r/StartUpIndia

Hello Everyone!

The Problem:

A few weeks back, I created a SaaS website. In order to complete the website, I needed a payment gateway. As anyone else would do I went through all available options but there was at least one catch with all of them: Either

1. They needed business registration or
2. They needed a list of documentation and Video KYC verification or
3. They needed upfront payment for starting up

The Solution:

Utilising the payment messages from UPI apps (used Google Pay) for verification of the payment, I built a system where in the website shows the qr code, user pays and then the user gets verified and can move ahead.

The website shows a qr of which the message, amount, payment address is set beforehand. In the message of the payment, there is the user_id;

The app then extracts this user id and sends a message to the backend saying "Hey! This user has paid, let him move ahead"

The website then allows the user to proceed.

🤯

I have open sourced it and this entire system is available on github. You can use this directly by integrating it with your website. (AI will do a good job with it).

If you have any doubts, or want to see my website where this system is implemented, dms are open. I can also help you set this up in your website.

Github Link in comments

-SK

Want to angel invest with 1cr in Indian startups. Which networks/sites should I register with to start evaluating companies?

But when it’s time to write a cheque for deep tech, robotics, or physical AI, they disappear.

India is literally training the world’s robots while foreign companies build the IP, own the models, and capture the trillion-dollar upside.

Then the same investors will ask,
“Why doesn’t India have an OpenAI for robotics?”

Because you never funded one.

You funded another SaaS clone instead.

Imagine this.
You have an idea.
You invest your savings.
You hire a small team.
You're still searching for product-market fit.

But the bills don't wait.
- GST compliance.
- TDS filings.
- ROC filings.
- Payroll compliance.
- Professional fees.
- Licenses and registrations.
- Monthly and annual returns.

Before your startup earns ₹1 in profit, you're already spending time and money staying compliant.
India has made meaningful progress by improving digital infrastructure, simplifying company incorporation, and removing the Angel Tax. Those are positive steps.

But one question remains:
Should early-stage startups spend more time building products or managing compliance?

Every hour spent on paperwork is an hour not spent talking to customers, improving the product, or creating jobs.

India has one of the world's largest startup ecosystems.
Now imagine how much faster innovation could grow if compliance became as simple as launching a UPI payment.

Startups don't ask for special treatment.
They ask for the opportunity to spend more time building and less time filing.

What's the one regulation or compliance requirement you think should be simplified for Indian startups?

I’m open to joining the right startup as a technical co-founder.

Let me be clear about compensation first: I don’t expect a salary at the beginning. I’m open to working on an equity-first basis if the startup, founder, and problem are genuinely worth building.

If you can pay a small amount initially, that’s fine, but it’s not my main requirement. Once we start generating revenue, I would expect a fair payment structure along with equity.

I’m not looking for a short-term job, freelancing work, or a “just build this for me” type of arrangement.

I can help with product decisions, business strategy, technical architecture, development, shipping the product, and even distribution.

A bit about me: I’m the founder of a registered company in India. I’ve already launched my own product, and I’m currently working on distribution and marketing.

I’m looking to collaborate with people who have a serious founder mindset and are building something meaningful.

What I can contribute:

• Product planning and execution
• Technical architecture
• Backend/product development
• Business and go-to-market thinking
• Distribution support
• Long-term decision-making as a founder, not just as a developer

What I’m looking for:

Please don’t DM me with just “Hi” or vague small talk.

Send me a DM answering all the below questions:

1. What stage your startup is in
2. What problem you’re solving
3. How you’re planning to solve it
4. What you currently do
5. What role you expect me to play
6. Why you think I’d be a good fit

If I find it interesting, we can talk and see if there’s a fit.

I’m based in Bangalore, India.

I’m currently in the process of setting up my startup and I want to get the official DPIIT Startup India Certificate of Recognition.

I know the government portal itself is free of cost, but since this is my first time handling the paperwork, I want to make sure my application doesn’t get rejected (especially the innovation write-up and pitch deck part).

Seedha puchh raha hoon. Koi foreign app nahi — sirf Indore ka, sirf Indore ke businesses k liye.

Soch lo — subah uthke check karo ki aaj kaun si shops me kya deal hai, shahar ke kaunse cafe mein happy hour hai, kaunsi salon mein walk-in discount hai, kaunsi local shop mein weekend deal chal rahi hai. Esi attractive deals jo aap logo tak pahuch hi nahi paati. wo sab ek hi platform per.

Moderator please let me know if you feel that this post is irrelevant.

I'm stress-testing a business model and would appreciate feedback from anyone with experience in international e-commerce, imports, payments, tax, or cross-border trade.

Proposed model:

• A foreign D2C brand continues to operate its existing international website.
• We import inventory into India under our own IEC on a consignment basis.
• Indian customers place orders on the brand's website.
• The India storefront uses our payment gateway to collect payments from Indian customers.
• Orders are fulfilled domestically from inventory stored in India.
• We charge storage, fulfilment, and handling fees.
• The remaining amount is remitted to the foreign brand periodically.

