture for start-ups. The start-up ecosystem requires proper regulatory architecture to ensure that growth is not at the cost of governance and ethical considerations. This step is timely and in the interests of all the stakeholders.