Being an entrepreneur is not easy — as ‘cool’ as it sounds to have your own startup, the road to entrepreneurial success can be an awfully lonely one, marred by challenges and worst of all, the fear of the unknown. Murali Bukkapatnam, the new TiE chair, knows this reality all too well. From humble beginnings in Hindupur, AP, to breaking barriers in the entrepreneurial landscape, Murali’s mission remains clear: to foster a thriving ecosystem where mentorship, strategic alliances, and bold risk-taking redefine the future of business.
Excerpts
You’ve been elected as the chair of the TiE Global Board of Trustees for 2025, becoming the second India-based entrepreneur to lead this global organisation. How does it feel?
It is a matter of pride to lead an ecosystem of entrepreneurial stalwarts across the world. TiE was formed 33 years ago as a global non-profit organisation to serve the underserved areas. With 10,000 mentors sitting across 63 cities globally today, TiE is committed to nurturing entrepreneurship through mentorship, networking, and education. Now, the underserved markets include Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and I would like to help those markets.
How can entrepreneurs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities be empowered to take entrepreneurial strides?
One of the major challenges for an entrepreneur in a Tier-2 or 3 city is access to the market, which can make it harder for them to access resources (such as talent and mentors), build relationships, and forge strategic alliances. Lack of access can also result in lack of knowledge/disconnect with the market. So, they can take longer to have a breakthrough when compared to an entrepreneur in a metropolitan city. The solution for this is the right kind of mentoring — as a boy growing up in Hindupur, a small town in Anantapur district in AP, I know these struggles firsthand. It wasn’t easy to adapt to the US culture and understand the systems there, but I pushed myself to break those barriers.
TiE understands this, and so what we are trying to do is identify around 10 successful entrepreneurs in a given Tier-2 or 3 city, so they can mentor 50 to 60 other entrepreneurs. It is not easy — we tried this in Warangal but could not find the right mentors. However, we remain steadfast towards our goal, which is to ensure that these entrepreneurs benefit.
Where does your entrepreneurial spirit come from?
My childhood shaped much of who I am today; I was fortunate to be born into a family where my father — a professor with an entrepreneurial streak — pursued multiple ventures, from running a transport franchise to setting up an aluminum utensils factory. My mother, a homemaker, was the backbone of our family, instilling in us strong values of perseverance and integrity.
What are the major barriers for entrepreneurs in India?
The biggest challenge is the thought process. India once had a scarcity-driven economy where taking entrepreneurial risks was rare. Now, in an economy of abundance, we must nudge people to take the right risks to reach our potential. Instead of chasing buzzwords like unicorns and sunicorns, we must stay clear and focused.
The next challenge is the lack of mentorship — that’s where TiE comes in. In the Hyderabad chapter itself, we have 150 charter members. They include people who have gone through the entrepreneurial journey multiple times, making them perfect mentors for startups.
Other challenges include gender biases. The best way to erase these completely is to tirelessly keep working towards removing them — our TiE Women Programme has impacted 10,000 women across the world, and we have also funded many women-led ventures. You know, when I was in school, I would argue in debate competitions that in order to progress, India needs to encourage women to join the workforce. Even today, I ardently believe that women are much better administrators than men.
While many people say funding is a barrier, I say improper execution is the problem. Before reaching out to investors, it is important for a startup founder to evaluate if they are working at optimum execution levels. VCs are in the business of investing; why would they not invest if they find a company that is worth investing in?
Would you like to see any changes at the policy level to create better opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs?
While the Centre’s Fund of Funds (FoF) has benefited entrepreneurs, I would like to see the Centre and State governments working together cohesively to create a FoF at the state level for last-mile reach. BIRAC does a fantastic job giving grants and equity investments to startups in the biomedical research space. What if we had such organisations that invested in startups across industries? I underscore my earlier point of changing the thought process and taking risks — when there are appropriate incentives, startups will be encouraged to take more sensible risks.
Entrepreneurs excitedly launch startups but are sometimes unable to sustain them and fail. Why do you think that is?
The devil lies in the execution. We all think we are stallions, but no matter how good we are, unless we are focused and execute our plans well, success will not come. And of course, good mentorship is key; unless there is a jockey for the racehorse, galloping to the finish line is difficult. My advice to the founder of a failed startup is simply this — it’s okay to shut down. Don’t dwell on the past. Rather, get onto the road of self-discovery and figure out why it didn’t work and what went wrong. Come back stronger — restart that startup or start a new one!
I have this simple rule: The first 16 hires in the startup must align with the founder’s vision and must be able to do what it takes to hit the ground running.
Through my journey, one lesson stands out — never compromise on values and quality. Success isn’t just about achievements; it’s about the impact we leave behind.
