As the Startup Mahakumbh 2025 is underway in Delhi, Founder and CEO of People Group took to social media and shared his thoughts on LinkedIn. After Union Minister of Commerce, Piyush Goyal had significant input for the Indian startup environment, founders like Aadit Palicha and Anupam Mittal responded in this context.
“Everyone says get out there, like opportunity’s hiding at some conference with bad lighting and worse food” shared Mittal in the post pointing at the redundancy of networking events and conferences. His fiery take amidst the ongoing Startup Mahakumbh 2025 raises eyebrows as Piyush Goyal commented on how perspectives on Shark Tank India needed to change singling out founders like Aman Gupta.
Reflecting on his own journey, the founder highlighted the need for “small peer groups” especially under founder and professional forums making them valuable assets. Furthermore, Mittal in a witty comment mentioned that “sometimes, the best networking move is to stop networking” calling networking events an “absolute waste of time”.
Founders like Mittal have defended Indian startups publicly after Goyal’s remarks at a global forum. Zepto CEO, Aadit Palicha mentioned in a post to respond, “It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in US/China.”
Anupam Mittal’s candour take adds to a growing chorus of founders pushing back against criticism of India’s startup landscape. As debates unfold at Startup Mahakumbh 2025, voices like Mittal and Palicha underscore a deeper shift — one that values substance over showmanship. Their message is clear: meaningful innovation and tight-knit communities, not grand networking galas, are what truly drive impact in the Indian startup ecosystem.