r/IndiaBusiness

Need some genuine advice here because this situation is messing with my head.

A friend of mine was struggling badly in business when I met him. Very old school guy… no knowledge of computers, software, systems, lead generation, nothing like that. Financially also he was stuck badly. Around 80k debt became almost 8 lakhs because of loans and interest and all that mess. Business was making maybe 50k/month max.

To be fair, he is good at operations and getting work done once work comes in… but sales? marketing? growth? follow ups? completely weak there.

Past 3 years he jumped around 4 companies and got sacked from all of them. Even used fake salary hike stories while switching jobs.

Meanwhile for the last 3 months I’ve been building lead lists, finding clients, creating opportunities, learning systems, trying to scale things properly. I literally found a way where this business can potentially make 50k/day if executed correctly.

Now here comes the problem.

Instead of treating me like a partner, he registered a company and made me an “employee”.

Still I ignored it because I thought maybe once money starts coming he’ll do things properly.

First deal comes in…

I brought the client.
I helped close the deal.
I even invested my own money into it.

Total profit was around 68k.

He gave me only 8k.

Rest he kept.

When I asked him about it he suddenly started emotional talks like:
“bro you come from settled family”
“I’m in debt”
“I have problems”
etc etc.

But the thing is… I also have bills to pay. I can’t work for free or for charity. Feels like he expects me to work at minimum value while he benefits from the opportunities I bring.

At the same time he keeps saying:
“don’t come into this business”
“there’s no money here”
“this field is difficult”

But ironically I’m the one bringing leads and sales while he acts very lethargic about growth. He talks like even spending 50k/month is huge.

Right now I have around 350 leads which I have NOT disclosed to him yet because honestly I feel like I became the sales engine of the business while he only handles operations.

Another weird thing…
his brother is also in the same line and has almost the exact same mentality and attitude.

Now I seriously don’t know what to do.

Do I continue?
Do I demand proper partnership before sharing anything further?
Do I separate and build independently?
How do I recover the money I already invested?
And ethically/legal-wise… are the clients and leads mine since I generated them personally?

I genuinely helped this guy when he was struggling but now I feel like I’m being used.

(Used AI only for proofreading because my English typing gets messy sometimes.)

Did you or or your family ever face an issue regarding lack of helpers or friends to help you, like accompanying your grandparents to hospital, shift your loads or any other errands? Would you use if you had an app that connects you to helpers?

My friend's dad runs a wholesale distribution business. He was managing everything on paper and Excel. We found this app called Supply Setu tracks shop-wise billing, inventory, daily cash counter, expenses, and outstanding payments. Completely free, no ads, no hidden charges. Built by an indie Indian developer. Genuinely think more people should know about it.

if you sell a product or a service and need more customers,

i can help u get more sales on a fees basis

so i earn when you earn...

if your offer is good and u need this, please dm me

Trying to set up a manufacturing and export unit here in India feels less like building a business and more like running a gauntlet designed to break your spirit. I’ve spent months navigating a labyrinth of red tape, where every single "No Objection Certificate" and compliance form feels like a calculated barrier to entry rather than a standard procedure. It’s not just the sheer volume of paperwork; it’s the expectation that you’ll "grease the wheels" at every level. From local municipal officials to GST inspectors, the process is shrouded in an culture of petty corruption where your file stays at the bottom of the pile unless someone gets their cut. It’s incredibly draining to try and run a legitimate operation when the system itself seems structured to reward those who know how to play the bribe game.

Compare this to the experience of a friend who recently incorporated a similar export venture in the UK. The difference is frankly infuriating. In the UK, the process is almost entirely digitized, transparent, and most importantly it's predictable. You aren't playing a guessing game with local bureaucrats or bracing for "extra-legal" expenses just to get a utility connection or a customs permit. There, the government views itself as a facilitator of commerce rather than a gatekeeper, and the regulatory framework is designed to let you focus on your actual product rather than spending 70% of your time fighting a phantom war against systemic inefficiency.

It’s disheartening because I truly wanted to build something here, but at what point does the cost of "doing business" become a tax on my own survival? We talk about India becoming a global manufacturing hub, but as long as we treat entrepreneurs like suspects who need to be shaken down rather than partners in growth, we’re never going to compete with countries that actually value efficiency. Unless there is a fundamental shift in how the lower rungs of this bureaucracy operate, people like me will continue to look elsewhere, and we will keep losing out on the innovation and investment that this country desperately needs.

I live in USA and have exposure to startup environments.

I have crazy idea which already happening here in USA and if we localised and replicate in India would be crazy like Zomato & etc.

