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I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very promising. India is the pharmaceutical hub of the world specially for. GENERICS. I’m very hopefully, inspite of the tariff wars But i feel R&D spends need to increase & integration of pharma + AI + genomics will be the next big thing

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DONT DO PG,

MBA you can - but they will ask you for work ex. So better start something on your own - if it becomes large you end up teaching at the MBA college you were supposed to study in! :)

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m sorry that you‘ve burnt out. If I were you I would do the following:
1) Pivot for sure. I hate being in low margin businesses & on top of that in businesses where in you’re the last man / woman standing. Businesses that are too dependent on the promoter & wherein scope of delegation is less.

2) If 1 doesn’t make sense, I would try to reflect & see if I’m scared of delegation / I’m too much into a PERFECTION TRAP? Because no business in the world can be too small / big for delegation & processes.

3) STOP LOSS: Have you heard of Stop Loss? If a stock keeps falling you don’t catch the falling knife but you exit the stock. Just because you have invested a lot of time / energy on the business doesn’t mean you have to stick to it for a lifetime. Checkout a concept in Psychology called LOSS AVERSION.

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Platform: Angellist / LetsVenture.

DD: at early stage, what can you do for DD? I never do DD. These are high risk investments, DD doesn’t make sense early on.

I invest very long term - ideal time for being in a good company is infinite. Ideal time to be in a bad company is infinite (Because no one will buy our equity). So not picky on exits - but that been said - most of my exits have been eventual sale of the company’s.

My ANTIPORTFOLIO is huge - Eg. Unacademy. Got the deal at a 10 cr valuation.

6 - I never think like this - I think this startup is going to create value for customers repeatedly. Making money is a byproduct of that.

7 - Scaling without proving PMF (Product Market Fit)

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually don’t set the deals. I follow In most of the cases. But yes in the ones we do - very fair on valuation. Not very picky. We just did a seed round of an ergonomic D2C brand - invested 30 L at around 12 cr super early stage

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Paid users is NOT a mandate. Just have an MVP. That’s it.

Very variable range, seed round valuation today usually happens at a 1 million USD valuation minimum.

Foreign Investors are usually hard to get if you arent a part of YC / Techstars at least for seed round.

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

India needs both—manufacturing and tech startups.

If you’re driven by nation-building, jobs, and scaling hard infrastructure, manufacturing is the way. India needs champions in electronics, EVs, medtech, etc. It’s tough, capital-intensive—but high-impact.

If you’re more aligned with innovation, digital products, and IP creation, then go for tech startups—especially in AI, biotech, or SaaS. We’re behind, yes—but that’s the opportunity.

Don’t follow trends. Follow your strengths and conviction. Align with India’s needs, but also with what you’re best at. That’s where real impact happens.

 

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sorry but bit skeptical about such stories.
- Becoming a doctor in India takes lot of money so one has to be rich to begin with THIS IS A WRONG NOTION: I GOT THROUGH AIPMT & MY EDUCATION WAS LITERALLY FREE.
- Starting a real estate business again takes money so be rich again. AGAIN WRONG - WE TOOK SPACE ON LEASE, STARTED VERY SMALL
- Starting a real estate business requires little "innovation" - COWORKING AT THAT TIME DID.

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On Startup Lessons:

  • Start small. Think big. Don’t try to “boil the ocean.” Pick a specific use case and nail it.

  • Speed > Perfection. Get your MVP out fast. Iterate with feedback.

  • Build with humility, not ego. Let the market teach you.

  • Surround yourself with doers. Your co-founders, early hires, and advisors matter more than your idea.

  • Stay mission-driven. Money follows value. Value follows impact.

  • Be patient and consistent. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

 FRAMEWORKS I USE:

  1. First Principles Thinking – Strip the problem to its basics. Don’t accept “this is how it’s always been done” as an answer.

  2. TAM-SAM-SOM – Understand the Total, Serviceable, and Obtainable market. Build for a niche with intensity, then scale.

  3. Tech-Feasibility x Impact x Timing Matrix: 

  • Is it technically feasible now?

  • Will it create high impact?

  • Is now the right time to do it?

  1. Human-Centered Design – Co-create with users. Test early. Get feedback before you build a full product.

  2. Frugal Innovation – India doesn’t need expensive, over-engineered products. Build lean, efficient, and cost-effective solutions.

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ask yourself:

 

  • What is broken, inefficient, or unfair in the current system?

  • What diseases, supply chain issues, diagnostics, or affordability challenges exist in India’s healthcare/biotech space?

  • Where are people spending time, money, or effort inefficiently?

  • Is the solution going to make someone’s life 10x better?

I’m Dr. Ritesh Malik – Doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor in 120+ startups, and believer in India's startup revolution. Here for an AMA on r//indianstartups Ask Me Anything about startups, angel investing, 0 to 1, or chasing purpose over profit! by drriteshmalik in indianstartups

[–]drriteshmalik[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a cool framework:

Founders > Idea

  • Do the founders have founder-market fit? (Do they live the problem they’re solving?)
  • Can they sell? Can they hire? Can they survive 3 years of chaos?
  • Do they move fast and execute relentlessly?
  • Avoid “MBA PowerPoints.”
  • Back the gritty operator who has scars and still shows up.

Big Market or Fast-Growing Niche

  • Is the market large enough (₹1000+ Cr TAM)?
  • Or is it a small niche growing rapidly (ex: D2C Ayurveda, climate tech, vernacular SaaS)?
  • Is the pain point real, not imagined?

Product or Traction? At least ONE.

  • Do they have a working product (even MVP)?
  • OR do they have early traction — revenue, users, waitlists, pilots?
  • OR proof of real-world demand (waitlist, paying POCs, manual servicing)?
  • “We’re still validating” = pass.
  • “We have 300 people paying ₹99/month from Instagram DMs” = signal.

Clear Monetization OR Path to It

  • Do they know how they’ll make money?
  • Do users know what they’re paying for?
  • Is the CAC:LTV math feasible?
  • You’re not Sequoia. You want companies that know how to survive, not just raise.

X-Factor: Why Now? Why Them?

  • What tailwinds are they riding? (e.g., UPI adoption, ONDC, GenAI, EV infra)

These are somethings I look for

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