Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has offered deep tech startups a survival blueprint: ship what sells now, while building for what could save lives later. As the debate around India’s startup priorities continues, Vembu’s message stands out for its clarity—focus on near-term revenue without losing sight of long-term innovation.
“Ship vitamins and painkillers to fund your business even as you work on a cancer cure,” wrote Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, weighing in on the challenges deep tech startups face in India. His advice comes amid a wider industry pushback against recent remarks by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal questioning the direction of India’s startup ecosystem.
“When you start work on deep tech, the most pressing problem you face is the long and uncertain timelines,” Vembu explained. “When can the effort bear fruit in terms of a product that customers want to buy? When can the business become self-sustaining?”
He added that even catching up with what startups in other countries have figured out is difficult. “These are very hard questions for any new startup but they are even harder for a deep tech startup and that is true even when we are ‘only’ figuring out what startups in other countries have already figured out.”
Vembu’s strategy is about keeping the business alive while buying time for breakthroughs. “The two-pronged strategy that I summarised at the top has the benefit of keeping the dream alive and morale up (revenue from customers is the life blood of business) and prepares us mentally for the tough long slog.”
Vembu’s remarks follow Goyal’s sharp critique at the Startup Maha Kumbh, where the minister said startups were overly focused on food delivery and fantasy gaming, while Chinese firms were advancing in EVs and AI. “Do we have to make ice cream or chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai,” Goyal said. “Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? Is that the destiny of India?”
Industry leaders pushed back. Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha urged the government to support local champions “trying hard to get there,” while former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai said Goyal should “not belittle our startups but ask himself what has he done… to help deep-tech start-ups grow in India.”