India's Top Achievers: BW Disrupt 30Under30 List 2022

India is one of the major startup hubs in the world today. It is not just a home to 75,000 recognised startups, but also formally recognises more than 80 startups daily, which is the highest rate anywhere in the world. With 107 unicorns so far, the country also ranks third globally in overall unicorn count. 

The majority of these unicorns have hit pay dirt in the last two years, signaling a thriving startup ecosystem that is rapidly evolving and expanding, the funding winter notwithstanding. Investors not just from India but from all across the globe are keen to invest heavily in Indian startups. With technology becoming central to our lives, evidently, startups and entrepreneurs in India are bound to get all the glory.

The Initiative

BW Disrupt 30 Under 30 is an exclusive initiative that is known for recognising the innovators among the younger group. This annual exercise spearheaded by BW Businessworld plays a critical role in encouraging disruption by the younger innovators to solve problems for the masses. By finding newer solutions to complex problems, the young innovators are redefining the business norms and nature.

In its second edition now, BW Disrupt 30 Under 30 also acknowledges intrapreneurs by allowing people who are associated with companies but are not necessarily founders or co-founders to file nominations. Organisations are also striving to match the pace with the redefined processes and work cultures and nurture the talent who have clutter-breaking ideas.

The Industries

We received hundreds of nominations from a mix of startups operating in traditional technology space as well as in mobility, B2B pharma tech, performance agency, D2C marketplace, SaaS-based ventures, ayurvedic brand, wearables, secure logistics, roll-ups, restaurant chains and what not. The aim is to showcase the phenomenal progress across segments and niches.

Evaluation Process

The response received was overwhelming, and more than 250 entries were received. Subsequently, the number was brought down to 67 following the two-tier screening rounds. The shortlisted nominees were invited to present their cases in front of the jury. The closed-room jury deliberations and discussions took place over a virtual platform. The effectiveness of the solution offered, market opportunity and potential, founders’ zeal and passion, the impact created till now and, most importantly, the age limit of 30 were some of the key parameters followed by the evaluators to ensure the worth of being selected to the elite club of BW Disrupt 30 under 30.

The esteemed jury panel included Neel Pandya, CEO, (Europe and APAC), Pixis; Ashish Singla, Managing Partner, N+1 Capital; Tej Kapoor, Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures; Salone Sehgal, General Partner, Lumikai Fund; Ipsita Das, Managing Director, Moet Hennessy India; Ankit Prasad, Founder and CEO, Bobble AI; Nitin Gupta, Founder and CEO, Xapads; Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-chief and Founder, exhange4media group. Jury Chair Ajit Mohan, MD and Vice President - India, Meta presided over the whole process of evaluating and finalising the elite list of BW Disrupt 30 Under 30, 2022.

The Winners

Thirty young and ambitious disruptors have come under the spotlight as BW Disrupt 30 under 30 recognises and acknowledges innovations that are making an impact and solving for the masses. Out of these 30, 24 are entrepreneurs and 6 intrapreneurs as BW Disrupt did not leave behind the professionals who are making a stark difference in their companies.