In A Billion Bets: The Making of India’s Startup Ecosystem, VC Aviral Bhatnagar tells the remarkable story of India’s entrepreneurial transformation through the people who took extraordinary risks when few believed the country could produce world-class technology companies.
Drawing on over a decade of experience investing in founders at the earliest stages of their journeys, Bhatnagar offers readers an intimate look at how entrepreneurs, investors and operators collectively built one of the world’s fastest-growing innovation ecosystems. He reveals the difficult decisions, failed experiments, unexpected breakthroughs and moments of conviction that shaped Indian entrepreneurship over the past two decades.
Unlike conventional business books that focus on individual success stories, A Billion Bets explores the ecosystem itself. It captures the spirit of building in a country that was simultaneously discovering its economic confidence and redefining its place on the global innovation map. Rather than celebrating unicorns after the fact, the book shines a light on the uncertainty, resilience and conviction that defined the journey long before valuations made headlines.
Aviral Bhatnagar brings a uniquely credible perspective to this story. As founder of ajvc, an Indian pre-seed venture fund backing entrepreneurs from the very inception of their companies, he has spent years working alongside founders before they become household names. A graduate of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, he combines the analytical lens of an investor with the empathy of someone who has witnessed entrepreneurship from the inside.
Rich with untold stories, practical insights and lessons in ambition, A Billion Bets is essential reading for entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, policymakers, students and anyone interested in understanding one of the most significant economic transformations in modern India.
