“Who are you chasing?”

Perhaps the best scene of the 1997 Julia Roberts-starrer, My Best Friend’s Wedding, was the one where she’s distraught on the phone with her gay best friend, George. Michael, her best friend since childhood and someone she loves, is chasing his would-be bride Kimmy.

George: Michael's chasing Kimmy?
Julianne: Yes!
George: You're chasing Michael?
Julianne: Yes!
George: Who's chasing you? Nobody. Get it!

Welcome to 2019! We missed you. 

I’d argue the scene above is the best analogy for predicting what happens in 2019 in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Young startups are chasing early stage VCs. Early stage VCs are chasing LPs. LPs are chasing larger, late stage funds. Late stage funds are chasing unicorns like Swiggy, Oyo, Ola and Paytm. The unicorns are chasing SoftBank. 

If there was a George in this scene, he’d ask, “Who’s chasing you?” (But he could just as well be asking SoftBank, “Who are you chasing?”)

In today’s story, Sumanth and Ashish have tried to map out the lines (not dots, they clarify) that will define the Indian startup ecosystem in 2019. Expect a much more stratified ecosystem in 2019, where startup largeness will beget funding largesse to the detriment of overall innovation and vibrancy. Everyone is playing a dark version of musical chairs where no one really knows what happens when the music stops.