Author: Mr.BP. Binu
In the vibrant ecosystem of Indian startups, a silent struggle often goes unnoticed — one between earnest founders and business intelligence (BI) platforms. While these platforms claim to democratize company information and enable transparency, many early-stage founders find themselves misrepresented, misunderstood, and in some cases, disadvantaged by the very systems meant to support innovation.
The Journey of a Typical Indian Startup Founder
Every startup begins with a vision, but also with limitations — limited capital, limited exposure, and limited backing. A founder typically:
- Registers the company legally with government authorities,
- Invests their own savings (a basic, bootstrapped investment),
- Develops the core product or service,
- Allocates significant funds to marketing and social media outreach to build early traction and visibility.
- This journey is rarely glamorous. It’s painstaking, personal, and often financially risky.
Where BI Platforms Come In — And Go Wrong
Business intelligence platforms like Indiafilings, Tofler,Zauba corp, The Company check etc., similar regional databases aim to create public profiles for startups — listing details like incorporation date, funding raised, employee count, leadership, and industry tags. However, problems arise when:
Founding investments are shown as total funding, creating a false impression of the company’s scale
Outdated or incorrect data is published (e.g., wrong employee size, missing co-founders, incorrect industry classifications).
Startups have no easy way to claim, verify, or update their profiles, especially in smaller or regional BI databases.
The result? A skewed public perception.
The Damage to Credibility and Growth
To the outside world — including potential investors, partners, and customers — BI platforms are often the first touchpoint when researching a startup. If the profile reflects:
- Very low or no funding,
- No visible traction or team,
- No verified founder credentials,
Then the startup is subconsciously categorized as “not serious” or “too early,” regardless of the actual impact or growth on the ground. Even well-built products and genuine customer bases may be overshadowed by a misleading profile.
For a founder who has already fought against odds to register their company, market their idea, and retain credibility — this becomes a secondary, yet deeply frustrating battle.
How BI Platforms Work — And What’s the Problem?
BI companies gather data from public sources like the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) — including incorporation records, director names, funding details, and capital structure. They legally purchase or scrape this data and then:
- Organize it into structured dashboards
- Add subjective tags (e.g., “Seed Stage”, “Early Revenue”, “Inactive”)
- Lock the information behind paid subscriptions
- Sell company profiles and reports to corporates, investors, and consultants
- This might seem harmless. But here’s the real issue — the startups being listed often have no idea this data is public, incomplete, or being sold.
- The Founder’s Side of the Story
Most Indian startup founders:
- Register their company with basic compliance
- Invest their own money (bootstrapped)
- Struggle to gain traction, visibility, and trust
- Spend on digital ads, content, and outreach to build presence
Yet, without their permission:
Their basic MCA entry is shown as their “entire profile”
BI platforms estimate funding or hiring statu
Inactive tags appear even when the company is active
Inaccuracies top Google results, above the startup’s own website
Result? Reputational damage, lost investor interest, confusion among potential clients, and a skewed perception in the public eye.
The Systemic Problem: Startups Perpetually Stuck in 'Startup Mode'
BI platforms, in their current state, may unintentionally contribute to a damaging narrative — that startups without flashy funding rounds or PR coverage are somehow incomplete or unworthy. This locks many bootstrapped founders into a perceived “pre-growth” phase forever, even when they’re operating solid businesses
This Is Not Intelligence — It's Exploitation
The startup founder is fighting battles every day — team, product, market, capital.
Meanwhile, the BI platform is monetizing the mere existence of that struggle.
Worse, they profit while the startup is still trying to survive.
This is digital data colonialism — one group generates value, another group extracts profit without consent or contribution.
What Needs to Change?
- Verified Claim System – No company profile should go public without a way for the startup to verify or claim i
- Right to Edit – Founders should be able to request updates or corrections to their data
- Clear Sourcing & Transparency – BI companies must explain where data comes from, how it’s processed, and who uses it
- Regulatory Oversight – Institutions like DPIIT or Startup India must introduce ethical data usage policies
- Community-Owned Alternatives – India needs founder-led, open-source BI models that reflect ground reality, not speculative dashboards
Conclusion: Data About Us Must Include Us
A startup is more than its MCA number. It’s a story of courage, grit, and innovation.
If that story is being sold, distorted, or misrepresented — founders deserve to have a say.
It’s time we move from passive profiling to participative intelligence.
Because data created by us, should not be monetized without us.