Key facts
- Book titled 'Down But Not Out' launched by Subrata Mitra and Pankaj Mishra
- Chronicles near-death crisis moments behind India's entrepreneurial rise
- Subrata Mitra is a partner at Accel India; Pankaj Mishra is co-founder of FactorDaily
A new book that pulls back the curtain on the darkest chapters of India's entrepreneurial journey has been launched by Subrata Mitra and Pankaj Mishra. Titled Down But Not Out, the work chronicles the near-death experiences — the funding crises, product failures, co-founder breakdowns, and pivotal moments of doubt — that preceded the rise of some of India's best-known business names.
The book, reported by Business Standard, is positioned as a counter-narrative to the triumphalist storytelling that typically surrounds India's startup ecosystem. While headlines celebrate billion-dollar valuations and successful IPOs, Down But Not Out focuses on the moments when founders came closest to giving up — and what pulled them back.
Subrata Mitra, a prominent figure in India's venture capital landscape as a partner at Accel India, and Pankaj Mishra, a veteran technology journalist and co-founder of the media platform FactorDaily, bring complementary perspectives to the project. Mitra has had a front-row seat to the inner workings of startups in crisis, while Mishra has spent years documenting the human stories behind India's tech sector.
The timing of the launch is notable. India's startup ecosystem has faced a prolonged funding winter, a rash of high-profile governance controversies, and a more sober public conversation about what sustainable growth actually looks like. In that context, a book that treats failure as instructive rather than shameful carries particular resonance.
Down But Not Out is likely to find an audience not just among founders and investors, but among the broader community of young Indians drawn to entrepreneurship — and looking for an honest account of the road ahead.