Its like gold rush. Ride the wave and print $$

FYI. I already have some business due to lack of time i can be a good source of advisor. Looking someone who has hunger to execute and wave the ride.

Looking forward

Hi everyone,

I’m based in Rohini, Delhi, and I’m trying to figure out what kind of business would make the most sense in India right now if someone has around ₹1.5–2 crore available to invest.

My main goal is relatively stable monthly income of at least around ₹1.5 lakh/month, preferably something that can grow over time and isn’t insanely risky. I’m open to both service-based and product-based businesses.

A few things:

Preferably something legal or illegal, scalable, and sustainable long term

Open to Delhi/NCR-based ideas or even semi-passive models

Can be online, offline, franchise, manufacturing, healthcare, food, rentals, etc.

I don’t necessarily need “startup unicorn” type growth — steady cash flow matters more

Would also appreciate ideas that work well specifically in Delhi/NCR demographics

Would love to hear:

What business you would personally start with this budget

Expected monthly profit realistically

Approx timeline to break even

Biggest risks/problems in that business

Whether it needs full-time involvement or can be managed with staff

Would appreciate honest and practical suggestions from people with real experience.

Hello everyone I would like to put some of my observations. I’m not saying this to hate on anyone or disrespect small business owners, because earning honestly is always respectable. But lately, I have been noticing something happening across India that genuinely concerns me.

Everywhere you look, people are starting the exact same kind of “business” roadside chai stalls, coffee counters, protein shake shops, fruit juice stands, cold drink setups, ice tea carts, momo stalls, and similar copy-paste ideas. One person starts it, ten others nearby do the same thing. The streets are becoming crowded with sellers, but nobody stops to ask an important question:

If everyone wants to sell, then who is left to consume?

A real economy needs balance. Not everyone can become a seller of the same low-entry products. We need builders, innovators, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, designers, creators, and people solving actual problems. But instead, many people now think putting up a table, mixing flavored powder with milk, and calling it a “startup” is entrepreneurship.

This isn’t innovation. Most of these businesses have no differentiation, no technology, no scalability, no long-term vision, and no value creation beyond surviving day to day. It feels like we are stuck in an endless loop of chai, coffee, shakes, cafés, and Instagram-style food stalls while countries around the world are building AI products, robotics, semiconductors, biotech, advanced manufacturing, and deep-tech companies.

The problem is not small businesses themselves. Small businesses are important for survival and employment. The real issue is the mindset shift happening where people are becoming afraid to build something difficult, original, or innovative. Everyone wants quick cash flow with the lowest possible risk, even if the market is already overcrowded.

Social media also plays a role. We constantly see videos saying:

Started this business with ₹5,000

Earn ₹10,000 daily from tea

Open a shake shop and become financially free

But very few people talk about sustainability, competition, margins, scalability, or market saturation.

India has incredible talent and one of the youngest populations in the world. Imagine if even a fraction of this energy went into building products, technology, agriculture innovation, healthcare solutions, automation, manufacturing, or global software companies instead of endlessly copying the same roadside business models.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with honest work. But as a country, we should ask ourselves:

Are we creating businesses that truly move society forward, or are we just recycling the same ideas because they feel safe?

So bascially not fluent in English so toda mix

Toh prblm ye h mujhe ki meri salary 40K monthly TIER 2 CITY

Rent 6K

Food 8K

All other 6K

Savings 20 K sidha in SIP

So i am little confuse ki may itna paisa indian share me laga rha hu from last 3.5 years.

Total invested. 6L

Total return. 23K 4%

So kya krna chaiye aaplog btye should i keep invested ya kux aur

Plzz answer :

Been working as a software developer for 6 years, now layed off and tired of it. I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT TO START AN IT COMPANY.

I have built decent savings though and willing to take risk.

I was thinking something in service Sector. Like a clinic or physio therapy Center, but everything seems so saturated.

Everyone's focused on the wrong metric.

The quick commerce debate in India is always about unit economics — dark store capex, delivery costs, CAC, whether 10-minute delivery is actually sustainable. That's the wrong frame entirely.

Here's what's actually being built:

>Every order placed on Blinkit tells them: this household, at this pincode, at 9pm on a Tuesday, ran out of atta and needed it in 10 minutes. Multiply that across ~1 million daily orders on Blinkit alone - SKU level, pincode level, timestamped. That's not a grocery business. That's a real-time demand graph of urban India - more granular than anything Nielsen, Kantar, or any FMCG company has ever had access to.