The idea is to help smaller foreign brands test the Indian market without establishing an Indian entity, warehouse, or local operations team.

My main concern is identifying legal or regulatory issues before spending time building this.

Some questions:

1. Can inventory legally be imported on a consignment basis and sold in this manner?
2. Are there FEMA or RBI restrictions on remitting sale proceeds (after deducting agreed fees) to the foreign brand?
3. Could payment gateway providers object to processing orders for products marketed under another company's website and brand?
4. Are there any major compliance issues that would make this model impractical?

Not looking for formal legal advice—just trying to understand where the biggest regulatory risks or blind spots might be.

Any insights, examples, or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I'm building my own company right now, and I've realized the most valuable startup lessons aren't the motivational ones.

They're the expensive mistakes that no one seems to talk or care about until you've lived through them.

So I'm starting a personal project.

I'm collecting real stories from founders—the moments where something broke, failed, or wasted an absurd amount of time, and what they learned from it.

Not generic advice like "be consistent."

I mean things like:

• A tool you thought would solve a problem but made things worse.
• A workflow that was painfully manual for months before you fixed it.
• A customer mistake that completely changed how you build.
• A hiring mistake.
• A pricing mistake.
• A process you wish you'd automated much earlier.

Once I've collected enough, I'll turn them into a free guide of practical lessons and share it back with the community.

I'd love to hear your story.

launching a tool next month and calculated costs. 2% everywhere is eating into our initial runway. any real experience on who handles success rates best without charging hidden platform fees?

I’m 18 , fresh out of school. Is it worth taking the risk ? Considering I’ll be investing my savings into it .
Any what’ll be the possible consequences I’ll face .
I oath to build a brand like mars and Swiss beauty super affordable for college girls .

I am a computer scientist (PhD) with almost 18 years in scientist roles in different countries around the world, including a FAANG in the US. I have now returned to India and building a deep-tech AI company influenced by my research background. It is addressing a missing yet important part of ASI. We have university collaborations in India and Australia working on the research problem, currently bootstrapped.

I have already partnered with a tech advisor from another big tech firm, who will come onboard as a CTO post fundraising. Until then I am acting as CEO+CTO. I also have a PhD+MBA cofounder with Big4 consulting background to look at the operations side of the startup.

As a team we are experienced and credible. We also have a business at hand that is very hard to replicate as it needs deep scientific understanding and expertise. We are not experienced in fundraising through Angels and VCs.

I have contacts in the US and we are also open to fundraise from overseas at a later stage. Currently, looking at government grants in India.

I’d appreciate any useful pointers to effective deep-tech fundraising, particularly in India. If useful for context, we are looking to raise $2.8M.

If there is anyone in Kolkata or Bangalore areas, I’d love to meet up over a coffee (on me) or have an online chat. Please DM.

>

not the "oh we pivoted and it made us stronger" type answer🥀🥀

Gimme da real one, the one that actually hurt.

mine was realizing that your first 10 customers will lie to your face and say they love the product just to be nice and you'll build for 6 months based on that feedback before figuring out nobody actually wanted to pay for it😭😭

Guys, I just graduated from college, and I never even got a chance to sit for a single interview. I'm from a Tier 3 college, and unfortunately, no companies visited our campus. I have an 8.2 CGPA, not extraordinary, but I thought it would at least give me a chance to appear for on campus placements. Sadly, that never happened.

I've learned DSA in C++, along with JavaScript, TypeScript, React, and SQL. Even in the start of this year i grinded very hard for TCS NQT but after graduating, I've completely lost my motivation. I know my skills are not enough and I honestly feel lost... I don't know what to do now...

I really need some career guidance.

Should I continue focusing on tech and prepare for software development roles? If yes, what should I focus on? MERN? Java? Go? Something else?

Or should I shift my focus toward BDE/SaaS sales roles, get a job as soon as possible to support my family, and then transition back into tech later or maybe forget about tech if I get into good position?

I can't prepare for M.Tech because my parents are hoping I'll start earning and support them financially.. As i studied with a loan and my family is not well financially

I also prepared for TCS NQT. During the coding round, I came up with an optimal solution for one of the problems and the other one i could solve with brute force approach... but for some reason my code just wouldn't run, even after checking it multiple times.. but the same code ran in my compiler and the output was exactly as expected.. That experience really shattered my confidence.

Right now, I'm confused about everything. I don't know which path to commit to, and I don't want to waste more time by choosing the wrong one.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? What would you do if you were in my place?

I don't really have anyone I can talk to about this, so I'm posting here hoping someone can guide me.

I am looking to register my LLP and searching online for any trusted firm which takes care of it and complete on time. If any of you availed any such service online please suggest.