Q1. Which industry sector has witnessed massive growth throughout 2020?
2020 saw a monumental rise of the social media industry as all the businesses went from in store experiences to virtual unique experiences. All ancillary service providers supporting this industry saw a huge rise in demand too which also pushed them to up their quality as well as creative standards.

Q2. What has been the toughest challenge faced by the Indian startup eco-system during 2020?
The toughest challenge faced by the Indian startup eco-system was the limited supply of raw materials, as due to the pandemic, basics which were taken for granted and thought were readily available were suddenly not! Small things like cloth, wooden raw materials, paper for creating packaging boxes etc.

Q3. What has been the biggest learning for you as an entrepreneur that the year has taught you?
"Perseverance is the golden key" - this was the biggest learning for me as an entrepreneur not just from constantly pushing forward my business but also on how to balance working from home, home schooling and family life which was now all in one space -HOME.

Whether at office or at home- work is still work which requires your time and so persevering to balance and compartmentalising while being at home is something I am still working on.

Q5. What is your hope for the Indian startup eco-system for 2021?
My hope is that all the small businesses who didn't have the support of technology/ wider networks/ supply chains to get back their businesses and steadily recover from their losses.


Anchal Bajaj, Founder, Wonderkraftz

Q1. Which industry sector has witnessed massive growth throughout 2020?
The world has never seen anything like ever before. In 2020 we have seen a massive change in consumer behavior and also a shift in the market's focus to health protection and hygiene, that has resulted in immense investment and growth in the healthcare sector. I believe that health care sector is moving forward by taking the situation of the pandemic as an opportunity.
 
Q2. What has been the toughest challenge faced by the Indian startup eco-system during 2020?
This global pandemic has forced people around the world to give up their daily lives and limit themselves to their homes. Working remotely has come up with lot of challenges such as managing time, team communication seems fragmented, staying engaged and motivated so on and so forth.

Q3. What has been the biggest learning for you as an entrepreneur that the year has taught you?
Don't give up. Take the plunge and persist. I think 2020 was the year that in order to survive you need to overcome all challenges and one of my greatest lessons I learned in business was that there was never going to be a point that my company would be fully ready to scale until it just happened, so be ready to take up challenges and evolve if needed.

Q4. What is your hope for the Indian startup eco-system for 2021?
There is no doubt that 2020 has been a rollercoaster for startups. I hope 2021 will be the year where start-ups get the resources they have been looking for, opportunities to breakthrough from 2020 losses and a platform to interact with general public.