BW Businessworld unveils India’s hottest entrepreneurs

BW Businessworld has released its latest Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship Issue, led by the cover story ‘India’s Hottest Entrepreneurs’. The issue marks the tenth edition of BW Businessworld’s 40 Under 40 initiative, bringing together a cohort of young founders and leaders who are building businesses, creating new categories and driving change within established organisations.

Over the past decade, India’s entrepreneurial landscape has undergone significant change. A new generation of businesses has entered established markets, created fresh categories and expanded the possibilities of what can be built in India. At the same time, the ecosystem has experienced failures, changing investor sentiment, tighter funding conditions and a more demanding environment for businesses seeking to scale.

Beyond The Start-up Launch

Against this backdrop, the issue looks beyond the excitement surrounding the launch of a business to examine what it takes to build ventures that can sustain momentum over the long term. It explores the decisions, business models and leadership approaches that are shaping the next phase of India’s entrepreneurial journey.

The tenth edition of 40 Under 40 brings together entrepreneurs and business leaders across a diverse range of sectors, including consumer businesses, mobility, finance, technology and manufacturing. Among those featured are Adwaita Nayar of Nykaa, Akis Evangelidis of Nothing, Rishikesh SR of Rapido, Keshav Bhajanka of Century Plyboards, Sneha Roy of Murf.AI and Vinayak Bhavnani of Chalo Mobility, among others.

The cohort reflects the breadth of India’s current entrepreneurial activity, from consumer-facing businesses and technology-led ventures to mobility, manufacturing and emerging categories. Their journeys also illustrate the different paths young leaders are taking as they navigate growth, competition, capital constraints and changing consumer expectations.

The issue also expands the entrepreneurship conversation to include intrapreneurs, leaders working within established organisations to develop new categories, systems, products and avenues for growth. By placing founders and intrapreneurs alongside each other, the issue examines entrepreneurship not only as the creation of a new company, but also as the ability to identify opportunities, challenge existing models and build something new within an existing enterprise.

Commenting on the issue,  Dr Annurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld said,  “As BW celebrates the tenth edition of 40 Under 40 achievers, we look at a generation whose opportunity is greater than simply launching something new. The next decade will ask them to create businesses with a reason to exist beyond a funding cycle, and to make decisions that hold up when conditions are less generous. Each has to find a way to turn early conviction into lasting value. The discipline lies in knowing which risks a business can afford to take.”

Noor Fathima Warsia, Group Editorial Director, BW Businessworld, said, “We have learnt to celebrate the beginning of a business. This issue asks a harder question: what does it take to keep building when capital becomes more selective and the first burst of attention has passed? The founders and intrapreneurs in these pages are taking on that challenge in different ways.”

Examining The Next Decade Of Entrepreneurship

Beyond the 40 Under 40 cohort, the issue examines the larger forces that will shape India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in the years ahead. An opening essay traces the growth and widening reach of India’s start-up ecosystem, looking at how entrepreneurship has moved beyond a concentrated set of sectors and markets.

A deeper examination of the next decade looks at the changing dynamics of funding, investor exits and consumer demand, while also examining the opportunities emerging in areas such as manufacturing and deep technology. As the funding environment becomes more selective, businesses are being pushed to demonstrate clearer paths to sustainable growth, stronger fundamentals and long-term value creation.

The recent issue of BW Businessworld is now available in both digital and print formats. Read BW Businessworld’s latest digital edition here for more insights and the full stories.