NEW DELHI -- — A little more than a year ago, Rajesh Razdan quit his cushy, well-paying job with a global cellphone company here to launch a small start-up that would offer a slew of new services to cellphone users. India's recent economic boom, he said, was the perfect setting in which to become an entrepreneur.
For his new venture, MCarbon, Razdan had developed sophisticated call-management technology that included blocking unwanted calls on cellphones -- a feature he hoped to pitch to high-powered corporate executives.
By the time his niche service was ready, however, the worldwide financial meltdown had begun, drying up cash flows. He had to give the product a new spin.
"In a slowing economy, everybody looks for something extra for their money, so we quickly repackaged it as a service for the masses, not just high-end users," Razdan, 33, said recently.
"We said, 'Our service will help you reclaim those personal moments that are lost when the cellphone rings or vibrates. When you are meditating or talking to your son at the breakfast table or driving -- the service will allow only your preferred callers to get through to you.' "
Airtel, a large Indian telecommunications company that quickly signed on as an MCarbon client, is planning to launch the "Do not disturb" service nationwide.
The economic slowdown is the first major challenge faced by India's new crop of entrepreneurs, pushing them to consider different business models and look for untapped markets.
Many, like Razdan, belong to the first generation of risk-takers who quit safe jobs and defied their families to launch start-ups in the rapidly expanding economy of this decade. But after four years of growth topping 9%, the rate is expected to slow to about 6% this year.
The sagging economy, however, appears not to have curbed the dreams of India's budding entrepreneurs. Analysts say that although the amount invested in start-ups dipped in the first quarter of 2009, the number of deals did not.
"These start-ups are a product of India's economic boom," said Arun Sahay, chairman of the 3-year-old Center for Entrepreneurship in Gurgaon, outside New Delhi.
"The willingness to take risks has risen. For so long, Indian universities produced only job seekers. But now we want entrepreneurs, who are job creators."
