Three in four Indian early-stage start-ups want to foray into U.S., shows survey

Three in four early-stage start-ups from India want to expand to the U.S. market but stay away due to lack of availability of talent, according to a survey conducted by Alariss Global, a tech-enabled global expansion marketplace. 

The survey reached out to over 1,000 Indian start-ups, of which 42.9% were Series A funded. The rest were seed-funded or bootstrapped, the entity said.

“Out of the respondents, 76.2% wish to take their products to the U.S. but they also highlighted the hurdles they face. Many respondents also stated that they have tried entering the U.S. market in the past but had their hands burned due to a variety of reasons, especially hiring the wrong local person to lead sales, and were forced to delay their plans,” Alariss Global said in a statement. 

“According to the respondents, the biggest hurdles that get in the way of expanding to the U.S. are the cost of expansion, hiring, and managing overseas teams,” it added.

In addition, as per the survey over 95% of the scale-up start-ups that are looking to expand in the U.S. wanted a localised partner who would manage the sales vertical in the country. “24% said that they also wanted a partner that could provide a local tax accountant, and 19% were interested in a local lawyer,” the statement added.

“Indian start-ups have a strong interest and capability to take their products to a market like the U.S. As barriers to entry reduce and access to global resources become more democratised, the time is right for Indian companies to grab the opportunity and make a global impact,” said Joyce Zhang Gray, chief executive officer and co-founder of Alariss Global in the statement.