Given the mess that our political system is in, I wonder why professionals have not seriously looked at creating a political startup. Present service providers have been providing low quality services for decades in what really should be a buyers’ market given that we are a democratic country. People have been crying for a better deal but those who can make a difference seem to be indifferent.
The present political parties are beset with the following problems which in turn have resulted in a loss making entity called India.
1. Corruption at the highest levels of governement and the bureaucracy
2. Short sighted decisions based on electoral concerns
3. Putting self (i.e. power) before national interest
4. Nexus with criminals and businessmen
5. Low level of education
These are all surmountable if the political party consists of highly motivated professionals who run the show (and the country) like any well managed company which treats the shareholders (citizens in this case) with respect.
The founders will require a transformational mindset.
The opportunity is huge and so is the required investment. Are there any VCs/Angels willing to invest in a political party startup which will function like any professionally managed company and provide a clean and effective government?
I would love to be part of such a startup. We owe to ourselves if not to the country. If anyone in this community of entrepreneurs is interested do let me know.
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But don’t you think, those that invest in a political party will infact have expectations that are their own and not necessarily in the best interests of the country. This idea goes against the most basic democratic principle(s).
However, I am not suggesting that this system cannot be better than the current system, where lobbies and cronies do exercise their interests..
If I were a VC interested in funding political activities, I’d rather fund individual politicians than a startup party.I would need PoC that identified leaders can actually survive, grow and push my agenda in the political arena.
And it should be possible to find 400-500 such people in India.Give them 5 cr each and hope that enough of them win for you to form the govt 🙂
If you feel this is unrealistic, please note that this is what the registered political parties do, in a more roundabout way.But they spend way too much money on elections. There are lot of inefficiencies in the way political parties function in India. May be its a good idea to think of some IT-driven solutions to make political parties more efficient in using their party funds.
Hello Shashank,
This sounds to be a good idea. But I was just wondering, if this can be a reality – at least in the scale you are talking about. A more sensitive approach in my opinion, is the professional group acting as a consultative authority for the Government. Not mere consultation – this group must be authoritative to interfere in Government’s decisions and act as the voice of citizens. In other words, this group must be a liaison between the Government and its Citizens, with good control over the former’s policies and procedures, including elections and day to day operations.
I think already a good handful of educated professionals exists in the form of IAS, IPS, IFS and other top cadres. These professionals must be engaged in the formation of such a professional group.
This said, your idea is awesome and I would love to see it blossom!
Regards,
Ashwin
lalit,
I was part of something called I Fix, a group which was to raise awareness and “do” something about the things the government couldnt manage all by itself. It started in Chennai and spread to bangalore, and delhi. Trust me, I have a background for my skepticism 🙂
But its also good to see the optimism. Hope something comes out of it.
V.
I strongly disagree with Vijay’s comment. In general I do not agree with anyone who comments that start-up will not work unless s/he has tried it ..:-)
I like this dialog from a movie called as ‘pursuit of happyness’ which I think should be a mantra for every entrepreneur out there.
“You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period. All right?”