The FMCG companies know this. Which is why Blinkit's ad revenue grew 220% YoY in Q3 FY24 - more than double the rate its own orders grew. The three platforms collectively now do ₹3,000–3,500 crore in annual ad revenue, delivering 1.5-2x better ROAS than Meta or Google. They're not selling you groceries. They're selling HUL the ability to intercept a household the exact moment it adds a competitor's shampoo to its cart. Zepto literally has a product for this - they call it "Swap and Save."

The data moat compounds quietly while everyone argues about delivery margins.

Here's the asymmetric bet: if quick commerce consolidates to 2 players (likely), whoever owns the demand graph owns FMCG pricing intelligence in India for the next decade. Blinkit's revenue streams already explicitly list "data insight services for brands" as a separate product line. This isn't a future thesis - it's already being monetized.

Zomato acquired Blinkit for ₹4,447 crore in 2022. Goldman Sachs now values it at $10.5–13 billion. In Q1 FY26, Blinkit's net order value surpassed Zomato's own food delivery business for the first time.

They bought a grocery app. They may have accidentally bought India's most valuable consumer demand dataset - at the price of a mid tier startup.

>!Delivery is the loss leader. The data is the business. What do you think?!<

Hey everyone, I’ll get straight to the point. My father owns a local cosmetics shop, but over the past few years the business hasn’t been doing very well. Customer footfall has decreased significantly, and many people now prefer buying online, even though a lot of fake or low-quality products are being sold there.

I genuinely want to help him grow the business, increase sales, and bring customers back. I’m open to any suggestions regarding marketing, online presence, customer attraction strategies, delivery systems, social media promotion, or anything else that could help a local cosmetics business compete in today’s market.

Would really appreciate any advice or guidance. Thank you.

Hi Guys,

26 M here.

I’m …. well stuck. long story short - I was doing a job , had a father who was in used car business. He passed away in 2023.

Now me, I never ever had an interest in my father’s business. Never sat with him for work or anything regarding similar framework line.

Had to take over business - drop the job - since was facing lot of family pressure. 2023-2024 went uphill and money started to come in ( Not much but 50-70% my dad’s monthly ) but along that cane tension , worries and unfortunately mental stress which worsened my health.

2025 was a hellhole , was barely making a living , market duped. For once I had enough - Back to job closed the business.

now main issue is I have 2 cars in stock of purchase 12.5 lakhs and 6.15 lakhs respectively. I am not getting a good deal on any of them. last offer I got was 7 lakhs and 3 lakhs. THIS is A LOT. I barely make 1.5L/m in job.

I can’t sleep for months now , feel ashamed to admit cry over it sometimes.

i want to book a loss but even for that there are no customers

please advice what do I do … I was never meant for business

Recently did a branding exercise for a local manufacturer making tractor side dalla (tractor trolley side panels) in a sand-belt region. Business is worth crores. Owner is a third-generation guy with zero formal business education - and one of the sharpest operators I've come across.

The area has heavy sand extraction activity - tractor demand is perennial, and so is the demand for dalla. Competitors exist. Some even undercut on price.

But here's his answer when I asked about competition:

"Let them undercut. My customers come back because their dalla never breaks —and if it ever does, I fix it free. For life."

He's kept 2 full-time technicians on monthly salary to honour this promise. But here's the kicker - there's barely any repair work coming in, because the product is genuinely built to last. The warranty cost is near zero. The trust dividend? Enormous.

The math behind the moat:

• Promise -> Lifetime free repair
• Cost of promise -> 2 technicians on monthly pay
• Actual repair volume -> Near zero
• Word-of-mouth flywheel -> Entire region, for decades

In a market where the buyer - typically a farmer or transporter - has very little margin for downtime or repair costs, a lifetime warranty isn't a gimmick. It's a signal of skin in the game. Customers feel it. And they talk.

No ads. No distributor network. No digital presence. Just a product that holds up - backed by a man who stakes his name on it.

The real lesson: Customer loyalty in rural markets isn't bought - it's earned through reliability and kept through accountability. The warranty didn't create loyalty. The product did. The warranty just made the promise visible.

Me and my friend are planning to start a small buisness/startup where we find niche in indian market and import those products from china if they arent available, thinking of starting small with initial investment of 70k on electronic products(hand held consoles etc..) the thing is we arent ordering in massive quantities so basically 10 pieces (popular electronic products) for the first batch, but the opeartions side is very confusing, some say get a CHA, some say just order from alibaba under personal items and hope for customs to not catch it, some say do dropshipping instead.

I have also come into contact with few people thru reddit who told me they can ship these products for me somehow without BIS or much of customs- they say they have a company here and one in china, some call themselves agents.

I am kind of lost on how to import branded electronics product into india ( in small quantities initially, later expanding with growth).

If you guys could help me in anyway it would be amazing, thankyou for reading thru this!