At a time when India’s startup ecosystem is recalibrating from hyper-growth to disciplined execution, a fundamental question is resurfacing in boardrooms: Should founders bootstrap or raise venture capital?
At Founders Forum India 2026, four seasoned entrepreneurs and operators — Rajesh Jain, founder of Netcore Cloud; Aditya Pittie, managing director of Pittie Group; Akshay Ghulati, co-founder of Shiprocket; and Naiyya Saggi, founder and CEO of EDT — debated the trade-offs between building through acquisition and starting from scratch, arguing that while both paths can create enduring companies, they demand vastly different mindsets.
Their takeaway: capital is a strategic choice—not a badge of honour.
For Ghulati, venture capital was a structural necessity. Building a logistics infrastructure business required upfront investments in technology, integrations, and scale.
“We brought in institutional investors not just for capital, but for validation and governance,” he said. External capital, in his view, imposed higher standards and brought strategic insight. But it also meant accepting scrutiny. “If you don’t like being questioned, venture capital is not for you.”
Saggi echoed the importance of strategic alignment. Early-stage capital may back vision, but later-stage funding demands acceleration and clarity on capital allocation. “At every stage, your responsibility towards capital changes,” she said, underscoring the fiduciary duty founders carry once they raise external funds.
